Elham - Front Garden railings installed

Finishing installation of the mild steel railings

We have today been back to Elham to install the railing to the front garden wall. As you can see from the image above, they are loking really good.

The railings have been produced from Mild Steel which has been galvanised and powder coated in black. We think they set this garden off nicely and contract wonderfully with the white painted house.

Elham - Nearly there in the front

Path and garden close to completion

As you will see from the photo above, the Yorkstone path has been completed and the gravel and compost beds have been finalised and planted.

The gravel beds have been finished with 10mm buff flint gravel and planted with Thyme and Camomile while the compost borders have had lavendar, cistus and alliums planted.

This leaves just the railings to be installed on the wall which should now happen next week.

Elham - Laying a reclaimed Yorkstone path

Pouring the bed of mortar

Works continue apace in Elham with today's focus being on the installation of the reclaimed Yorkstone pathway.

The picture above shows our site manager, Mark Prentice, pouring the mortar on which the Yorkstone will be laid.

The mortar bed will be levelled perfectly to create a beautifully even pathway once the stone is laid.

Elham - Front Garden Works

New red brick paths and rendered wall

We have now started work on a new project in Elham, Kent. With works in both the front and rear gardens this project will keep us occupied for a good three weeks or more.

The photo above shows the front garden which has been cleared of most of the pre-existing features such as railings, a gate, concrete pavers and a tree stump.

The wall has been repaired and re-rendered while a new red brick pathway has been installed. The areas within the brick pathway will become gravel beds for Thyme, Camomile and other herbs.

Lynsted - Tiling the roof of the new car barn

Installing the roofing tiles to this oak framed car barn

The team continue to make progress with the roof of the three bay car barn in Lynsted, as you can see from the picture above.

The ridge still remains to be installed but the bonnets and standard tiles are nearly all in place.

This should now be completed within the next couple of days.

Brabourne Lees - Finished Terrace

Finished Terrace and Steps

Stainless Steel Balustrade

We are very pleased to bring you these pictures of the finished terrace in Brabourne Lees, Kent.

Having extended the terrace to provide a larger space to enjoy, we have created a lovely new set of steps to the garden below, also surfaced with Raj Green Indian Sandstone. In addition to this we have installed the stainless steel balustrade to give this terrace a stunning contemporary finish.

Brabourne Lees - Cladding the terrace

Cladding the repaired, extended wall

Work is progressing well at our current project in Brabourne Lees. The picture above shows the repaired and extended terrace being clad with bricks, sourced specifically to match in with those used in the original wall.

In digging out the existing terrace, we have found that the footing laid was larger than the structure built upon it. This has allowed us to add the cladding layer which has been tied into the original wall to ensure stability.

Alkham - Trellis Wing in situ

New trellis 'wing' in situ

Just thought our readers might be interested to see the trellis 'wing' alongside the house at our Alkham project.

There is a matching 'wing' on the opposite corner of the house to provide symmetry and create a nice enclosed feel for this large garden.

The trellis was all made by our 'in-house' garden joinery company - Bay and Green. If you have any requirements for timber garden products, from trellis to benches and tables to buildings, then please get in touch.

Alkham - Trellis installed!

Bespoke, hand made, trellis columns and panels

The project in Alkham continues to progress and the bespoke trellis columns and panels have been installed on the newly built, reclaimed brick walls.

We love this contemporary twist on a classical theme and hope you do to.

Keston, Bromley - Another Resin Bound Driveway

Newly installed Resin Bound Driveway

This week has seen us working on a new driveway project in Keston, Bromley. With quite a large space to cover it is particularly important that everything goes well and the surface can be laid without distraction.

The 'Maple Harvest' gravel blend has been used for this job, we hope you will agree that the finished project looks stunning.

Alkham - The built wall section

One of the pair of trellis walls, built, awaiting pointing

As you can see from the photo above, the site team have now completed the build phase of the reclaimed brick wall (which now awaits pointing).

Once pointed, the bespoke trellis columns and panels will be installed.

Alkham - Building a Trellis Wall

Building the wall aspect of the trellis wall

The above image shows our project manager, Mark, building one of the walls for our matching trellis walls at the project in Alkham.

Once built, bespoke, hand made trellis columns will be inserted into the gaps with panels between them creating a stunning contemporary, enclosed wing on each side of the house.

More of..Canterbury completed?

Finished vegetable & fruit garden

A final picture for you of the fruit and veg garden at our Canterbury project. We cannot wait to see this garden once it has been planted up and is in full, productive, flow.

All the element s visible in this picture are new to this property and created by Orchard Priory.

Canterbury completed?

View of garden along the new brick path

Red brick pathway and seating area

With works virtually complete in Canterbury we are able to bring some 'finished' pictures to the blog.

The images above show the red brick pathway, with terrace seating area. The soil around the seating area will be planted up and become a beautiful surround creating a secluded terrace.

We will endeavour to revisit this site next year to obtain some photos to show how the garden is developing.

Canterbury - Closing in on The Target Date

The New Trellis Installed Today

Having been on site today, I can only compliment the team on their work ethic and team comradery.  They are working incredibly diligently as we are due to finish the beautiful overhaul of this Canterbury garden on Friday this week.  I have pitched in to take some of the glory today, to install the fine trellis panels and capping rails to the posts, which were pre installed by the lads a few days ago.  And what can I say - they slotted in perfectly without a hitch.  Perfect setting out made this small job a pleasure today.  Thanks again guys.  looking excellent!

Ross

Canterbury - Starting on the trellis

Posts for trellis installed in the veg garden

The end of this week sees us with the pathway work in Canterbury continuing and the vegetable garden coming along.

