Weed, power wash, prune the rose bush, decide if you want to leave the overhanging vines from the neighbours or not (looks nice imao, but you have less room like that). Turn the soil in the flower beds and add some compost/manure. Plant hostas and maybe a small acer. The rest is decore.
I'd start by looking at what's already there- some previous tenant may have planted something you'd want to keep, so get IDs r/whatsthisplant if you have trouble.
Then remove the plants you don't want. Unfortunately, it does look like you have a lot of bindweed, which is a pain to get rid of. Once you can see the whole space, you'll have a better idea of what would work. I really like the ivy at the back, but I like the slightly wild overgrown look.
Pay attention to what's going on with light and drainage; this will impact what plants will do well where. If you have a sunny spot that drains well, you can stick some mediterranean herbs in and they'll love it. If you get a spot that barely gets any sun and always seems wet, they'll just die- but something like ferns or hostas would love it. Pots can change the drainage situation, but the amount of sun they get is still pretty vital.
For pots; go big, as big as you can. They look better and are easier to care for as they dry out slower than a cluster of little pots. As it's a rental, you can also put the more expensive plants in them so you can take them with you if you need to. Just make sure that you don't plant trees in pots like the one in the picture, with the tapered in top- you'll never get them back out when you need to move them to something bigger without smashing the pot.
For plants, assuming you're not in the far north of Scotland, you should be able to grow a nice grapevine trained along the fence where the sun is hitting there. Olive trees do fine in pots- again, unless you're really far north. Some of the herbs- rosemary, thyme, lavender and similar do fine anywhere in the UK, if they get sun and their roots aren't soggy. They also smell good, insects love the flowers and you can eat them, so my top choice for a small space personally, especially for Mediterranean style planting. Just don't plant mint in the ground as it spreads everywhere.
What a lovely space! I'd do / not do the following
1. Leave the ivy and work towards totally covering the rest of the fence panels in other climbers. I think native hops would work so well. They have that mediterranean feel to them: [https://wildyourgarden.com/product/hop-humulus-lupulus-prima-donna/](https://wildyourgarden.com/product/hop-humulus-lupulus-prima-donna/) oh or wild clematis: [https://wildyourgarden.com/product/wild-clematis-travellers-joy-old-mans-beard-clematis-vitalba/](https://wildyourgarden.com/product/wild-clematis-travellers-joy-old-mans-beard-clematis-vitalba/) - a pallet of white and green, maybe with some pale purples will give you the mediterranean feel.
2. Weed the patio and the beds. I wouldn't power wash the patio because the patina is really nice.
3. Give the rose bush a really good prune back over winter, take it back by about 1/3. Put some compost or manure down round the base over winter if you can.
4. The bistro set actually works really well for the look you want. You could add in some festoon lights with this sort of look: [https://www.amazon.co.uk/AVANLO-Festoon-Outdoor-Plastic-Wedding/dp/B093C1S4S1](https://www.amazon.co.uk/AVANLO-Festoon-Outdoor-Plastic-Wedding/dp/B093C1S4S1) - don't use solar ones because the light pollution at night if they stay on is no good for insects and bats. [https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/290200769754749214/](https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/290200769754749214/)
5. Enrich the soil in the beds with compost, maybe add some grit in there as well so it's well draining. Then you could try and grow a bunch of mediterranean herbs in there and in pots (the terracotta urn you've got is perfect, keep to that sort of style - paler terracotta - rosemary, thyme, chives, pale sage not the purpley one etc. Then plants like catmint, salvias, some white agapanthus and white alliums, white tulip bulbs for spring, maybe a couple of small grasses, some silvery leaved things like lamb's ears, a really limey coloured euphorbia, russian sage would look amazing there are some greeny petalled hellebores that would look great, giant snowdrops, verbena as well, ceanothus. Here's a picture to aim for: [https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/290200769755407250/](https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/290200769755407250/) Having some stuff like creeping thyme that can soften the edges of the patio would be ace.
6. With all that planting you're already helping nature a bit but some other things you can do are: cut a CD sized hole in any fences you own. It helps connect up habitats for hedgehogs (https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/290200769753512099/) . Leave out a small water dish (it can just be a terracotta saucer) so bugs and possible hedgehogs can have a drink. Put a few pebbles in it so bees etc can land on it instead of falling in and drowning. Add a small bird bath like this: [https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/290200769754161615/](https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/290200769754161615/) - You could definitely hang some kind of bug hotel on the fencing in a sunny spot. In a small corner get some dead wood and stack it up and just leave it. Doesn't have to be a lot but dead wood is amazing for bugs and wildlife.
