The Garden in July

My landscaper is running behind due to the hot weather, so my gardening work has been put back to the middle of August. It means that I now have more time to decide on the shape of the flower beds. The is a Very Good Thing as I only have a vague idea of what I want, and of course, I keep changing my mind.

This is how the left hand side of the garden, looking out from the conservatory, currently looks ...

As well as raising the levels and getting the flower beds in a suitable condition for the flowers and shrubs I plan to grow, I also want the garden to be as easy to maintain in the future as possible. This means that the lawns are going. At the very least there will be a continuing need to keep them mowed and looking tidy, and that's not something I can manage myself. I don't need a large grassed area to be able to sit outside as I have the patio for that, and I no longer find it easy to walk on grass anyway so as far as I'm concerned a lawn is to be avoided. The location of my garden means that I still have sight of plenty of greenery in the trees and field on the other side of the stream.

I do like the circular shape of the current lawn and am thinking of re-creating this circular shape with pathways to serve as the dividers between the flower beds. I just have to decide on the actual shapes of the various flower beds. One idea is to make the two side beds slightly wider and then divide the centre circle with a curved path, ending up with something like the yin and yang symbol or two semi circles in the middle of the garden.

The photo below shows the right hand side of the garden and I'm really not sure what to do with this area. The gravel and lawn will both be removed and I will want a pathway through the area, but am not sure where. I'd like to follow the circular/curved theme again but I haven't yet come up with any practical ideas. I'm relying on the landscaper to put his creative head on and come up with some amazing ideas for me!

I don't plan to grow anything in pots which M, my gardener, is happy about but she is not at all happy that I will be removing the lawns. I hope she gets used to the idea quickly as I really don't want to lose her ... watch this space!