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Help with backyard design needed

Anna Cunningham

4 years ago

last modified: 4 years ago

This is my backyard. I apologise For the mess. Our dog stays in the house, but for afternoon, where he can run and be outside. The willow is hiding a chicken coop,

id like to design it a bit like an outside room. I am open to any suggestions that you might have. We live in zone 5 and the picture is facing south east, so the hill is north facing.

some ideas or what was done so far. I want to remove the outhouse on the right, since it is in the middle and not usable.

I’m dreaming on putting espalier trees along the fence but the deer or horses might chew on them.

we Are training our dog around electric fence, so his house would be placed near the deck. I would love to put a bench or Sitting area under the willow. The old stove needs to be removed. There is a water run off across this lawn from top tight to bottom left, so all fruit trees that i planted did not do good in the cray soil. I would love to dig up that water run area, line it with stone and make a seasonal water feature. I have made a little flower bed in the front, without any plan. The small tricolor willow was not planted by me, it grows huge and blocks the view and I keep Pruning it ever year. I would rather take it out and have a small magnolia there, or a small Japanese maple. in the back there is an unfinished playground.

thank you very much!

Comments (4)

PRO
Yardvaark
4 years ago
What benefits are you expecting to get from a re-landscape?

To actually accomplish designing the back yard landscape, instead of thinking about it as a mental exercise, you'll need to start drawing it on paper so that you can work out your ideas and commit them to a paper record. This starts with preparing a base plan ... a "map" of only the major land features that will remain permanently: fences/lot lines, tree trunks, building footprints, paved areas, etc. If it's not permanent, don't include it. Don't add any extra elements to the base plan -- no shading, hatching, small plants, temporary features, etc., as they only serve to clutter it. The base plan needs to be drawn measured and as accurately as possible so that when ideas are superimposed on it, one can have confidence that the finished product will work out as shown.

Unlike many back yards where the objective is often to visually screen out all of the neighboring properties, it looks like here there are some view that should be preserved. You'll want to assess where views need to be retained.
Anna Cunningham thanked Yardvaark
Sigrid
4 years ago
What I see is a round garden area with a small shrub in the middle of the back yard, disconnected from anything else. Is it going to be in the middle of your 'room'? Or is it at the edge of your planned 'room'? Do you plan on a seating area?

Espaliering is a technique that is used either to save space in a small garden or to take advantage of a wall's warmth/shelter from wind. Neither apply to your situation.
Anna Cunningham thanked Sigrid
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The only space you really have id that 2nd picture so you will need to be aware of how many people . You can have a TV outdoors anywhere you could mount it on that chimney wall I would move the swing for sure and get some nice colorful pool loungers around the pool then find the best convienent spot for the BBQ. The basket ball net needs to be gone if you must keep the game table it needs to be in its own space somewhere. Where is the door to the kitchen that is really where the BBQ belongs. Do you need atable and chairs for eating outside . I think we need more info and also a to scale drawing of the space would be ahuge help.Personally I think the pool is too big for theyard but now it has to be dealt with.
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You'd probably need to show the view in each direction. (Stand at center of the yard and take slightly overlapping photos of a 360*view -- without changing camera locations between any pictures.) And you probably need to show an outward bound view of 3/4 of the yard as taken from the patio center. (Again, in slightly overlapping pictures while the photographer does not change locations, but pivots.) And you'l need to show as close up as you can get of the yard from Google Satellite.
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So the basketball court will be at the end of the yard and new planting beds to the left of the pic above next to the house. I envision the tree will be to the right in the pic above. Just can’t visualize how the path will go front yard to gate.
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This is a Google Earth of our lot showing planting beds to create privacy This link of our patio includes visuals of the above viewed from ground level. Mostly professionally planned. Local nursuries know soil, compatible species and placement. https://youtu.be/lOAwXzKfTxY
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PRO
Yardvaark
4 years ago
Espaliering is also done for its own sake as it can be both utilitarian (as a fence) and beautiful.
Anna Cunningham thanked Yardvaark
Anna Cunningham
Original Author
4 years ago
Thank you so much for the answer! I feel at least now I have got a starting point.

Yes, it was more like a mental exercise that made me rather exhausted.

Sigrid, the round garden area is very disconnected, so true. In any case it should not even be round, makes it look even more strange.

So I will try to measure and draw everything out, and take some pictures. I will be back with a more specific questions ;)

Thank you!

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