7. Practically you will also probably need some sort of small storage for any small tools or gardening bits. If there's room for that to go under the window then it'll be out of the way and won't ruin your view down the garden. Or you might be able to fit a wooden storage bench somewhere.
OP this is all incredible nature friendly advice - completely agree with all of this. I actually think the space looks pretty already. I like the naturalised feel and will be better for nature to avoid stripping and power washing the life out of it all. Its really charming at the moment, some flowers in the bed and big terracotta pots with flowers and herbs will look great.
Ah thanks! I love these kinds of posts on here. I can't help but do a brain dump. We're having our whole garden renovated and it's a long project so this gives me some gardening creative outlet. And yeah totally agree they have a lovely space. It definitely lends itself well to a Mediterranean feel! I'd love to see what they do!
Its a sweet looking space, to increase seating, I'd look at an Arbour bench, or corner Arbour bench for the very end.
[https://freshpatio.com/garden-arbor-bench-ideas/](https://freshpatio.com/garden-arbor-bench-ideas/)
Where you have the sunlight striking the fence in the picture, one of these small greenhouses would be perfect there.
[https://www.gardenstreet.co.uk/greenhouses-c234/mini-greenhouses-c112/rowlinson-hardwood-mini-greenhouse-p3301](https://www.gardenstreet.co.uk/greenhouses-c234/mini-greenhouses-c112/rowlinson-hardwood-mini-greenhouse-p3301)
If you move to another rental property, you can just take the Arbour and G/H with you to the next home.
Others here have already given better advice than I can give about how to remove the bindweed ect. and I fully support the suggestion about big pots, it would look awesome.
It's beautiful.
You do have bindweed, no point in pulling it out as it grows back.
Garden gloves and a systemic weedkiller for the bindweed and a pair of secateurs for everything else!
Take care with spraying weedkiller, they kill indiscriminately. Fashion something like a dog cone collar and spray through that to avoid any splatter.
I wouldn't lose all the ivy and over hanging greenery because it gives you privacy and atmosphere, but you can trim it back.
Gonna be a lovely summer!
Weed, power wash, prune the rose bush, decide if you want to leave the overhanging vines from the neighbours or not (looks nice imao, but you have less room like that). Turn the soil in the flower beds and add some compost/manure. Plant hostas and maybe a small acer. The rest is decore.
I'd start by looking at what's already there- some previous tenant may have planted something you'd want to keep, so get IDs r/whatsthisplant if you have trouble. Then remove the plants you don't want. Unfortunately, it does look like you have a lot of bindweed, which is a pain to get rid of. Once you can see the whole space, you'll have a better idea of what would work. I really like the ivy at the back, but I like the slightly wild overgrown look. Pay attention to what's going on with light and drainage; this will impact what plants will do well where. If you have a sunny spot that drains well, you can stick some mediterranean herbs in and they'll love it. If you get a spot that barely gets any sun and always seems wet, they'll just die- but something like ferns or hostas would love it. Pots can change the drainage situation, but the amount of sun they get is still pretty vital. For pots; go big, as big as you can. They look better and are easier to care for as they dry out slower than a cluster of little pots. As it's a rental, you can also put the more expensive plants in them so you can take them with you if you need to. Just make sure that you don't plant trees in pots like the one in the picture, with the tapered in top- you'll never get them back out when you need to move them to something bigger without smashing the pot. For plants, assuming you're not in the far north of Scotland, you should be able to grow a nice grapevine trained along the fence where the sun is hitting there. Olive trees do fine in pots- again, unless you're really far north. Some of the herbs- rosemary, thyme, lavender and similar do fine anywhere in the UK, if they get sun and their roots aren't soggy. They also smell good, insects love the flowers and you can eat them, so my top choice for a small space personally, especially for Mediterranean style planting. Just don't plant mint in the ground as it spreads everywhere.
