How to design a sloping garden - Part 1 - Retaining Walls

When designing a sloping garden one of the hardest tasks is how to divide the space into functional areas so that the whole garden can be used without interfering with the privacy of neighbours or creating an ugly outlook from the house.

Most people look at a sloping garden as a problem rather than a wonderful opportunity to make a beautiful garden.  The outcome of this is usually a huge retaining wall enclosing or supporting a patio near the house with the rest of the garden not used because it is unsafe and inaccessible.  However, with a little careful planning a sloping garden can be functional and stunning.

Contemporary Sloping Garden Design Gerrards Cross, Buckinghamshire

The main issue when designing a sloping garden is cost.  To create useable, safe spaces in a steep garden requires the construction of retaining walls which are expensive.  However, investing in the structure of a sloping garden is like investing in the structure of any other part of a property – it adds value, gives pleasure and extends the living space.

It is always better to design a sloping garden using several lower retaining walls rather than fewer very high walls.  It is usually false economy to construct a single, high retaining wall.  It may seem like less work and therefore a cheaper option, but a high retaining wall needs large foundations in order to be structurally sound and usually the services of s structural engineer, whereas several smaller walls will need shallower foundations and will help to stabilise the garden.  

Large Sloping Garden Design, Kenley, Surrey

Retaining walls are usually constructed from concrete blocks which are either rendered (plastered) and painted, or faced (clad) with another material such as brick, stone, flint, slate, steel, mosaic sheets – there are many other options. 

Stone filled wire cages called gabions are also very useful for creating retaining walls, their advantage is that they do not need a concrete foundation which generally makes them cheaper to build.  Gabion cages are stitched together to make walls and then filled with stone such as Limestone walling, flint, cobbles, stacked paving slabs, stacked granite setts – again, there are many different options.

Contemporary Sloping Garden Design, Reading Berkshire

Railway sleepers are a useful cheap option for creating retaining walls in sloping gardens.  The problem is that they do not last as long and are not as stable as blockwork or gabions.

An essential task when creating a garden on a steep slope is to plan where the walls will go, how high they need to be and what materials they will be constructed from.  A garden design plan will show how the garden will look once it is complete and allow landscape contractors to submit accurate quotations for carrying out the work.  The plan should also allow the garden to be constructed in phases if budget is tight.

3-D visual for a sloping garden design in Basingstoke, Hampshire

If you would like help planning your garden please get in touch through my Web site . I specialise in sloping garden design and would love to help.

Check out my previous post on designing a sloping garden here . 

Garden Design Plans - The Master Plan

There are many different phases in the garden design process.  Each part of the process usually results in the production of one or more plans.  One of the most exciting phases is the design concept phase out of which comes the master plan.  This is the first of many plans that help to construct successfully a new garden. 

 Master Plan - Sloping Front Garden Design

The master plan is the top level garden design plan, it is the proposed new layout for the garden.  The master plan is a discussion document that allows the designer to convey their ideas and vision for the new garden to the client.  The master plan is usually presented to the client with additional visuals showing part of all of the garden in 3-D.  These supporting visuals help clients understand how the finished garden will look and feel.

 3-D Visual - Sloping Front Garden Design

Clients often mistakenly think they are buying a plan when they pay a garden designer. Whereas what they are actually purchasing is the designer’s knowledge, experience and ability to solve the technical problems associated with constructing gardens that meet the brief and respond to the topography of each site.  The master plan reflects the garden designer’s ideas and creative problem solving abilities honed over years of designing gardens of all shapes and sizes for clients with widely varying requirements.  

 Master Plan - Courtyard Garden Design

The master plan is a hard copy manifestation of the garden designer’s response to the brief.  It represents many hours of creative thinking.  It shows where everything is located – seating areas, retaining walls, planted areas, lawn, etc.  These elements must not only meet the client’s brief but also fit in the space, contain the correct balance of mass and void, and combine to give the garden a sense of symmetry.  This will result in a garden that feels comfortable to spend time in and also looks wonderful.  The design will also contain elements that move the eye around the garden and, if necessary, divert attention away from ugly external factors, or emphasise a beautiful borrowed view. 

Perspective view - Courtyard Garden Design

The master plan is based on a thorough topographical survey and site analysis.  The survey involves measuring the house and garden and any level changes around the site.  Taking an accurate survey is essential and some of the techniques required are covered in these blog posts Post 1, Post 2.  Very large gardens are best surveyed by a specialist garden surveyor.

