Aside from tidying up the random bits of rubbish, I need ideas of what to do with this little side courtyard space. It's raised about 30cm from the ground, I have step stones to access the hot water system, but aside from that it's just wasted a semi-dead zone that gets a forest of weeds every spring.
In winter it gets practically no direct sunlight, but in summer it gets full sun for most of the day. I want to make a little garden so it's not so depressing to look at, but the wild variation in how much direct sun it gets over the seasons has me stumped.
The soil is pretty sandy but doesn't seem too hydrophobic. If all else fails I'm just going to chuck a bunch of nasturtium seeds in there and hope for the best. Located in Perth.
by littlestinky
11 Comments
Also, the shade is all mangled and hanging because it was previously attached to an asbestos fence, but when it was replaced with the current fence the tradies just kinda left it torn and hanging, and the landlord didn’t care enough to fix it.
Try and shade off one side from the summer heat and plant some shade loving plants,
On the other side think about summer seasonals, dahlias, daffodils etc.
Granny flat.
In your situation I would do nothing. If the landlord can’t be stuffed fixing your washing line then he isn’t going to improve the area – and it really is his responsibility to put a garden in. I would do the bare minimum which would be to keep it weed free. If you want, get some shade tolerant plants in pots and keep them there – just make sure you take them with you and hen you leave. All the best!
I’d treat it as a narrow transition space rather than a full garden bed. A clean path + a few vertical elements + low-maintenance planting would probably make the biggest difference here.
One thing that helps is mocking up a few options on the actual photo first, just to see what feels too crowded or not. [Gardenizer.app](http://Gardenizer.app) is one option for that. I’m linked to the project, so full transparency.
You could put an in ground worm farm there and use the space to recycle all your food scraps and coffee grounds to improve the soil in your corner of the world. Nasturtiums are beautiful and no care needed, in summer you could grow basil and parsley if you’re willing to water. They self seed, so just chop them down when they die off and let them mulch down under the nasturtiums over winter.
If you want something taller and cheerful in summer, look into sunchokes, they are a kind of sunflower that grows edible tubers that will come back year after year and will completely take over that space with no care needed. Chop and mulch at the end of the season, and any tubers left in the ground will become a new plant in spring. Tubers should be available in farmer jacks in a few weeks, they can be planted and left in ground till spring.
Zen garden? Eg pebbles or raked sand?
Not really a garden per se but could look cool
Build a shed there and put, uh, a Mylar tent in it.
What you grow inside that Mylar tent is up to you but I do love hydroponic tomatoes and herbs and flowers for the special ppl in my life
4 cheap square paver, slab or stones from bunnings to walk over, plant dichondra repens or emerald falls and let them take over then call it a day.
Continue hand pulling weeds until dichondra takes over and you can forget about it other than the occasional trims to clear it away from the pavers.
I see that as a utility area. Storage for garden tools and a compost bin.
Rain water tank