Primary school age children need somewhere long to throw or hit or kick a ball that is not facing anyone's windows.

Dance or acrobatic children need somewhere flat to practice.

The playing area is another part of the garden, not on the first full shot. They're 7 and 9. Keeping the trampoline.

http://www.bhg.com/gardening/design/nature-lovers/welcome-to-plan-a-garden/

I'm looking for inspiration, ideas, etc...not another landscaping website. I seem to get directed to another site.

I've got a few PDFs of the garden plan with the house. I can send them through to you, if that helps.

Ok now answer this. Do you or your partner love the work of gardening? If so, then you can choose high maintenance styles such as formal, Japanese, cottage, etc. if not, then choose a low maintenance style, such as desert style, eg. Choose that first. Next, do you like to eat organic produce? Do you want to save money on food? If so, permaculture or other food gardening may appeal. That needs water, and your time and interest, and usually, areas of full sun. Do you have a large budget? Decide on all the above, then peruse Houzz ideabooks and other sources. Put them in your ideabook. Put your site plan up on your dilemma, so people can help you. Beware of choosing individual trees or plants first, before having answered all my questions. Expensive mistakes can be made. You should also buy a soil testing kit from a nursery, and test soil at different points, for ph and clay etc. give lots of this info to this dilemma and you should get more help.

Yes, put your garden plan up, marking in as I said, important existing things. What is the wish list, including each member of the family? Take your neighbours' rights to light into account.

Don't forget what is under the ground. Do you know where pipes go? Does your property title and local municipality ban anything?

Posting your general area helps people to tell you what will and won't work. Also what direction your garden faces.

Chook, if Elke's not hiding under her bed by now she's a tougher bird than I am.
;-)

If she wants the pros to weigh in then the more info she provides the better. Plus, good garden design takes time, especially modern. Tried and true is easier.

chookchook2,you have strange ideas, otherwise Elke Troost,you garten is wonderful now I can imagine after .. good luck

Which planning ideas in particular did you think were strange, megen20? All of them can be found in landscaping books.

However, the dreamer in me says one can first dream one's way towards a picture of the garden you want before getting down to the nitty gritty. For instance, I love the curved lawn (which could also be curved paving) for the way it makes the area seem so much wider and, with the right planting, can create hidden-away areas if you want them. I also love those little round ball plants on the edge of the water, repeated under the trees with splashes of yellow. and the way at the end of the garden the lawn turns into a pathway.

On the other hand, Elke, as Chook says, you need to refine your ideas of what kind of garden you'd like -- soft, like this, which could easily be adjusted to look more modern (for instance with the patio and pond design) -- or more geometric modern -- for instance, full of square plant boxes in interesting materials at different levels, and modern paving. Could you post a couple of pictures of gardens you really like the look of? -- they don't have to be anything like yours in shape. It would just be for style purposes.

Back to work for me now, lunch half-hour can only extend so far.

http://www.channel4.com/4homes/rooms/outdoors/garden-planning-ideas/garden-design-design-and-plan-a-long-thin-garden-10-04-15

Form should follow function. Many TV and Garden show gardens have no room for children's ball games. At school they need those skills, and we did alot of ball games with our kids growing up.

We can modify something like this with a waterfall and playground but keeping modern theme , fruit trees and a garden, look's like you have the space for all .

Took the words literally, Chook. We would like a stylish, yet functional vegetable plot where the centered shed is. Left and right of the shed, some space for apples trees, I also have a few blackberry shrubs, etc.
See where the box plants end? That's why the vegetable plot should start.

We are also the herbalists; maybe a wooden deck connecting to the kitchen and the veranda, with a built-in herb garden, for easy picking, etc.

Shoot! Keep them coming, I honestly don't mind. We've put three years of work into chopping down most of the undergrowth, shrubs, fallen down trees, etc...as the previous owner didn't do much due to old age.
Give me whatever enlights your inspiration. Whatever feels right. The main lawn (picture with shed in the distance) is very sunny (noon-late evening) whilst the other parts of the lawn is shady (behind the terrace, the playing area)

We have a large budget, but we'd like it stylish, functional, etc. We need a plan to work to. Give me anything, really.

Thanks a bunch, all!

How to add PFDs?

Converted to JPEG. See attachments.

A few more pictures

Planning on extending the house, where the veranda ends, with a drive of somekind.

Considering the lie of your plot and that you write you want a veg patch, the first thing to include in your prelim plans would be deciding if you are willing to give up the best space for the veg patch which might simultaneously be the best place for the play space. Most veg grow best with lots of sunlight - and so do children.

IE, the veg and child requirements would be my No1 priority for taking garden-design decisions.

Speaking of veg, are you thinking about a small hot house for use during winter? You mention Euros as your currency so I'm thinking your plot is somewhere in Europe and a hot house will really extend your veg garden growing season. We're in NE Scotland, land of the never-ending poly tunnels, lol, another great way to hot house grow!

I have a lot of grower friends in Europe, and since you're mentioning euros, that is what I assume.

Our grow zones are based on average winter temperatures, they do not take into account summer highs, or amount or frequency of sunny days...

