What would you look for in a new garden?

[self-contained]

After spending my entire adult life renting (bar a few periods back at home with my parents) and having to only grow in containers, I am finally close to being able to buy my first home. Obviously the garden is going to be hugely important. Location, being in a good state of repair, and not needing a lot of work doing (ideally, nothing beyond basic cosmetics) are probably my biggest priorities for the house, but I think the garden comes next for me.

If you were buying now, with the garden in mind, what would you be looking for? I'm mostly looking for realistic suggestions rather than absolute dream gardens (though that would make a good thread too). I have a decent budget/well paid job and have a good deposit, but am buying on my own so can't afford as much as I could if I were buying with a partner on a similar salary. Think nice 3 - 4 bedroom semis in a decent area of Northern England, but not the very expensive bits near to the best state schools.

Things I'm already thinking (sorry, lots of poorly connected meandering thoughts here):

Size matters - not too big, not too small. But how to get the balance right for someone who works full time? I've seen some larger gardens on Rightmove that look ideal for having an orchard/wildflower area, so big doesn't necessarily mean more work. I do think it's really hard to get a sense of the size of the garden from estate agent photos.

Aspect - people often say south or south west facing is best, but if you are in a suburban area then it isn't only your own house creating shade in your garden and you may not get the full benefits. And if your garden is big enough, then there will be plenty of bits not shaded by the house anyway. Am I just misunderstanding aspect?

Privet hedges take a lot of maintenance. Could run the trimmings through a chipper to make mulch for the garden (once it's decomposed a bit), but I think I'd still prefer fences, walls or more useful traditional hedging like sloes, hazel, hawthorn etc.

Flatter is going to be easier, but harder to come by a completely flat garden in the area around the city built on seven hills (not Rome, the other one) than my current location. I suspect aspect is more important in a sloping garden than a flat one.

I'd rather have somewhere mostly laid to lawn or completely wild than somewhere the previous owners have created an amazing ornamental garden that I will feel guilty digging up for my fruit and veg. A patio/concrete/paved area for containers would be a plus.

If there's already a greenhouse (that will be staying), that would be amazing.

I hate decking. I really, really hate it. How easy is it to get rid of?

I need to remember that a lot of pictures I'm seeing now are in winter lighting and may not look as good for growing as they will when it really matters. On the other hand, gardens with trees aren't being shaded in the same way they will be in the Summer so may look deceptively well lit.

If a garden is a decent size but someone has poured concrete over half of it, how hard is that going to be to get rid of? What about paving?

[nickdub]

Plenty of space, plenty of light - not too dry or too wet - and a good deep soil - easy really :-)

Oh, and neighbours who are relatively easy going and don't mind feeding the cat if you are away for a week.

[Thelma Sanders]

In my experience, just don't buy a house with a big tree growing next door, or at the end!
Even if they don't cast a lot of shade onto your garden, the roots will take grow into yours, taking all the goodness and moisture.
Even if you cut through the roots, they very quickly grow back - so avoid trees/tall hedges in the first place IMO - unless the new garden is big enough to grow veg a long way away from them.
Remember the roots grow as wide (sometimes wider) than the branches
If you'll want to sit out on a back patio mainly in the evening you'd be better with a garden that faces SW to full West. Whereas one facing East would only be sunny in the morning.

Most other things can be changed with time/effort but these things cannot. Good luck.

[toomanytommytoes]

This website is useful to see how much sun various parts of a garden get - https://www.suncalc.org

[Guest]

As bizarre as it sounds a weedy overgrown mess because you can hack it back and make it your own. I am the same with houses I don't want a highly polished finished product and live someone elses life I want to make 'my' mark and live 'my' life. As long as the structure/ bones are there and sound however I know this isn't what many people seem to want and a lot of people struggle to see potential.

There is a lot to be said for small gardens (proper small gardens not the six slab postage stamp ones you get with new builds) because when you put a plant in it doesn't get lost, you can create atmosphere and environments so much easier and it is just easier to manipulate. I think you get more creative as well when you want to grow more.

[Vegi potager]

I have a flat suburban s-sw facing garden 25mx15m, but with 6' fences on 3 sides they can cast a lot of shade. add in my apple and pear tree and the tree in the eastern garden, shed... I end up with only about 1sqm that is in sun all day! my front garden doesn't get any sun at all.

