Small Garden Design - Ascot, Berkshire

I have just finished the garden design plans for this small back garden in Ascot, Berkshire.  This is a typical newish build estate-type rear garden – small, an odd shape with a slight level change both lengthwise and across its width.

The brief for the new design was to make the garden more attractive with larger seating areas that make maximum use of the sunniest spots of this North facing plot.  The client prefers curved shapes and wanted the garden to be more interesting and to function as an outdoor room.  A key requirement was to provide outdoor space for the clients two boisterous dogs whilst keeping them out of the borders to prevent them destroying the plants.  The client’s preference is for textural, architectural planting with some spots of colour provided by dramatic perennials such as Agapanthus.

 

Garden design plan - Small Garden Design, Ascot, Berkshire

This dynamic scheme has two interlocking circular lawns separated by curved stone pathways, flanked with raised borders.  Two half-moon shaped raised beds to either side of the enlarged patio area, and a circular planter in the centre of the terrace elevate the planting and provide informal seating and visual interest.  The raised planting will discourage the dogs from jumping straight onto the borders and should preserve the new planting.  The patio area extends down the side of the garden to provide a generous dining area, plus additional seating in the part of the garden that has the most sun. 

 3-D Visual for Small Garden Design, Ascot, Berkshire

  3-D Visual for Small Garden Design, Ascot, Berkshire

  3-D Visual for Small Garden Design, Ascot, Berkshire

 3-D Visual for Small Garden Design, Ascot, Berkshire

If you'd like help creating your perfect garden, or even just a new planting scheme please email me or visit my Web site for telephone contact details.  My Facebook page and Houzz  profile also have loads more information on my projects and services.

How to Design a Sloping Garden

Designing a sloping garden is a challenge.  I’ve written about this before, because I have designed many sloping gardens and I love doing them.  Designing a garden on a slope is not easy, but with a bit of careful planning they can look stunning. To create a garden on a steep slope needs a detailed plan and a large budget – expect the same kind of investment as building an extension to your house.

The level changes in a steeply sloping garden make it easy to divide into different rooms and it is possible to create an interesting journey around the garden using steps and ramps.

Small sloping garden design in Bracknell, Berkshire

The most important part of the design process when designing a steep garden is the survey.  When designing any garden it is necessary to know the exact size and shape of the site.  With a sloping garden you also need to understand how the ground levels vary around the garden.  I have written other articles about surveying techniques including:  triangulation, offsets, and surveying levels.  Once the levels changes have been measured, you can start thinking about how to structure the garden to create useable spaces.

 

 

Visual for a sloping garden in Basingstoke, Hampshire 

 

When designing a sloping garden the best solution is to create terraced levels.  Not only are flat spaces required for seating areas, and lawns, but planting is much easier to maintain and water if it’s in a level border.  To create the terraces the site must be divided into separate areas, then retaining walls will be needed to flatten out each section of the garden.  Retaining walls will not only be required along the front of the new garden terraces, but they will need to wrap around the sides of each area as well. 

  

Sloping garden design in Kenley, Surrey

The best way to calculate the heights of the retaining walls required for each part of the garden is to draw up the level survey as a section/series of sections through the garden.  This drawing shows very simplified section.  Unfortunately, you will rarely find a garden with an even slope from top to bottom like this.  You can see from this diagram that making an area larger or smaller changes the height of the retaining walls required.  

 

A sloping family garden design in Reading, Berkshire

When terracing a sloping garden, it is best to use more walls at a lower height than one enormous wall.  Large retaining walls in a garden can look overbearing and will make some parts of the garden hard to access.  Garden walls above 1.8m, or 1m adjacent to a road will require planning permission. 

 

Design visual for a large, sloping garden in Guildford, Surrey

When terracing a sloping garden, it is best to use more walls at a lower height than one enormous wall.  Large retaining walls in a garden can look overbearing and will make some parts of the garden hard to access.  Garden walls above 1.8m, or 1m adjacent to a road will require planning permission.

