On Mon, 13 Oct 2003 20:02:17 +0100, "Chris" wrote:

Hi, I haven't used newsgroups before so here goes....We are a growing young
family about to move house. The garden is literaly a blank canvas! It is a
70' X 50' north west (NW) facing lawn with three recently planted fruit
trees at the far end. It has a wall to the left dividing us from an open
field, a wall at the top dividing us from a horses paddock, and a broken
down fence to the right dividing us from our neighbours.With this in mind,
we want a garden that can be divided into sections, ie. an area for the
children, a vegetable patch, and a quiet / ornate area. We want to keep a
large proportion of the lawn. Can anyone point me in the right direction for
websites with free garden design ideas, or free garden design software?
Thanks in advance!

Chris, I'm fairly new here myself, so this is by no means advice - just stuff I've
seen around, or thought over in my own feeble attempts at a garden.

First, you probably want the children within easy reach of the house, especially if
they're very little. You might also want to plant stuff in that area that's not too
poisonous. I have rosemary bushes, for example, which are almost unkillable, somewhat
edible and reasonably easy to propagate. I always have one or two on the go.... half
my street now has rosemary! LOL

Also, if you intend to buy a swing set / fort / climbing frame etc, the kids' area
needs to be reasonably flat. And one house I saw had a brick path straight down a
steeply sloping garden and a pair of french doors at the bottom. Just the job for a 3
year old and a pedal car. Not!
My neighbour, in an act of great wisdom, laid her garden path round her garden rather
than straight down the middle, because the kids could then run/trike etc round and
round without running each other over.

Ornate area, grownups seating etc ... close to the house as you will often just have
the strength left to grab /the chardonnay/a cuppa/ and stagger out the-)

Lawns: just how much do you want to mow? Will the children be using it constantly for
ball games, war games etc? (=big lawn) or can they use the field? (=smaller lawn)
I personally don't find mowing the most fulfilling task in the garden.

In this plan veggies would go up by the fruit trees. Alternatively, you might want
the veggies by the house and the grownups hideaway at the end of the garden.

Also, pots of herbs by the back door, where they can find their way into the
kitchen:-)

Oh and... if the ramshackle fence is not yours.... consider putting a sturdy one up
on your side of the boundary. Good fences really do make good neighbours:-)

hth

Liz (who has just been through a similar process:-)