The guys from Manor Landscapes have been trying to render the lower blockwork walls since before Christmas. First there was the snow and ice which stopped them from even attempting to render. Now there is the rain and general soggyness which is preventing the render going off (setting) and it's really slowing everything down. Wet weather also makes pointing the paving very difficult.
However, you can see how near completion we are from these photos. Here is a shot from the top of the garden showing the lovely, large terrace – one of the main requirements from the client. The terrace area has a completely different feel to the rest of the garden.
The small pergola is slmost complete. The chunky posts will soon have an open top and it will be clothed with climbing plants. The purpose of this pergola is to provide screening for outdoor cooking, it helps with privacy in this area which is overlooked by neighbouring houses.
The route up the garden is via a gently sloping self-binding gravel pathway. The sub-base is down for the path and the next step is to lay a membrane and compact the self-binding gravel on top. This will be done as one of the last tasks of the build. Steps lead up to the pathway from the lower terrace area.
Ideally all retaining walls would have been constructed from blockwork but in order to keep the costs down the upper terraces of the garden have been created using railway sleepers. Whilst these upper walls look a little dominating at the moment, once the planting goes in they will be softened. We have already planted the Cupressus on the end of the two horizontal borders separating the self-binding gravel path. No attempt will be made to cover entirely the retaining walls as they deliniate the shapes and structure of the garden and emphasise the horizontal elements.
Here are the other posts about this project which show the progress of the build from the start Introduction, Update 1, Update 2
If you'd like help designing your garden please visit my Web site for telephone contact details, or simply email me linsey@linseysgardens.com.
