What a Difference a Year Makes

Garden patio in winter sun

The problem with the back garden of this modern property in Thornton, Leicestershire was that it sloped steeply downwards away from the house. This meant the end of the garden was hardly used and with large mature shrubs overruling the garden, the space felt much smaller than it was. Our challenge was to come up with a design that made the most of all the space available, so our clients could enjoy their garden to the full.

In The Early Stages

Our garden design divided the garden into tiers, so we could create two usable and level sections with steps linking them. This meant building a retaining wall to support the paving outside the patio doors.

All of the paved areas were built using Indian sandstone and Tegula blocks to give our clients three usable seating areas from which they can enjoy the garden. A highlight of the upper patio was the natural rock waterfall and small open water wildlife pond we created. This will bring life and sound and make an attractive focal point that’s viewable from all sections of
We installed a sleeper retaining wall to retain the land from the top-level and constructed a flatter lawn that will be far easier to maintain than the previous lawn. The bottom section of the garden was cleared around existing trees, and to cut down on maintenance we spread bark chip on weed suppressant membrane.

1 Year On

The garden was fully planted with seasonal perennials and shrubs, designed to bring a succession of colour and to attract the wildlife into the garden, the borders were planted just after the hard landscaping was complete, this year being its first full year and it bloomed magnificently with fullness and a burst of colour. It’s clear to see the difference just a few months can make, the first photo was taken in February 2018 and the second was taken June 2019. The planted and hard landscaping now blends seamlessly and performs how a garden should, a perfect balance between purpose and beauty.

While newly planted borders can look, well, newly planted, a little patience will be rewarding. Plants need time to grow and settle and even larger plants will need time to find their feet. Borders will look sparse initially and you should space them correctly or you’ll be ripping plants out quite quickly when they grow too close to each other, wasting your time and your money! Be mindful of their ultimate spreads, a few months and a small amount of patience and your garden will come to life just, like Mr. and Mrs. Geary’s, who couldn’t be more thrilled.

Does your garden need a new lease of life? Call our design team on 0116 210 0760 today so learn what’s possible in your garden. 

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