This video guide shows how a north-facing back garden can be transformed into a family friendly garden with zones for both adults and children.
Need help troubleshooting your own garden design dramas? Why not book an online consultation with the Garden Ninja? https://www.gardenninja.co.uk/garden-advice/
All explained by Garden Ninja, Manchesters Garden Designer and blogger Lee Burkhill. He’s an RHS winning garden designer and expert panellist on BBC Radio Manchester’s Saturday morning garden phone in.
Why not subscribe to my youtube channel? https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuhMHrXyf2bvga2Mq0DJvwQ
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gardenninjadesign/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Garden_Ninja
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/garden_ninja_lee/
It can be a tricky balance designing a garden for both children who want to play and adults who want to relax as well. Creating a garden that meets both the needs of active children and wearied parents is entirely possible with careful thought. This example of an overlooked, underloved and uninspired garden in the suburbs shows how using zones allows you to meet the needs of both children and parents.
In a small garden, it’s easy to try and cram as much in as possible. We established that they definitely wanted a substantial lawned area for the children to play on. This would become the children’s zone which could evolve over time and wasn’t too precious being used by an army of screaming children, a wendy house, battlefield or makeshift football pitch.
The adult zone was designed as a raised terrace area which would be screened off in part by planters and raised borders on each side. There was careful access planned should a parent need to quickly get to the children zone and to help provide flow around the garden. These beds and borders helped also break up the neighbouring views giving privacy. They also needed storage and access for bikes. By using cut-through paths to the children’s lawn, it allows movement between the zones and helps join the garden together. Yet encasing the zones in borders with various heights it gives the feeling of privacy when in each zone.
The raised beds around the children zone contained a mix of super tough hardy herbaceous perennials, grasses and shrubs. In addition to this they also had woven through them some beautiful delicate specimens. Thus giving a more sophisticated feel than just bedding plants and evergreen shrubs. These borders were designed to encourage visitors to want to investigate these plants further, ask questions and become engrossed in the drifts of planting rather than focusing on the small size of the garden.
20 Comments
Your video is very enjoyable and informative. You are so knowledgeable and creative and you obviously love what you are doing. It is such a pleasure to see what you have done. Unfortunately I couldn't watch it for long because it was shaking while you were talking and it made my head spin a bit. I had to stop it and read the information below instead and I know I missed a lot. Thank you for sharing this.
Nice job, looks really clean and professional but still looks like a garden, the haircut doesn't suit you though
Excellent job! Lots of variety in such a small garden. Thank you for the ideas and highlighting the importance of careful design and planning even for a small garden.
How much would this cost?
As an old hippie that’s survived any number of unflattering hairstyles from the 60s — 90s, I hate to say that your hair is undermining your obvious professionalism. Trust me on this. You will cringe in 5 years. Re your garden design; actually pretty conservative but lovely.
Nicely constructed gardens Im just looking to do mine incorporating a dog area small lawn and decking / patio by newly to be installed french doors Oh yes and our chicken run LOL. With all the sun recently i've had time to see where we get the sun and where the shade is in my 20ft by 20ft ish garden ( Lived here for 20 years and only now seing where the sun sits in the garden thats bad isnt it :- / at least you show actual SMALL gardens in your vids.. The sleepers look like a good way to box out the areas but im worried that this will squeeze the family area down even more. hopefully the videos will guide me.
I do like the sleepers neibours planted a Acer at the back of us great for the chucks as it gives them shade not so good for the plants I had there at the time
Are there poisonous snakes in England?
Love the design – really suits the house too.
Compared to Gardener's World, your designs and advice is just SO relatable and accessible. I wish you were on TV each week – I think I would be much more inclined to garden!
Very good! Like!
Signed on your channel! Sign in to my channel to help too! Appreciate! Everyone helps each other and everyone wins. TOGETHER WE ARE STRONGER! Big hug from Brazil
😊😀😊
Where do you outsource your plants from? I buy from crocus but they always arrive so small, which means its not until a year or even two that they are half the size they ought to be 🙁 do I sound disappointed (I am)
What areas do you cover please? Id love to work with you on the garden to mine and my sons 1st home x
looks fab, love the planting, thank you
Beautiful 💚
I watch all your videos and love your designs , I am a novice to gardening and I love learning about the thought process that goes behind this . Can you advise where you get your plants , also is it advisable to buy smaller shoots and plant them or get them when they are a little mature
North facing, small, overlooked😅😅😅 Blimey Lee, well done you! You did briiliantly!
Assalamu alaikum good garden friend
Do you do the hard landscaping as well ?
Hi how do you spell the lollipop trees you planted I would like to do what you've done to block out neighbours.love this garden design.
Hi Lee , found your video whilst looking for ideas to block out neighbours gardens as we’re overlooked too. This looks amazing and I was wondering if I was to plant those same standard trees in a raised bed what’s the minimum depth of planter needed? And would they require a support to prevent them falling over in high winds. How tall would they grow? I have the same question for the climbing plants what would be the minimum depth raised planter they would thrive in?