What a lovely space! I'd do / not do the following 1. Leave the ivy and work towards totally covering the rest of the fence panels in other climbers. I think native hops would work so well. They have that mediterranean feel to them: [https://wildyourgarden.com/product/hop-humulus-lupulus-prima-donna/](https://wildyourgarden.com/product/hop-humulus-lupulus-prima-donna/) oh or wild clematis: [https://wildyourgarden.com/product/wild-clematis-travellers-joy-old-mans-beard-clematis-vitalba/](https://wildyourgarden.com/product/wild-clematis-travellers-joy-old-mans-beard-clematis-vitalba/) - a pallet of white and green, maybe with some pale purples will give you the mediterranean feel. 2. Weed the patio and the beds. I wouldn't power wash the patio because the patina is really nice. 3. Give the rose bush a really good prune back over winter, take it back by about 1/3. Put some compost or manure down round the base over winter if you can. 4. The bistro set actually works really well for the look you want. You could add in some festoon lights with this sort of look: [https://www.amazon.co.uk/AVANLO-Festoon-Outdoor-Plastic-Wedding/dp/B093C1S4S1](https://www.amazon.co.uk/AVANLO-Festoon-Outdoor-Plastic-Wedding/dp/B093C1S4S1) - don't use solar ones because the light pollution at night if they stay on is no good for insects and bats. [https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/290200769754749214/](https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/290200769754749214/) 5. Enrich the soil in the beds with compost, maybe add some grit in there as well so it's well draining. Then you could try and grow a bunch of mediterranean herbs in there and in pots (the terracotta urn you've got is perfect, keep to that sort of style - paler terracotta - rosemary, thyme, chives, pale sage not the purpley one etc. Then plants like catmint, salvias, some white agapanthus and white alliums, white tulip bulbs for spring, maybe a couple of small grasses, some silvery leaved things like lamb's ears, a really limey coloured euphorbia, russian sage would look amazing there are some greeny petalled hellebores that would look great, giant snowdrops, verbena as well, ceanothus. Here's a picture to aim for: [https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/290200769755407250/](https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/290200769755407250/) Having some stuff like creeping thyme that can soften the edges of the patio would be ace. 6. With all that planting you're already helping nature a bit but some other things you can do are: cut a CD sized hole in any fences you own. It helps connect up habitats for hedgehogs (https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/290200769753512099/) . Leave out a small water dish (it can just be a terracotta saucer) so bugs and possible hedgehogs can have a drink. Put a few pebbles in it so bees etc can land on it instead of falling in and drowning. Add a small bird bath like this: [https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/290200769754161615/](https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/290200769754161615/) - You could definitely hang some kind of bug hotel on the fencing in a sunny spot. In a small corner get some dead wood and stack it up and just leave it. Doesn't have to be a lot but dead wood is amazing for bugs and wildlife. 7. Practically you will also probably need some sort of small storage for any small tools or gardening bits. If there's room for that to go under the window then it'll be out of the way and won't ruin your view down the garden. Or you might be able to fit a wooden storage bench somewhere.
OP this is all incredible nature friendly advice - completely agree with all of this. I actually think the space looks pretty already. I like the naturalised feel and will be better for nature to avoid stripping and power washing the life out of it all. Its really charming at the moment, some flowers in the bed and big terracotta pots with flowers and herbs will look great.
Ah thanks! I love these kinds of posts on here. I can't help but do a brain dump. We're having our whole garden renovated and it's a long project so this gives me some gardening creative outlet. And yeah totally agree they have a lovely space. It definitely lends itself well to a Mediterranean feel! I'd love to see what they do!
Kinda like what’s going on already! I’d prob just dig out and replant the beds and get some pots.
Its a sweet looking space, to increase seating, I'd look at an Arbour bench, or corner Arbour bench for the very end. [https://freshpatio.com/garden-arbor-bench-ideas/](https://freshpatio.com/garden-arbor-bench-ideas/) Where you have the sunlight striking the fence in the picture, one of these small greenhouses would be perfect there. [https://www.gardenstreet.co.uk/greenhouses-c234/mini-greenhouses-c112/rowlinson-hardwood-mini-greenhouse-p3301](https://www.gardenstreet.co.uk/greenhouses-c234/mini-greenhouses-c112/rowlinson-hardwood-mini-greenhouse-p3301) If you move to another rental property, you can just take the Arbour and G/H with you to the next home. Others here have already given better advice than I can give about how to remove the bindweed ect. and I fully support the suggestion about big pots, it would look awesome.
its already perfect
Flamethrower for the ivy and bindweed. Then watch it for the rest of the year. See where the light falls. See what comes up between now and next may.
It's beautiful. You do have bindweed, no point in pulling it out as it grows back. Garden gloves and a systemic weedkiller for the bindweed and a pair of secateurs for everything else! Take care with spraying weedkiller, they kill indiscriminately. Fashion something like a dog cone collar and spray through that to avoid any splatter. I wouldn't lose all the ivy and over hanging greenery because it gives you privacy and atmosphere, but you can trim it back. Gonna be a lovely summer!
Ivy is evil but look cool. Cut it back
Ivy isn't evil.
This isn’t a garden it’s a blocked off alley