Hi Andy, sounds like we're in the same tiny boat here. Have a look at my gallery, might give you a few ideas?

Jen

Hi Andy. Lots of good advice here. I strongly advise forming some form of visual barrier part way down so that you can't see all of the garden from the house. This will entice you and your visitors to go on an "adventure" to see the garden not visible from the house (even if it is vegies). Use trellis (all sorts of interesting styles available or make your own), planting beds (tall perennials and/or shrubs), a pergola, raised beds, trees, the list goes on. Not necessarily a visually impenetrable barrier but enough to give a bit of mystery.

Try to use strong diagonal lines e.g. paths, beds. These will make the plot appear wider and conseqently shorter.

Good luck -- go for it !!

This really is an amazing site. I really appreciate all the advice you lot. Thanks for the encouragement. It's certainly all food for thought.

Andy

Andy

Sunnylou and Louise have both given some great ideas. Fortunately your problem is a common one and there are lots of resources online -- Google for "Long thin garden design" and you'll find lots of ideas! I know it seems counterintuitive, but breaking the garden up into a series of areas that you'd have to walk through, one after the other, does make the whole thing feel bigger. Anything you can do to stop yourself from seeing the full extent of the garden at a single glance will create mystery.

Some pages to consider - uktv.co.uk/home/item/aid/616646 www.housetohome.co.uk/articles/advice/Thin_plot_garden_design_120638.html?subslug=/articles/advice/planning - great designs too from Sunnylou above. Good luck!

Sheila Averbuch -- Stopwatch Gardener

I would seriously think about what you want out of your garden ..seating ..eating ..growing ..storing ...do you want to attract wildlife ..do you want it to be low maintenance or something to work on a lot ..do like annualls ..bedding flowers ..or are you someone that likes perrenials that come up every year and just need maintaining ...

Will you be putting a shed in ..and will you want something like a washing line or one of those roundy roundy things ..

I to have a long thin garden ..and enjoy being able to see to the end ..but maybe you would like to plant shrubs in beds part way down ..so that you take a trip to the end of the garden ..

Take your time in making a decision ..also ..it looks as if you have some nice shrubs & a tree down the end ..that you may want to keep ..when the weather warms up ..it will all look a lot different when green  colourfull ...see what you think then ...you may see it in a different light ..

My suggestion would be to take up the borders down each side and put in island beds running across the width (but not all the way across. You could then wind your path round the beds to give you a zig-zag path. Move the composter down near the garage and make your lawn near the house the full width of the garden. The island beds should make the section nearer the house look more of a square giving the impression of width. I would also plant climbers that do not stick out too far into the garden to help draw the focus away from the length toward the edges.

My first house had a very narrow garden (less than 12ft wide) and was very short too, unfortunately I had to cater for children so never got to try these ideas out and nor do I have any photos.

Hope this is of some help. Good luck!

 I have  the same size garden as  you can see my  photos in my gallery  

Saw somehere that circles of lawn, in decreasing size, from back to front, will make narrow plot seem wider. Will also encourage ET to pay a visit?