I realise that you don't want to continue with the grass but I would suggest that a grassed garden will, in the long run, need less maintenance than raised beds and ponds. Having said, then terracing your sloping garden would produce your raised beds and would be the way to go. Beds with landscaping fabric covered with bark chips, in which you can plant shrubs that attract bees and butterflies will look after themselves.

Unless you are going to pay a landscape gardener to design this new version of the garden for you I don't see any way it could happen! If your husband isn't fit to keep the grass cut he certainly isn't going to be up for a lot of heavy digging, added to which the maintenance once the new garden is in place will be high and you would undoubtedly need to pay for. Jimmy's suggestion could work but, again, you'd need someone doing the heavy work. Bulba and I created a garden from what was basically all grass a good few years ago and it looked great. Unfortunately as we have both aged and can't put he maintenance work in in the same way it is starting to fall into disarray. Whatever you do think long and hard before you do it, cheapest option might simply be to get a jobbing gardener to come in and keep the grass cut.

However if you really want a pond think abut buying one of those kits for a raised one. They work less well as wildlife ponds because there's no access for frogs and newts, but you could have fish etc, a lily and somewhere for birds to perch to bathe. A paved area round it would look nice and not need much upkeep - you would just need help leveling the area. You didnd't say how big the area is or how steep the slope is - perhaps a photo would be useful if you could add one?

If one or both you are in your 70's the time for those ambitious projects has passed as the others have said. Also in a few years you might want to sell your home and a personally "customized" garden will be detrimental to its sale as opposed to a nice clean green lawn which will always be an enhancement in the eyes of most buyers, especially the younger ones.

Agree Loosestrife!

Thank you to all who replied to my question. Yes we may not be able to maintain raised beds and a pond in the future but until that time comes we give it a go.

A lot of work here to transform the sloping garden to what you want it to be, but it's doable. You'll have to build retaining walls for the raised beds, fish pond & terracing. You also have to redirect water runoff. Flooding!

I have found an huge difference in energy between 70 and 77. Don't start anything you'll regret. Two years ago I was digging new beds. Now it takes me all my time to keep up with the weeding...

That's very true Stera. Weeding is very tedious especially with tender seedlings like carrots. When you pull up one weed, three carrot seedlings come with it and they don't transplant well.

Well said Stera. This was just what I wanted to say whilst being diplomatic. Couldn't have put it better!

Good luck! It is your garden so you can do what you like but age catches up with us all and when it does you discover you can't do things you did without thinking just a few years previously. Do post pic. when all the work is done.

Didn't enjoy admitting it...