A ground floor flat's garden, 8 by 6 metres, on the north side of the block. The wall keeps the sun off it for almost the whole day. A small paved patch by the balcony door holds two chairs. Everybody in a spot like this asks the same question: what will grow here at all?
Idea 1 of 38 × 6 m
8 m6 mN2 mPavingWall of the block
Plot boundary
Planting bed
Path
Plant at mature spread
Paving, existing
Idea shown in full
Easy-care green
A garden that asks little: tough shrubs and grasses in simple borders around open space.
A sketch of the idea. Check the measurements on site before building.
The answers in this example
8 × 6 m
The block just past the plot
Paving
Shade
Soil moisture: medium
Peace and quiet
Privacy
Style: natural
How much work: little
The plot is an example, made up to show the result. The plan, the plants and every figure on this page are what the Verdlo studio works out from these answers, the same as it will for you.
The plants, and why these
Every one of these:
Copes with winters here
Likes the sun this spot gets
Matches the soil moisture
Japanese forest grassHakonechloa macra× 16Flowers from August to September · Leaves worth having · Moves in the wind
FoxgloveDigitalis purpurea× 12Flowers from June to July · Native to Europe · Goes upwardsCaution: children, dogs and cats.
Lily of the valleyConvallaria majalis× 15Flowers in May · Native to Europe · ScentedCaution: children, dogs and cats.
Poisonous if eaten: Foxglove (children, dogs and cats) and Lily of the valley (children, dogs and cats).
Note: spreads by underground runners and can take over a bed; give it room or a barrier
Underground pipes and cables cannot be seen from above: before digging, find out where they run from your local utility locating service or the utility companies.
Watering plan
In a dry summer week this garden needs about 378 l of water, with the beds watered every 4 days.
What it may cost
from 1,627 to 4,015 PLN
Estimated cost of plants and materials in Poland, without labour, delivery, paving, walls or edging.
The other two ideas from the same answers
In the studio each of the three ideas comes with its full list of plants, watering and cost.
Flowers and bees
Deeper borders full of flowers the bees love, set among shrubs and grasses.
Plants
39
Beds
5
Materials
from 1,457 to 3,590 PLN
Clean lines and calm
A clipped hedge and repeated planting: a garden that looks tidy all year.
Plants
27
Beds
5
Materials
from 1,670 to 4,610 PLN
What this plan does not know
Your soil. The example assumes the soil from its answers, but it cannot know how acid or heavy yours is: a simple test kit from a garden centre tells you before you buy plants.
Pipes, cables and a septic tank under the ground. No plan can see them: mark them in the studio as ground to keep clear, and check where they run on your house's site plan before you dig.
Where your plot really ends. The sizes here are made up; yours come from the land register (type the parcel number into the studio), and only a surveyor marks them on the ground.
Plan a garden like this on your plot
The studio opens with these answers. Type in your plot's size and change whatever is different.
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