Does anyone know anything about gardening?

fair enough, whatever works for you.

The clematis we are supporting are those that are pruned heavily each spring and then grow back up the trellis so firstly they never get too heavy and secondly the trellis gets cleared and a chance to repair/re-secure it every year if need be.

@ColinTheBald

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I would listen to whatever Colin says first as he does this shit for a living but in my more limited experience...

I would never use wooden fence posts. They rot very quickly. Yes you can treat and protect them but even if they last 15 years that comes around much faster than you think.

You then have the joy of digging out not only the remains of the fence post but the postcrete/concrete that was around the base (I had to do this in my garden).

Far more effective is to go for concrete fence posts that will last for a lifetime and not have to be redone.

I would listen to whatever Colin says first as he does this shit for a living

I certainly am doing, and I really appreciate the benefit of his experience.

For the garden fence, concrete posts have been vetoed from a "how it looks from our own garden" perspective. So going with wooden posts; pressure treated, 8ft long, 4"x4" sunk in 2ft with post savers to help against ground rot and a few coats of wood preserver. Not permanent, obviously. But we don't know if we'll be here in 15 years' time and Hopefully the above precautions will mean it lasts longer than the untreated stakes of the fence you can see collapsed in one of the above photos. That is about 30 years old. Once I sort the retaining wall, the ground will (hopefully) be more stable and because the area is fairly sheltered it won't be exposed to gales or the like. It doesn't really even need to be secure as there are many other gardens with little to no barrier between them and the park except for the 8-10ft wide moat/open culvert, so the chances of people just coming across the gardens makes a secure back fence pointless. It will be more of a fairly robust privacy screen for when people are walking past.

For the retaining wall, I totally accept that what Colin outlines would be the ideal solution (thanks again for taking the time to demonstrate and estimate materials/cost). But my problem is I don't really have any budget for garden works, it is all going on the house (I'm shredding the mountains of cleared shit and drip feeding it through the Croydon garden waste collection to save the cost of someone just taking it all away at once, which I would MUCH prefer to do). I imagine the tricky access might also push up the labour costs if I were to bring someone in. And if I were to try and do it myself, it would absolutely look like a dog's dinner from the park side.

Would the posts and boards be less than useless, given it's not much more than £200 for materials? Again, if I were to show pictures of how it looked before I started clearing or what others nearby have done, it absolutely can't be the bare minimum solution.

thanks - it would roughly be for an area of 6mx4m. garden is accessed via four steps from a back lane... not sure whether a digger could be brought in via ramp maybe. I've got a gardener coming to do the garden already to a spec we'd discussed, so I'll ask him how much he thinks it'd be to add this to the works. just wanted a rough feeler to see if we're talking 1/1.5k or 5-7k.

we might actually go down this route - good idea. depending on cost, I guess.

They look nice but not what I’m looking for. I want something to blend Into the fence. I might just do some chicken wire then paint over it.

Is there a weed and feed that I can put on new grass? Over seeded grass that is

I think if you were to go with the gravel board hack, I'd be tempted to find ones which were half length if possible and double up on the number of posts but basically just do whatever Colin says.
If you have to redo it you'll be cursing yourself.

Top the wall and skin it with a thin layer of cement?

I've never rendered anything in my life. I don't fancy my chances of making it look good while standing on the other side leaning over the top.

Halving the space between posts is not a bad shout. Just means three extra posts (and holes) but I was worried about the 6ft span of the gravel board.

The posts and concrete boards wouldn't be less than useless, they are a much better bet than the normal fix using sleepers mounted on timber posts. I have seen many horrors used as retaining walls, 1" planks and paving slabs on end are amongst my favourites. There is a special place in my heart for chicken wire on bamboo stakes.

The half length concrete boards with concrete posts are a good idea, the biggest problem is the leverage of the built up ground against the posts. Double the posts would help by, well, it isn't difficult to work out how much. However, the gravel boards are reinforced, so you will need an angle grinder with a stone blade and a metal blade to cut them down.

