Re-designing

Thank goodness it wasn't Christmas spray snow...! ;o)

Bless him

lol ! :D
I should think it looked pretty :)

Lol. This did make me laugh and well done you for staying so well controlled. I too look forward to seeing the finished results.

You might have to wait a while as there will be a shed to erect and plants to move. Still, I might manage some almost before and after shots.

Aww, bless him.

Oh, looks so much better with a circular lawn and yes, it does create an appearance of a larger space - but I reckon you should have made the lawn a smaller circle than it is to accommodate all the plants you;ll inevitably be picking up here and there over time... And there's no reason why you can't replace the stepping stone path just because the lawn's now a circle...

What a laugh! silver paint!! you were very restrained I have to admit!! You do have a very pretty garden already, a circular lawn will really suit the shape, and you could still keep the path, it is a nice feature!!
We have spent 16 years hiding the neighbours huge white industrial shed, and now it is their carport I am trying to hide, I have to agree with Bamboo about making the circle smaller, ours is much smaller and we have an urn in the middle too!
My OH will be 81 in a few days time, he has just spent the last few days lifting the path (concrete sleepers) for the third time, and reducing the rose border, also taking all the gravel off ( what was the rose bed) which we both thought was a good idea at the time!! each time we go out now we take a few stones off, at this rate it should only take us about ten years lol
I look forward to your updates, but hide the silver paint, well any paint!!

Good luck with removing the gravel!
Looks good in some places but certainly not all.

Thanks to everyone for their comments, some of which made me smile. Once the shed is bought and erected I'll post another picture but I fear it's going to dominate and make the garden look even tinier. Still, we do need somewhere to store garden stuff so I'm hoping it won't make my mild claustrophobia worse. Without the house wall at the back there'd be no problem but I can't now use a wrecking ball to knock it down! The new occupants, a family with young children, are quite nice even if the kids are noisy.

Ah well, we can't always have what we want and I constantly feel lucky to be able to have a nice house in a nice area.

We have three sentry box sheds, because I dislike large sheds, and they are a feature in the garden....one French, and two tropical!!
Stera, we shalll need it, looks so much better without it on the border, will now have to continue moving the rest, hey ho!! we live and learn, was a good idea at the time!!

Circular lawns are great - and it might gradually get smaller anyway, every time the edge gets trimmed :)

You're right there, Sheila. I may end up with a tiny round lawn in the middle!

That's the best way, easy does it - creep up on it...

Arbuthnot, do you think a small dainty tree in the right place would perhaps take the eye away from the house wall?

Good idea Stera . . . every garden needs an Amelanchier, lol!

I think that's a very sound idea!!

My original intention was to plant a tree against the back fence to hide the house wall. To that end, I now have an Acer Palmatum Dissectum which while won't grow very tall will draw the eye away. I also have a Sambucus Nigra (not the right colour against the fence but I just love that tree) with a white clem growing through it - hopefully. Then we have a dwarf Cox apple that we brought with us, and further along a magnolia, variety unknown. I think this last will grow too big but so far it's only a few feet tall. The other problem is that I'm not sure it's entirely fair to plant a tall tree so close to a neighbour's house (yeah, I know I've planted a magnolia!) but, apart from that, the fence/wall is north facing. With only a 40 x 40 foot garden I could only plant small trees anyway and even they would probably be a bit too intrusive for me. Still, I'm doing my best as I also have a honeysuckle (the wild woodbine) that moved house with us and a couple more clems.

I know of Amelanchier but have never grown one; not even sure I've seen one and now with the shed being erected in a couple of weeks I've got even less room. The rest of the garden is already quite packed but I thank you for the suggestions.

I wasn't thinking of planting it up against the fence - never a good idea for a tree as its lower branches would press against the fence and its upper ones overhang the neighbour's side. I was thinking of positioning it in a small circular bed in the lawn, echoing the shape of the bigger one or perhaps better a half moon with the outer edge echoing the curve of the lawn. If you get a long cane or something and get OH to hold it for you in various positions and heights you would be able to see the height and position you would need to break up the view of the wall. An Amelanchier would be nice or there are some attractive dwarf crab apples. In the right place I think 12 feet would be tall enough.
An advantage of putting it in the lawn is that it would not need to be nearly as tall as one planted by the fence to do the job required.

Thanks for the info, Stera. I hadn't really considered planting a tree in the middle of the lawn because I thought it would make me feel more enclosed. I do have mild claustrophobia which is why I like space around me. So why, I hear you ask, did you buy a house with such a small garden and a brick wall at the end? I've asked myself that several times but we were under such pressure from the buyers of our bungalow in Herefordshire and, because they were the only people who had shown serious interest we didn't want to lose the sale. Travelling such a distance to house hunt wasn't easy when we had so many requirements and this property ticked the most boxes. So, here we are.

Now though I will give more than a passing thought to a centrally positioned tree. I suspect Him Indoors might veto it though.

You could consider a Prunus Amanagawa or one of those tall very slender conifers - can't remember the variety. those are both fastigiate. Not dainty but would be a focal point.

I had to look up what fastigiate meant but I know now.

After 'talking' to you I'm now thinking that the Sambucus would go okay in the centre of the lawn. I could then plant another clem or two in the spaces. Hm, plenty of food for thought there but I'll wait until I see what the shed looks like. We were told it would be done before Christmas.

Thank you again, Stera. Mind you the house wall at the back of the garden is very tall.........

