When we began there was a row of Buxus with a low retaining wall behind, a large grass covered bank, and planting down the sides of the garden. The boys went in and dug out the area where a new porcelain patio was to be laid, matching the lower patio behind the back of the house.
We cut into the bank to create a retaining wall within the patio design, incorporating a pergola within the structure. A curved wall was created using concrete blocks and then rendered.
The bank behind became a huge pile of red clay that became very slippery when we had some heavy rainy days. This area was opened up with lots of shrubs removed and taken to the big compost heap in the sky.
Whilst the wall was being constructed, steps were dug out and we also started working on the top area of the garden.
Behind the patio and further up the garden there is a shady area under the trees. We removed an old gate and fence and carried on opening up the area so that it would finally be connected with the rest of the garden, as it had previously been closed off.
More green waste was removed including old railway sleepers that had become rotten. We reused some of the railway sleepers that were in good condition to create the woodland section, holding up the sloping bank as well as creating walk ways and borders.
Father and son, Jerry and Sam rendered the walls together prior to creating the pergola.
Once rendered, the timber pergola was constructed, the porcelain paving was laid on the patio and on the steps, with coping stones being added to the top edges of the raised borders.
Once the upper woodland area had been cleared out, with a simple chestnut fence included to show the boundary line, we bought in Pennant stone from Ben’s Reclamation to create a low wall, along with wood chip for the pathways.
An Acer that we had dug up whilst landscaping was planted in this area, and looks so beautiful shining in the sunlight.
We brought in a variety of small shrubs, grasses, and Clematis Montana to planted up the raised borders within the patio area. These will look great as they grow and develop.
And of course, finally, on a lovely sunny day we turfed the muddy bank, making the transition from building site to a beautiful garden. The render needs to be painted but we’re almost there. Come back to see final photos on the Our Work section of our blog soon!
