Advice or ideas on narrow garden landscaping, partitioning and dealing with a raised patio

Hi all,

My garden is a narrow rectangle. Around 5.5m wide and 25m long.

Immediately out of the back door of the house there is a patio which is full width (5.5m) and about 4-5m in length.

We go down some inset steps about 1.2m in height to the lawn area, which is about 3.5m wide by 9m long and bordered by 1m wide planting borders.

Beyond the lawn is an area of slabbing before 2 sheds, and at the very bottom of the garden a mature maple tree about 10m in height, and rear access gate.


The garden is very narrow, and the current lawn is a simple rectangle bordered by narrow plant borders.

The house and patio is at a higher elevation than the rest of the garden, giving a feeling of always 'looking down' on the garden and being exposed, rather than feeling enclosed and private. It feels like the patio is 'on' the garden, not 'in' the garden, if that makes sense.

There are some trees and plants in the borders but again the narrowness has prevented any significant height or canopy being obtained here. Even a moderately sized tree is going to fill half the width of the garden in canopy, and of course we would also potentially create problems putting even moderately sized trees near the boundary line.

There's nothing breaking up the length of the garden, so from the patio we can see right down to the end.

There is a new apartment block (3 stories) being constructed at the land behind our garden (about 35m away to the new building), and I'd like to try and obscure the view of this as much as possible.



I'd really appreciate some ideas on how to solve this. I need to do something with the patio, so its not 'looking down' on the rest of the garden and doesn't feel so exposed. Potentially this could mean some raised beds to try and partition the patio off from the garden, or actually excavating the patio downwards to the level of the rest of the garden, so its more 'inset'. That would require the steps down to be much closer to the house though.

And then the rest of the garden, needs to remove the long thin feel by creating some partitioning and height, and trying to block off the view to the new apartments at the rear.

I'll attach some photos.

Thanks for any suggestions.

Do a google search for long narrow stepped garden designs. Lots of info

jj4091 said:

Do a google search for long narrow stepped garden designs. Lots of info

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Thanks, I have looked at hundreds, maybe thousands of photos over the past couple of years.

Its hard to find one similar to what I have, with that stark raised patio. Most gardens that feature a stepped design have the patio inset, and the lawn/planting raised, which creates a sense of privacy. Its the opposite to what I have with the raised patio and cliff edge wall.

Also the vast majority of narrow gardens online seem to lose the lawn completely.

When I walk out the back door onto the patio, I feel so exposed, due to the raised nature of it, and the fact I can see over the fences (even though they are 6ft) to the neighbouring gardens. I want to feel more enclosed, more private.

I don't know where to start with it. Can I soften what is there already, or do I need to think about demolishing/excavating that patio, which is a much bigger job.

danlightbulb said:

excavating the patio downwards to the level of the rest of the garden, so its more 'inset'. That would require the steps down to be much closer to the house though.

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You can't "just" do that though, can you? I am guessing there is something either side of it, so you'd need to leave some of the structure intact to provide support to your neighbours.
You could widen out the steps into a stepped seating area.
You could leave the patio as-is and build some planters with bamboo in to screen things off.

Why Not Indeed said:

You can't "just" do that though, can you? I am guessing there is something either side of it, so you'd need to leave some of the structure intact to provide support to your neighbours.
You could widen out the steps into a stepped seating area.
You could leave the patio as-is and build some planters with bamboo in to screen things off.

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Yes that is true, there would have to be a retaining wall to stop the neighbours patio collapsing into ours. So removal of the whole thing is not feasible, I could only realistically reduce some of it, perhaps like the steps as you suggest.

I have considered planters along the edge of the patio wall, but this will make it look even higher when viewed from the garden. I don't know how I can hide this big imposing wall and make areas of privacy.

If I was to plant a 3m tree in the garden, I'm still only at eyeline with the top of it from the patio.

danlightbulb said:

I don't know how I can hide this big imposing wall and make areas of privacy.

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Two opposing requirements - it can't be substantial enough to screen something and also not really be visually imposing!
You could soften the appearance of the wall by growing something up or down it.

What parts of the garden do you actually use?

I would guess that if you sat in a chair on the lawn just below the patio, that would feel more enclosed than up on the patio.

Do you need more or less sun? A problem with screens that increase privacy is that they reduce sun.

To help create height and 'block the view' then the answer is obvious: plant trees.
Evergreens, if you relly want a year round look, but my personal preference is for a seasonal approach, using a staggered planting formation to create gaps for light to gather in amongst them. A row of silver birch, for instance, can be affective along a fence line in a narrow garden be mindful of the max height of a considered species for your plan and especially the expected width it will grow. Colour schemes can be included in a design so autumn becomes a light show ranging through a colour palette of red/orange yellow/gold that'll look spectacular when they mature.
Start off with a bare root plant for better growth and an even chance of avoiding disease in the tree - it's a cheaper option too if you intend on maintaining several trees over time.
Avoid conifers, i beg you, as they block out light and look bloody awful if not cut back every few years.

That’s a lovely space to work with! The patio and lawn already have nice proportions! You could make the upper patio feel more private by adding a couple of raised planters or tall pots with bamboo or ornamental grasses. It’ll give you that “in the garden” feel instead of “on top of it.”