So aspect, trees and border hedges/fences are important until you get a much bigger garden than mine.

When I moved in there was a concrete patio and footpath. Breaking it up to get it taken away was heavy work as it was between 4-12" thick in places. I still have 5m of path left as I gave up. There was also only aforesaid fruit trees and not much else so I pretty much had a blank canvas.

Decking, probably easier to take up and re-purpose into raised beds if you are so inclined? Ask if the current owners put it in and what is hidden underneath? Just my luck there would be another Blinking concrete patio!

Look around... where would you put your shed/GH/ chicken run etc? is there already suitable hard standing for it?

just brainstorming here...

[bikermike]

The biggest you can get...

Any problems with trees/neighbours etc are reduced by the bigger the garden.

Obviously, this is not an easy criterion to balance with everything else needed in life.

After size, I'd say sunlight and drainage - a "south-facing" garden shaded at all times is less attractive to me than a north-facing garden with lots of sunlight, and a garden that's a swamp all year will be a challenge too.

The other issue is neighbours (formal amd informal) - a garden looking over a park may seem great, until you end up with litter and noise issues.

[veggiechicken]

I'd look for a garden that felt right! Sounds daft but, if it doesn't appeal to you the instant you walk in, it may never do so - however much tweaking you do to it.
Most things can be changed but you can't change the location. aspect of the property. Anything within your boundary can be adjusted, but the neighbour's properties cannot. If they have tall trees, high walls that block sunlight, you'd be stuck with them. However, they also give privacy, shelter, protection....

Concrete slabs don't have to be broken up - all my GHs are on concrete floors deliberately as I find it easier to manage than on soil. Sheds also would have a ready made base.

Big isn't always beautiful. If you don[t have the time to care for a large garden, its best to have a smaller one. If you've ever had an allotment you'll have a feel for how much you can manage.

[rary]

As has been said a house and garden that feels right, when I bought my house the garden was a bit wild but it felt right for me the back garden was large and with no houses behind it it was private, its still a fair size but I have built an extension and conservatory on it, and I still have my privacy, my son has a newer larger house but would move into mine like a shot, due to the larger garden and that I get the sun, when it's out

[SarrissUK]

I would definitely look for a bigger garden, if I was to sell up. I bought the house I'm in when I wasn't gardening so much so the tiny garden didn't matter so much then. It does now, but my two allotment plots have made up for that somewhat.

I'd look for a quirky house that is a little different. For example, there's a house on the grounds of the crematorium next to the allotments. It has its own garden and has been an office building for years. I'd love to buy that and convert it back to a proper house - it looks lovely from the outside!

The outside of the house is important, moreso than the inside (that can fairly easily be changed). Then it's the garden I look at, and size is definitely important.

Not being overlooked is important to me now. Right now so many properties can see into my garden and I really don't like it.

Really, I think I should live on a farm lol

[Babru]

I imagine that aspect is more important for those of us in the north of the country. I often see and read people in the south talking about putting things in to get shade, which may be important in the south east, but less so in northern parts. On the rare occasions when it's too warm (eg in 2018) I put a brolly up.

I have had two north facing back gardens. The first sloped away from the house and was in pretty deep shade all year. Totally useless really. We only lasted two years there.

Next garden was north west facing. We viewed in June and could see it got sun. However - from the end of September to the end of April it got no sun at all. The house was two storeys and the low winter sun never made it over the rooftop. My friend recently bought a house with a north facing garden, it is a detached bungalow and gets winter sun at the bottom and side. If you are viewing in winter or early spring you should be able to judge how much light you will get, otherwise slope and building height are things to consider.

We moved again two years ago and took a compass to check aspect when we were viewing. Our new house has a south facing garden. It is the business! I can grow anything, I can put my washing out all year round, I can sit out with a cup of tea in February if we get a bit of sun (not so much the February we just had!) My greenhouse gets sun all year so I can overwinter things with some success. It is a big garden, so I have decided not to have a lawn, just beds (it was almost fully paved when we bought, so I'm not ripping the lawn up, just lifting paving for beds). I like lawns, but am trying to future proof. Also I decided I'd rather spend the time pottering with my plants than cutting the grass.

My husband says we bought a garden with a house attached, rather than a house with a garden.... I do love it, having been faced with dank winter darkness in my two previous gardens.