Thought I'd insert your photo directly into the thread...

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What sort of use are you thinking when you say you'd like the side lot to be "useful and pretty"? Do you access this side lot directly from the house, or must you walk from the front or back? Do you have a photo which would show us more of the house and property as well as that side? More context would be helpful!

Thanks for your willingness to help! I will post the requested information this afternoon.

-Shannon

It strikes me as a little odd that you just moved into a new place, yet this out of the way spot is toward the top of your priority list...though maybe you are just thinking ahead. I mean, you have enough room there to do something nice with, but I would likely use it as a place for the compost bins, a storage chest, a potting bench, and a "plant zoo" for raising seed grown and propagated plants. My previous house had a similar area on the south side and I sure miss having an out of the way spot to store garden junk...errr...supplies. That was also my "veggie garden", though the perennials usually far outnumbered the vegetable plants.

- Brent

Hello,

Brent: Yes, it would be odd if I focused only on that out of the way side lot! I am trying to think ahead and focus on the entire property lot as a wholeÂattempting to visualize what areas will be used for what and how I want them to look, in order to plan ahead.

Here is a web page with more pictures of my property.

http://homepage.mac.com/shannon_brown/Garden/PhotoAlbum10.html

As you can easily see, there is much work to do. Obviously, the back yard is in desperate need of resodding. And the shrubs look pretty silly, even though I have already removed 14 large contractorÂs bags of dead wood!

As you can see in the pictures, I already have a shed and I would LOVE to put it in the ugly side yard. I thought about hiring someone to lay a concrete pad for the shed to go on. However, the shed would just BARELY fit, and my DH loves his shed out in the open for some reason. So, I am exploring other ideas.

I love the idea of a potting bench and greenhouse in the side yard. I am wondering how other people have dealt with slopes like mine, however. I suppose I could build a little deck but IÂm curious about what others have done. I assume pouring more rock in the area (to level things out) is a bad idea, as it would put too much pressure on the fence.

One thing about the side yard spot: It is the only place where my dogs donÂt currently go, and I could easily put up a fence to keep them out. Therefore I am wondering if there would be a fun and creative way to incorporate berries, cutting flowers, or other more delicate plants in there.

Any ideas/advice on making side yard and/or sloped areas pretty and functional is appreciated. Also, feel free to comment on other parts of the property. I wonÂt be offended as it is the previous ownerÂs doing, not mine! =)

Here is a link that might be useful: Property Pics

I would definitely put up a green house or cold frame to better utilize the area for plants, and a few compost bins or tumblers would go nicely there aswell. What you do to level out the area right next to the house is to build a beckand put the structure on top of the deck.

Hello Shannon,
I really think that you should hold off on making any plans on what to do with your sideyard just yet. There are several things that you need to consider that you have not provided info on here that will help fellow posters help you come up with a solution that is both workable and to your liking.

You mention dogs. How many do you have and are you planning on containing them to a portion of the yard or will they have the full back yard to enjoy.
No children?

I take it your back door comes off of your kitchen area maybe through a washroom or some other utility room??

Do you have a diagram of the entire backyard. If not I recommend that you get some graph paper and using for example each square of the graph paper to represent one square foot draw out the entire lot on which you house sits and then plot in the house and any permanent features such as location of trees/shrubs/irrigation/etc.

Then you will need to determine the nature of your yards.
What kind of activity will you be planning for the front/the north side/the back/and the south side yards?

OK. Then what kind of work does your husband do and do you work as well. Need a place to kick back and relax outside to mellow out after a hard day? Where are you planning on such an escape spot (inside or outside). Planning on any extensive use of the outside such as a sun deck?

What kind of time do you have? Do you have lots of time and do you like to spend your time working in the yard, garden, outside? Or are inside activities more your cup of tea?

Consider the above and whatever else you come across as you ponder my thoughts. Remember the basic need is TIME. How do you want to spend it and design the use of your property accordingly.

I want you to check out this site that is the design and the result of a whole lot of hard work by a young Canadian couple.
Click here
It is in French but click on the links and you will be treated to an amazing accomplishment!

I'm afraid you'll scare her off with that much homework there TM

Thanks Brendan!
It is a tough call on providing some insight. But I think that while it may be assaulting the senses at the front that with effective planning which I hope my comments will steer anyone towards that there will be less time wasted on redos and less money too!
But I would recommend that cu-gardener would print out this entire page and plug in numbers of priority on those items that are of interest and then go from there.
The most important point which I cannot over-emphasize is planning in reference to your time demands. It is easy to get caught up in the unexpected and that lovely herb and cut flower garden could easily become a weed patch if significant demands (such as a new baby) could make on one's schedule! So planning ahead MAY give you a chance to be able to walk outside and say AAAHHHH! What beauty! rather than AAAWWWWW! What a mess! So it is really up to Cu-gardener and any other readers who are in the same situation to consider.

Shannon,
I hesitate offering a suggestion when there are so many trained design professionals here, and also, I can't see the space to know for sure if it is possible, so if I am giving an impossible solution to a problem, I apologize.

My first thought when I saw the picture was a retaining wall on the high side. That way, you can level the rest of the ground space, and it would give you a planting area between the retaining wall and the building. You would also need to include steps so there is safe and functional access into the area.

Something else to consider... is there some sort of drainage system under that stone should have a heavy rain. If there isn't drainage, that would be the first thing I would want to install before storing anything in there or improving it.

I went to a garden show yesterday and it was amazing how people transformed their narrow side yards into spectacular passage-ways into their back yards. I'd say, leave the fence that borders the neighbor's house. Then, have a gate that faces what I believe to be the road. (Kind of hard to tell from the picture). Then, put a path right down the center of it and plant on each side. I wish I had taken some pictures so that I could show you what I mean.

It is so tempting to do things in a big hurry when you first move in, isn't it? I've been there myself - but have learned over the years that you may spend even more time trying to correct what you did in haste!

While waiting, try to really see your own piece of land... use a notebook, watch sun and shade patterns, & when it rains you will find out about drainage and erosion issues. As you settle in, you can see what patterns the natural movements of your family make on the landscape. Jot down notes and use the suggestions by terrestrial_man.

Most of my friends have dogs, and some of them wish they'd fenced off at least one place that is canine-free. Fence it off from the beginning, and stake it out as as yours. Just a lawn chair and some pots of annuals could make it a temporary flowery hideaway.

Annie