I wouldn't recommend the Sambucus as a focal point tree in the middle of the lawn - if you let it get tree like, the trunks or stems on it have a tendency to look like knotted turkey legs, more noticeable after the leaves fall, I always think its unattractive, plus pruning it to keep it in shape all the time means it wouldn't make an impressive centre piece. Left unpruned, its a rather gawky and untidy grower - best planted at the back of a border with other, lower stuff with contrasting leaves around it. Amelanchier 'Obelisk' would be a better choice...if you really want something in the middle. Were it my garden, I'd have a smaller lawn with nothing in the middle, well, maybe a bird bath or sundial or something... and I would plant a tree in the border in front of that wall, but not a columnar (fastigiate) tree...maybe something like Malus 'Gorgeous', which is pretty small at an ultimate height of 4-8 metres max... though I vaguely think you may already have planted a tree up there...

The fastigiate idea was because Arbuthnot said she suffers from claustrophobia and was worried about having a wide tree. Agree, Sambucus wouldn't be ideal in the middle of the lawn. The idea was to have something to break up the view of the blank wall at the bottom of the garden or at least draw the eye away from it. Difficult to think of something suitable for that position - it would need to be fairly delicate if it wasn't tall and slim. I would possibly go for a crab on a dwarfing rootstock to grow to about 12 feet or so. Oops, just noticed you suggested a crab too.
And agree about a wider border with a smaller lawn but its a personal decision.

Thanks Bamboo and Stera. I keep getting all these ideas then scrapping them after receiving advice. I've now scrapped the idea of planting my Sambucus in the lawn so it will stay where it is - for now. I shan't make any other decision until the shed is up and in place and I can see how it looks.

I have, though, decided the magnolia has to go so, probably in the spring, I'll dig it up, pot it and see if anybody wants it for free. I only planted it because I was deliberately ignoring the fact that they get huge and because I needed to plant something there in the first place.

I thought I knew quite a lot about gardening but this web site has shown me that I don't know very much at all. I'm not well up on trees anyway though.

Well its your garden Arbuthnot - not sure its advice you're getting, more opinions really, in a free exchange of ideas. Maybe you can pick something out of that free exchange that you might like...

Yes, Bamboo, that's exactly what I'm doing - picking out ideas and jumbling them all up to see what comes out best. Right now there's nothing to be done until the shed is installed. I have definitely decided, though, to yank out the magnolia. I knew it was too big but went ahead anyway in my desperation to get potted things into the ground asap. I'm sure someone will want it.

Thank you all for your advice, opinions and comments. I'll let you know what transpires in due course.

Look forward to that - with more photos, of course!

Sending lots of sympathy and fellow feeling Arbuthnot. Its so hard trying to decide what to do for the best. But you can always change your mind - all you lose are a few growing seasons.

Lose a few growing seasons? Will I have many more left? :)

Ha ha, great minds, that was exactly my reaction, Arbuthnot;-)))

I'm creating a LIKE button, Bamboo, though it's not the standard variety.

This is a tough situation, screening. I have been trying to discreetly screen garbage pails, cars and even U hauls. We live in the Historic District of Farmington where these objects should be hidden. But the young don't care enough to follow the rules. I planted a tree in the middle of the lawn, and now it takes up the lawn with the roots and gives too much shade to the little garden that I tend. I could cut the tree down, but it is a beautiful Parrotia. It does disguise one house. The cars are still there. Best solution so far, take the eye and head to something else!

I'm sort of used to the brick wall now, Wells, but I would prefer to see the fields I used to see behind or the distant mountains to the front. Still, all things have to change and at least here in Buckingham we only have a 10/15 minute walk to a supermarket or a 25 minute walk through a lovely park to get to the main shopping area which though not large is big enough as Buckingham is a lovely little town. I'm hoping I shall still be able to do that in another ten years when I shall be 85 - if I'm not pushing up daisies, that is!

An update:
Yesterday (Saturday 21st Jan) a local nurseryman and gardening 'expert' came round to have a look at the garden at our request. The very first thing he said was that the shed was in the wrong place and so was the pergola! They should be swapped over. The latter was here when we moved in and we both decided quite quickly that, given our ages, moving the shed across the garden and digging up then relaying the pergola wasn't an option. He suggested paying somebody but we knocked that suggestion on the head too.
However, after that was much more practical and helpful, saying that by painting the shed dark brown it would dominate even more and suggested a shade of light green similar to the colour someone on here showed in a photo of a shed but I can't remember who it was. So I was wrong yet again! I always am as Him Indoors initially wanted to put the shed on the pergola and I vetoed it.
Anyway, to cut the story short, I have ordered an Amelanchier lamarkii (he remarked that it was a good choice so thank you Stera for your suggestion), but also a Liquidambar to go behind the shed. Then there are various evergreen honeysuckles that he suggested we plant along the fences. I looked them up afterwards and agree with what he said so I shall get those as well.

Quite a lot of money to pay out then but vastly cheaper than his initial suggestions. He's such a nice, jovial man and when it comes to plants knows his stuff, as he should, of course.

Sorry my "lose a couple of seasons" wasn't a popular suggestion. I'm in the same boat myself but try to carry on as if I was still in my 60s...it does get harder though!
Its good to hear you've sorted out which direction to go in now. You're going to have some lovely shopping to do!

Don't apologise to me, Stera, because your comment made me smile. Anyway, it's true.

I know exactly which plants and trees I want now so it's just a case of ordering then getting them delivered. In another couple of weeks we'll go back to the nursery and do the necessary. I also have a magnolia to dig up to give to a neighbour. It's only about 3 ft tall so hopefully it won't be difficult. I'll wait for some milder weather though, I think!

Good thinking. Glad its sorted (for now!)