Thanks again for the input. I had read a few random posts from other forums taking about paving slabs on end. Seeing as I've broken those before just by standing on them, that was out. One of the collapsed fences here is chicken wire and (now) rotten battens. Just pulling that out with the tangled ivy means that couldn't be further from an option.

Current thinking is now full length boards but with posts at half spacing (7 instead of 4) with the boards on the backfilled side of the posts instead of slotted into channels.

Good call, better than cutting the boards. If you're not putting panels between the posts, why not cut the extra posts down and get two for the price of one? Whatever, be generous with the concrete around the posts.

I hate suggesting the wrong fix, but this isn't a terrible fix for someone with limited budget and bricklaying skills.

I've never rendered anything in my life.

Could you offset the retaining wall by 20cm and then fix old wooden boards? They'll weather and eventually things will grow on them. You could even drill holes prepact with soil and seeds.

However, my 2p is to sacrifice 4-5' of garden, put up a fence and do it once all the other works have died down and you have spare budget.

Question: what is the actual problem you are trying to solve?

How to stop your daughter falling in the river in a visually non-offensive manner, right?

This isn't a 3m² garden in Islington you need to eek every bit of space possible out of.

I'd want to sink the posts 2ft and have at least 2ft above ground, so would need 8ft posts. Which then start to lose their own logistical problems with delivery, getting them round the back of my house etc before I cut them down. The difference in price between 7 X 5' posts and 4 X 8' posts is an ok compromise for the convenience of not having to cut.

I hate suggesting the wrong fix

Fully appreciate that this is not what you would recommend or do.

be generous with the concrete around the posts.

I will. But they'll also be butting up against the concrete wall of the culvert on one side so they'd have to be levered up and out of the ground by the backfill rather than just being sink into soil all around.

The problems are a few fold.

One is the whole toddler cliff diving conundrum.

There are also some plants/shrubbery items/ivy type deals that need to be removed as they are currently sliding into the brook and have also grown over the brook and are hanging over the railings into the park. They need to go, which will destabilise the ground further.

Losing those plants, creates a massive gap so I then need to reclaim some privacy.

I'll already be giving up two or three feet with where the fence will go (the tiny violins are deafening). Anymore and it will encroach on shed space, compost, random wildening of the end of the garden etc etc.

Even if I did just put up a fence further in and leave the retaining wall for later, I reckon quite a bit of earth would make its way into the brook before it got resolved. This could then compromise my neighbours fence. So I'd rather do something now that is good enough, but not janky.

This isn't a 3m² garden in Islington you need to eek every bit of space possible out of.

True. But the previous owners took that to the extreme and when they left that's about all there was that was useable. I'm hugely privileged to have this place, any wastage would feel criminal if I could avoid it.

Fair enough.

The concrete board solution does seem like a good halfway house.

Plus if you currently have the time and ability to do the work then it's best to crack on.

Looking to get our 10 x 20 ft front south facing garden tarted up a bit. Currently a mix of stones and hedges in various states of slow death / neglect with a very sad concrete path up to the porch.

Was thinking of getting a designer in but they are all too busy and suspect it's too small for them to want to bother.

So, will design it ourselves, get a groundworks contractor in to do the heavy lifting.

Is there any recommended reading on it that will help us sidestep the inevitable pitfalls?

Plus if you currently have the time and ability to do the work

That's the other problem. Currently only really have weekends when mini_com is napping. Lest I get guilt tripped into feeling like a negligent father. A mate came over to help me start clearing the overhang. I was so far removed from socialising, it was very difficult to actually communicate what I want him to do.

Would be interested in this too.

We have a fucker of a slope to boot.

Can she not play in the garden while you work*? Or is it not safe enough there yet?

What I used to struggle with was fitting things in without then leaving my OH to pick up the childcare, or leaving them alone in the evenings. Seem to get guilt from both sides. A 2nd child really helps with this as all your free time is removed, so you just have to watch things fall apart while your TDL grows.

I feel for you though. That retraining wall will be hard to segment into lots of short jobs like you can do with painting or just clearing the garden.

*obviously not the mixing concrete bit

so you just have to watch things fall apart while your TDL grows

dis is tru

Basically taking holiday from work to do housework.