Portfolio 23
SLOPINGGARDEN? NOPROBLEM!
Designing a sloping garden is challenging and it can be hard to know where to start. Linsey Evans’ creation for this garden in Gerrards Cross hit the spot!
SIZE – 240 square metres
DEVELOPMENT TIMELINE November 2010 – April 2011 APPROXIMATE COSTINGS – £35-£40K
MAIN PROBLEMS • Steep slope which made excavation perilous – 3m drop from top to bottom, also cross falls.
• Limited access – everything had to be brought in and taken out via the top of the garden by
removing a fence panel. Some access by 60cm wide side passage.
• Soil and ground conditions challenging – a scraping of topsoil over stony clay.
•Weather – heavy snow, sub-zero temperature and excessive rain throughout the winter and
early spring hampered progress significantly.
CLIENT’S REQUIREMENTS • A contemporary style garden that reflected the newly refurbished interior of the house.
•A much larger patio area with a screened space for a barbeque.
• A large lawn area at the top of the garden. • New terraced levels.
ABOUT LINSEY EVANS BEFORE • A gentle route up the garden.
• Retain existing shed and large Pine tree at the top of the garden.
• Less planting, planting to be more manageable.
The lower courtyard terrace is enclosed on three sides by rendered blockwork walls 900mm high which also form the retaining walls for the first level of raised planting. There is a herb garden adjacent to the chunky pergola which screens the BBQ area, its walls function as informal seats. This terrace is split into two levels for practical purposes. Steps lead up to the intermediate terraces from the courtyard. The retaining walls are painted a dusty pink. The courtyard is paved with grey Indian sandstone and has a contemporary, formal feel; it is sheltered and has a really nice sense of enclosure and privacy. The pergola was made from 150mm square timber uprights and top frame. The whole pergola is painted black. It is softened by some planters with
Linsey Evans is a Berkshire-based garden and landscape designer working mainly in London and the Home Counties, but with aspirations to work around the World. Linsey’s gardens are characterised by strong built elements softened by elegant planting schemes that give the gardens interest and living structure all year round. Visit Linsey’s Web site and blog to learn more about her work and life as a garden designer. Blog:
http://www.gardendesignuk.blogspot.com
www.pro-landscaper.co.uk
box balls and climbers. It is not intended that the plants will completely smother the pergola, but that its form will remain visible. As well as screening the barbeque area the pergola stops the eye and adds to the overall sense of privacy on the lower terrace.
The route up the garden is via three linked
shallow ramps with railway sleeper retaining walls. The path is finished with self-binding gravel and zig- zags up through the intermediate planted levels to the upper level. The intermediate planted levels help to widen the garden, soften the retaining walls and emphasise the geometry of the garden.
GOOD COMPROMISES Railway sleepers have been used to retain the upper terraces of the garden to keep down costs. Sleepers are highly cost effective as they do not need a footing, are much quicker to put up and cheaper than hard materials. If you use new sleepers and make sure they are neatly finished they can look good in a contemporary scheme. In every garden build there are compromises, this was one which had to be made and did not ruin the overall aesthetics of the new garden. The top level is an ‘L’ shaped lawn with narrow planted borders along the two sides. Planting was kept deliberately to a minimum on the lawn
Volume1 | Issue2 | October 2011 |
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52