 

 A large sloping front garden design in Woking, Surrey

 Once you’ve decided on the areas and the heights of the retaining walls needed to create the garden terraces, you’ll need to decide how you are going to access the levels.  You’ll need steps or ramps to move between the different garden levels.

Steps should have a total height of no more than 150mm which means that if the level change is 600mm you will need four steps.  Ramps should not be too steep and should have a slope of no more than 1:12 which means that for every 1m the rise should be 12cm or less. 

 A sloping garden design in Gerrards Cross, Buckinghamshire

Take a look at some of the sloping gardens I’ve designed – Kenley, Surrey (http://www.linseysgardens.com/port_young.asp), Binfield, Berkshire (http://www.linseysgardens.com/port_malt.asp), Binfield, Berkshire (http://www.linseysgardens.com/port_lee.asp), Gerrards Cross, Buckinghamshire (http://gardendesignuk.blogspot.co.uk/2011/06/steeply-sloping-garden-design-in.html).

If you need help designing your garden, including the provision of plans for all types of planning applications please get in touch through my Web site www.linseysgardens.com or email me linsey@linseysgardens.com. 

Garden Planting Design - Shrubs for Texture & Colour

A good planting scheme should include a mixture of plants with different leaf textures, shapes and colours blended together to produce a harmonius picture that leads the eye round the garden and helps set the house into its plot. 

When planting for clients I do not necessarily choose unusual plants, in fact I usually work with quite common plants.  It is the way in which the plants are combined that allows the planting scheme to look out of the ordinary whilst including some very ordinary plans. 

Here are some shrubs that combine well for a good overall effect:-

Choisya ternata ‘Sundance’ – a very common shrub, easy to grow, but can be a little slow to establish. It should be kept well pruned otherwise it becomes very leggy and too open.  It will also flower better if given a good haircut in the autumn.

Sambucus nigra ‘Black Lace’ – a wonderful, shade tolerant, deciduous shrub with a beautiful dark purple leaf and pink flowerheads in summer.  Its feathery form and dark leaves contrasts well against the tighter, rounder shape and gold foliage of the Choisya.  It needs to be cut back very hard in the winter otherwise it will get too big and unshapely. 

 

Fatsia japonica – a fabulous, shade tolerant shrub with huge glossy dark green leaves.  It does flower, but is grown mainly for its architectural leaves.  Its open, upright outline shape works well with the Choisya and the Sambucus.  Occasionally cut some stems right down otherwise it can become very tall with all the leaves at the top.

Cistus pulvurlentus ‘Sunset’ – a prolific summer flowering shrub with a relatively tight shape, This will provide not only textural contrast with its soft, silver leaves, but a welcome splash of summer colour with its bright pink flowers.  It is also lower growing than the other shrubs and can be placed further forward in the border.  Prune with care, as they do not like hard pruning and once they become overgrown it can be hard to get them back into shape without killing them. It prefers a sunny spot.  

 Viburnum bodnantense ‘Charles Lamont’ – add some winter interest with this highly scented winter scented shrub.  It has an upright form which is a good contrast to the other plants and its pink flowers held on bare branches bring a welcome blast of scent in the depths of winter.  It can be pruned quite hard after flowering to maintain it’s shape.

Caryopteris ‘Heavenly Blue’ – extremely easy to grow, a deciduous shrub with tons of blue flowers in late summer.  Small, matt, mid green leaves held on long slightly arching branches are a good contrast to the rest of the planting and bright blue flowers provide some excellent late season colour.  It is a smaller shrub and can be planted further forward in the border.  It can be pruned fairly hard if needed after flowering to maintain size and shape, but leave it in a natural, looser outline for best effect. It prefers a sunny spot, but will take a small amount of shade.  

This is just a suggested selection of plants that I love to use together and I know will grow well.  I will write about perennial combinations in another post.

If you would like help designing or planting your garden, please visit my Web site for contact details.  You can also visit my Facebook page and Pinterest boards to see some more examples of my work.