The garden needed to be updated, and the customer was keen to modernise and keep some of the key points such as the water feature, pergola and area for a shed.
The plants in the old rockery were removed prior to it being dismantled. Some of them were potted up, to be planted at the final stage of the project.
The paving and low retaining wall were ripped up, along with the zig zag path and the pergola’s circular base at the back of the garden. The pergola was in good condition, so we transported it to the back left hand corner of the garden, and added new cross beams. Once painted it will look as good as new. It’s good to reuse as much as you can in garden design, it keeps costs down and your carbon footprint.
During this early stage we also dug up and moved some of the shrubs. Some were planted in borders and others were potted up so that we could plant them later. Our customer was emotionally attached to some of the shrubs as they had belonged to her mother, so it was great to keep them so that she could cherish them in her new garden. We also removed a mature Eucalyptus that was too large for the garden and was shading out a lot of light.
The little blue shed in the corner was removed and a concrete base was created for a new Asgard secure garden shed to be placed on. Surrounding the shed we built a timber screen, which climbers will grow up to seclude it.
Circular composite decking was built under the pergola with a semi circle lawn, stepping stones and sandstone edging. For the main patio area and retaining wall the customer went for porcelain which is durable and looks fantastic. Have a look on the links in this paragraph to see our previous posts about this garden.
The circular decked pergola looks stunning and will have climbers growing up each post to eventually give shade when sitting under it. I love the shadows created by the crossbeams, they jut out across the garden and draw the eye towards the conservatory.
We planted three hardy evergreen lollipop Photinia’s (courtesy of Chew Valley Trees) at the back of the main border, with a variety of shrubs, perennials and bulbs throughout. The Photinia were planted incorporating specialist tree compost. This was also used as a thick mulch around each tree. We made sure to leave a ‘collar’ around the base of each truck, so that air can flow, keeping the tree healthy and happy.
Bonemeal was also added to the soil for extra nutrients, and stakes were hammered in with the trees attached with straps.
Shade tolerant Star Jasmine was planted along the back of the main border. This is a self clinging, fast growing evergreen whose flowers have a beautiful scent in the summer.
Prior to planting we dug in a composted bark soil conditioner from Fountain Timber throughout the garden borders. This will improve drainage and give better aeration and structure to the soil.
The top of the soil will be mulched by the customer with landscaping bark to suppress the weeds and to retain moisture in the soil.
We were lucky to have the last few days of summer sun for the planting of this garden. Caroline placed them out according to her planting plan and Lucy and I planted them. It was a very satisfying day of team work, with our customers getting involved too.
I particularly love the new water feature area, you can see below how much it has changed. Plum slate chippings will be used as a mulch layer around the plants here to give cohesion with the large slate feature stone.
The sandstone stepping stones really work well within the lawn. There are two pathways, one to the pergola and the other to the shed, making it much easier to access both in the winter months when the weather gets bad.
The lawn took really well with all the summer sun we’ve had this year, plus regular watering by our customer. We are so pleased with this garden’s outcome. It’s a beautiful space to relax in for our customer and their family, and we hope that they enjoy it for many years to come.
If you’d like to see the full, completed garden photos have a look on the Our Work section of our website!