To get the best results from gardening you may be doing a lot of raised beds, cold frame, and hightunnels/poly tunnels to get the best results. Also, fruit tree varieties I could recommend might not be available there or not do as well because of 'cold hours' or 'sun hours' needed.

As Sunnie2day says; on any grow zone maps I can find, a lot of NE Scotland is rated warmer than I am zonally, but they get the storms and their summers aren't as warm. High tunnels are mandatory to alter the climate to grow certain crops. I have other friends in Belgium area, and they grow strawberries in tunnels. They say their winters don't freeze but their summers are in the low to mid 60's f so they need to boost the temperature for several months to get a crop.....

Houzzers may be able to help you with some general layout but. You need someone that knows your local climate and what will grow there to advise you on best plans and types for trees, how to situate your garden, and what you'll need to do to get a crop.

I would allocate the children's play area to where I had a line of sight from the house, not in one of the far triangular areas, where all the balls would go over the fence. They grow up so fast, and then you can turn their area to more entertaining space, to accommodate their teenage friends, such as a firepit.

What country are you in? There are Houzzers from all over to advise you.

http://www.yates.com.au/garden-club/virtual-garden

I designed this for someone long time ago, maybe you can modify the idea to suit your needs.
Good luck

Looks good, GN.

I like the aesthetics of this veg garden, and it's adaptable by material to any level of modernity. Unfortunately it's not very economical on passage space. https://casacara.wordpress.com/tag/vegetables/

Hello, I'm in France and had to redesign whole garden. I know it isn't what you're looking for except my blog shows all the steps we went throgh to try and get it looking good. We created it last june so this will be the first year for all the plants. The blog is in french, but has pages showing the plans I made and plants chosen. It may help to get you started... http://jardin-alsace-vignoble.blogspot.fr/

Alright, thanks for the blogs, information, etc. Much appreciated!
Enough about the vegetable plot. Let's talk style. How would you go about this garden? A very, sunny southern-facing garden. Will dig up most of the garden for better soil, as it's chunky, old clay.

As I've intimated before, the first thing I would do is think very broadly about style. What am I aiming for? What do I dream of? Then, my next step would be to think function, which as Chook says, comes before form. How do you want to use the garden? Is that side area right for the kids -- what age are they, do they need a constant eye on them, what activities do they like? You're thinking patio and water ... will you entertain there? How many people at a time? Stuff like that. That might allow you to do a very rough sketch of areas on your plan. Then think where you want shade, where you want sun, in connection with the lie of the plot/s. Then you think where you might want/need trees and walls to provide both in the right areas. Especially, where the trees can be evergreen and where they should be deciduous. And that's quite enough for now.

I believe you need the style dream first because all this takes a lot of energy, and the actual work once you have a plan takes even more. You need your vision in place.

PS Also consider in this early stage how much maintenance you're willing to do every week. Every day. Whatever.

Elke, if you want help in style, I think we should know where your garden is situated. The style of your garden also depends on your weather and I agree with Rina, first set down your priorities on paper and then we can all get started with ideas.

Start some compost bins for better soil. Put in straw, manure from farmers, ripped newspapers, grass clippings, kitchen waste, but not dog/cat poo or meat.

I need a design: a very sunny garden, little maintenance, a lot of style (doesn't matter which) and aesthetics. I honestly don't mind about nitty-picky things.

have a look at this site, and browse... http://www.bhg.com/gardening/landscaping-projects/landscape-plans/

Elke (may I use your first name?), have you looked on Houzz' pro pages for a landscape architect or designer near you? In your earliest posts you mention a healthy budget for organising your garden and at this point I really think a professional is going to give you the best ideas. Designing and implementing a whole garden takes specialised local knowledge - a professional in your area will understand your soil, microclimate zones in your garden, and your specific needs (including drop dead gorgeous+easy to maintain without an army of gardeners:).

Agreed.

acrook18
Relationship: Client
Project Date: February 2014
Project Price Range: less than $1,000
We are trying to come up with some ideas to improve the curb appeal for the front entrance of our home. Currently the stairs enter from the side with fencing around a very large stoop which blocks half of the front door from the street as a result of our home being built on a hill. We had run out of creative ideas so I inquired with Tony about coming up with a design plan to re-work the front entrance. The cost was extremely affordable and you could not ask for better communication. We live out of the state so helping him visualize what we were thinking took a few back and forths (which he was very patient with). Once we decided on a design plan, he gave us a perfect visual for something we have been trying to figure out for two years. Very thankful I ran across him on Houzz. He even also has a service, when we are ready to build, that will help us find the right people to do the work at the right price, while he manages and keeps up with the project via email, pics and conversations with the contractors. Thanks again Tony and we look forward to working with you in the future.,

Hi!

Looking at the pictures of your garden, I think the rolling bench could be a great addition.
The rolling bench is really useful.
Thanks to the wheels, the rolling bench will offer you enough versatility by moving wherever you would like in your spacious garden.
For example, you can easily move the rolling bench bellow your trees to be in the shade of the sun when it’s too warm.
And, thanks to the wheels you can move the bench anywhere you would like, so it’s not a problem to mow the lawn.

Please find below a link to the website. Let me know what you think about it.

http://www.rollingbenches.com/

Best,

Amelie

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VhVAo9ZGL-8