Holiday Let in Hockley Sole - Completed

We have now completed works at the Holiday Let and we hope that you will agree when we say we believe the results are stunning.

Having raised the level of the terrace, we have now created the outdoor living room by raising it again from the main terrace and installing the circular rattan furniture and table.

The first image is taken looking down across the living room across to the house and far corner of the garden.

The terrace and living room have been finished with Breedon Gravel and a couple of small planting beds have been created to ensure that this level 'feels' like a part of the garden.

The second picture looks back up to the terrace from the lawn and shows the beautiful wire fencing, rebuilt steps and feature planting.

We will revist this premises in a few weeks when the planting will have had a chance to establish itself and should be providing some vibrant colour.

Holiday Let at Hockley Sole - Steps and Fencing

I thought it was about time we revisited the job at the Holiday Let in the Alkham Valley.

In the last blog entry we were building the oak sleeper retaining wall and the new lawn had been laid.

We have now repaired and dressed the steps using red brick and reclaimed york stone as you can see in the picture to the left.

The wire rigging fencing is going in and you can see the first sections of it in the second picture here.

We are feeding the wire through the oak posts which will give a lovely contrast of the traditional with the modern.

As you can also see from these photo's, the terrace is being levelled so that the outdoor living room can be created.

Terraced Garden in Sandgate - Completed

We have now completed phase 1 of our project in Sandgate. The previous blog entries have dealt with the various works required included in the creation of a larger, more family friendly space.

The image to the left shows the garden as we leave it at this time, including the sand pit and play area.

The swing set has been constructed using reclaimed, Chestnut hop poles which were around 80 years old.
The poles have been stripped and sanded and it is a testament to the integrity of the timber that they have come up looking like new.

The levelling of this garden caused one or two issues. When digging up the existing garden we found that the drainage for the property was only 100mm below the soil. We have had to re-route the drainage whilst installing a soakaway beneath the new lawn level.

Phase 2 of this project is set to include the installation of Balau decking to the terrace level (the paved area in the photo) and the cladding on the sides of the terrace. Glass screening is to be fitted to an upper balcony terrace to provide an effective safety barrier without intruding on the breathtaking views across the garden to the sea beyond.

Holiday Let at Hockley Sole - Creating the Terrace

As I'm sure you will remember from the first entry regarding this project, the garden is on two levels and it is our intent to raise the upper level to increase the definition between the two.

The pictures included in this post show how we are achieving that.

The first image shows the existing levels and a new, oak sleeper retaining wall that we have installed in front of the original brick wall.


The second picture shows the brick wall while clearly demonstrating that the new oak sleeper wall has been built to create a new, circular shape to this end of the terrace.

The sleeper wall will provide a new and complimentary colour within the garden, a visual feature that is both structurally essential in supporting the raised and re-shaped terrace but
also asthetically pleasing.

The final picture looks towards the terrace from the lower garden where the new turf has now been laid.

We now have our very modern wire rigging fencing to install along with the dressing of the existing steps. More pictures next week.

Terraced Garden in Sandgate - Update 3

Works are nearly done for Phase 1 of our terraced garden in Sandgate.

We have now completed the terrace circle by installing stainless steel edging and using Breedon Gravel to create an attractive finish.

The first picture shows the finished circle, we now cannot wait to come back and see this area of the garden once the planting has all had the opportunity to establish itself.

The second picture shows the view from the terrace circle along the garden.

The far right corner is where the huge drop used to be but, as you can see, a beautifully level lawn has been installed along with the lovely Chelsea Screens.

A border has been created in front of the screen to lead from the terrace circle into the rest of the garden.

You can see at the far end of the garden that the play area is still lacking the equipment, this is now one of last things we need to complete. More photo's in the near future.

Holiday Let at Hockley Sole

We are a few days into a new job converting a small garden for a holiday let cottage in the Alkham Valley, Kent.

The garden is on two levels with steps between them. We will be making the top level higher and incorporating an outdoor living room, re-laying the stairs, installing a new lawn and some very smart yacht rigging wire fencing.

The Images show the early stages of creating the levels and an even surface for the lawn turf to be laid upon.

This job is being completed within a small time frame so more pictures will follow soon.

A Year On at Oriel

It is our intent to show you how our gardens are realised through this blog. As such we will be revisiting completed projects to see how the gardens are developing and growing.

We completed the Oriel job in March 2011, you can view some pics and read about the works on the Orchard Priory website here.

The photos to the left were taken in May 2012.

The first image shows the 'Brick Cottage Garden' which was designed to be a colourful, rural space. The borders are staring to come into bloom while the ground level planting is growing nicely.

The second image shows a reclaimed York Stone pathway lined with fragrant lavender and leading to an ornate bench seat. A hole has been cut in the Beech hedging to provide views of the beautiful Kent countryside as you walk along the path.

We will try to get some further pictures of this project when the plants are in full bloom and will be sure to show them here.