Master Plan - Large Country Garden Design

The final garden design is arrived at by working out the practical requirements of the garden from the brief – seating area, paths, lawn, storage, etc - then translating this into a unique design using a number of different creative techniques.  The ideas are represented on a 2-D drawing - the master plan - that shows the house, any existing garden elements that are being retained and all the new parts of the garden.  The master plan will usually be presented to the client in colour, at A1 size, with each element labelled.  The master plan will always include the scale at which the plan is drawn, the drawing number, the designers name, the date and version number of the plan, and a title.

 3-D Visual - Large Country Garden Design

If you'd like help with designing your garden please get in touch.  Visit my Web site and Facebook page for more project photos. 

Linsey Evans Garden Design creates beautiful bespoke gardens throughout Berkshire, Surrey, London, Hampshire, Oxfordshire, and Buckinghamshire.

Patio Design

A patio is just one element of a garden design, but it is one of the most expensive elements of any garden build.  Because the patio fulfils several different functions it needs be given careful consideration.  Here are a few pointers on how to design a patio.

Garden patio design - Gerrards Cross, Buckinghamshire

Location of the patio

Most patios are sited immediately adjacent to the rear exit from the house because it is convenient - this may not be the best location for your patio.  The back of the house may be shaded all day and therefore not the best place for the patio if you wish to take advantage of the few hours of sunshine we get in this country.  Consider a small terrace to the rear of the house with another seating area somewhere else in the garden where it is sunnier.  When I’m designing a garden I always include more than one patio.  I always try to design a patio area that catches the last of the evening sun.  This makes the garden much more interesting.

 Garden patio design - Woking, Surey

Intended use of the patio

Is the patio mainly for alfresco dining or sunbathing or relaxing with a book or all three? The intended use will dictate the size and location of the patio.  A patio mainly for dining is best placed where there is some shade so that diners can keep cool on warmer days and seek the sun when the weather is cooler.  A patio intended mainly for sunbathing needs to be in a spot where it’s sunny all day.  If you want young children to safely use the patio, it needs to be somewhere you can see them from the house.

 Garden patio design - Bracknell, Berkshire

Capacity of the patio

The patio needs to be large enough to accommodate the correct size of table with room for chairs to be pulled out and for people to move around easily when others are seated.  I allow 1m width for the table, 500mm width on either side of the table for each chair when not pushed under the table, 300mm between chairs down the side of the table, and 700mm width to pull each chair out and sit down comfortably.  

 Garden patio design - Kenley, Surrey

Including built-in seating

Patio designs incorporating built-in seating with pergolas and outdoor fireplaces look very chic and transform the patio into an outdoor room.  This solution is convenient if you don’t want to shuffle around with garden furniture.  However, the position of the seating is fixed and restricts how you can use the patio.  The space is less flexible as seating cannot be varied to turn a dining area into a lounging area.

 Garden patio design - Silchester, Berkshire - built-in seating

Creating privacy

 If the patio is overlooked the patio design will need to include screening for the patio to create privacy.   Walls, hedges, pergolas, and fences can be included in the patio design to provide a sense of enclosure and privacy.

 

  Garden patio design - Woking, Surrey

Decide on the budget

 Installing a patio is expensive but it is worth spending as much as you can afford as the patio is such an important part of the garden.  Allow around £120 per square metre as an all-in cost to get a contractor to lay your patio. 

 Garden patio design - Woking, Surrey

 Choosing the surface material

The most common surface for a patio are paving slabs.  There are many different types of paving slab with a wide range of price tags.  

Steer clear of concrete slabs – they are often more expensive than natural stone, will fade over time and always end up looking fake.  Indian Sandstone has dominated the paving slab market for years as it is cheap, natural, widely available and looks good.  Cheaper Indian Sandstone is not always the bargain it appears as it is thinner, or poorer quality and more porous causing leaching of the minerals in the mortar onto the top surface of the stone.  There are some inexpensive granite slabs around that make a wonderful surface only slightly more expensive than Indian Sandstone.  The more expensive options are Travertine, York stone, Basalt, and Marble.  

Polished concrete makes a wonderful contemporary surface for the patio.  Resin bound gravel is not only great for driveways, but makes an excellent contribution to the patio paving when combined with other materials for textural contrast.  

Garden patio design - Reading, Berkshire

A patio should never be designed in isolation without considering the rest of the garden. A well designed garden where all the elements are in scale with each other and the house will connect the house and garden.  A balanced design that includes a patio or multiple patios will give the garden coherence and ensure that it is a pleasant, comfortable space in which to spend time.  

If you'd like help with designing your garden please get in touch.  Visit my Web site and Facebook page for more project photos. 

Linsey Evans Garden Design creates beautiful bespoke gardens throughout Berkshire, Surrey, London, Hampshire, Oxfordshire, and Buckinghamshire.