The picture above shows the posts installed for the lines of trellis which will soon be fitted.

Canterbury - Follow the Red Brick Pathway!

Red Brick Pathway, Patio still to do

Curved red brick pathway

Great stuff from the Orchard Priory site team who have got the brick pathways looking fantastic.

While there is still plenty of work to do and plenty more bricks to lay, this is great progress which really starts to bring the project to life.

Canterbury - Starting the vegetable garden

Canterbury vegetable garden laid out

Another view of the vegetable garden

Just a quick entry to show you some further progress. The vegetable garden area will match in with the rest of the patio's and pathways by having the same brick running throughout.

The images above show the pathways edged in anticipation of being infilled.

The top picture also shows the new brick wall and a little of the fencing we have already completed.

Canterbury - Pathway edging

Brick edging for a pathway and patio

Curved pathway formed with brick edging 

Our site team have progressed well in the last couple of days with the edging for the pathways and patio's going down well.

As you can see from the above images, we have some nice sweeping pathways being installed and these have a sub-base layer of type 1 laid down in them to provide good structure and support for the base materials.

Canterbury - Marking Out

Add caption

Today has seen the site team ready to start on the new brick pathways (certainly a job which starts to bring the new garden together).

The picture above shows one of the team 'marking out', plotting the line the edging will be laid upon.

You can see that the bricks are being stacked ready for laying and if you look closely you can see a string line which will be used to ensure that the level is maintained when laying the bricks.

Canterbury - Boundary fencing

Constructing the boundary fence

Traditional boundary fence in situ

Our fencing installation is now in place at our Canterbury project. This fence has been installed using traditional methods, slot faced posts and morticed joints, and, for an aesthetically pleasing appearance, the pales are installed across the posts to provide a continuous, flowing, run.

Canterbury - Building a boundary wall

Building a boundary wall

The wall as it develops

The project in Canterbury is well under way now and the hard landscaping is taking shape.

A priority has been the building of the boundary wall and fencing to secure the property from the adjoining communal ground.

The photo's above show the wall under construction.

Ensuring site security

Laying out the Heras security fencing

We take the security of our client's premises very seriously and will always work with those clients to ensure that they are happy and satisfied with their arrangements.

Our current project is a case in point; the premises shares a border with a public recreation ground.

We are replacing the overgrown existing boundary fence with a new 6' post and rail fence but until this can be installed we have used security fencing to secure our client's property.

Canterbury - When machinery does not cut it!

Orchard Priory site team clearing overgrown fencing

Ground clearance is all part of the fun with early works on our garden landscaping projects. In many cases we have to clear very overgrown areas before the actual landscaping work can begin.

Sometimes these jobs just have to be done by hand as you can see from the image above. In the picture the Orchard Priory site team is taking down the existing fencing which is to be replaced by a new, traditional, hand built fence.

The fence is clearly very overgrown and the plants have to be cleared and disposed of to keep the site respectable.

New Project in Canterbury

Initial ground clearance to start the job

We have started works on a new project in Canterbury this week and have been hard at work on the initial groundworks stage.

The first job on this current project was to clear the ground, removing existing shrubs and trees, grinding out tree stumps and roots and generally preparing the area for 'setting out'.

Our brief is to create a kitchen garden with space for all manner of vegetables and herbs to be grown.

Check back regularly for progress updates.

Kenfield - Planting the new beds

Densely planted flower bed

Another new bed at our Kenfield project

We are nearly finished for now at Kenfield, with only some minor bits and pieces to finish off today.

We will be back within a few weeks to complete the driveway once a tree has been removed.

Yesterday saw the newly created flower beds being planted by our Royal Horticultural Society trained horticultralist. Take a look at the photos above, we hope you like them.

Kenfield - Yorkstone Installed

Yorkstone paving with a red brick edging

The Orchard Priory site team have been progressing well in Kenfield and have now installed the Yorkstone paving.

As you can see from the above image, starting to get things like the paving in place really begins to demonstrate how the garden is taking shape and provides a suggestion as to the final intended feel of the space.

Kenfield - Restricting Troublesome Roots!

Root Barrier installed to deflect tree roots away from the drive

With our job in Kenfield underway and a driveway required alongside some established trees we were very conscious that root growth could cause issues for the new driveway.

For this reason, it is our practice to install a 'root barrier' between the tree roots and the area planned for the drive.

The barrier is a minimum of one metre deep and acts to re-direct tree root growth downwards rather than outwards where it could, in future, cause problems.

Kenfield - New Project

Early groundworks at our new project

This week has seen us start a new project in Kenfield, Kent which will involve a new driveway, Yorkstone paving and new planting beds.

We envisage that this job will take roughly 12 days to complete. The final garden will be a world away from the scene you can see in the photo above.

This photo shows the groundwork being carried out. This is always the most nerve-wracking time for a client as it is the destructive stage which has to take place before we can start to create a beautiful new garden.

Come back soon for updates and new photos showing the progress we are making.

Capel le Ferne - Nearing Completion

New driveway and gateposts in Capel le Ferne

The project in Capel le Ferne is almost at an end.  The last few days have seen the tarmac belmouth laid, the driveway gravel arrive on site while today sees us installing the gateposts.

It is very important that the posts are level and angled in exactly the same way as each other. As you can see from the photo above, the post on the left has been installed while the post on the right is in situ but not yet set in place.

Capel le Ferne - Bricklaying

Laying the edge of the brick entertainment circle

Work is now underway on installing the brick entertaining circle at our new project in Capel le Ferne.

Brick edging will also be applied to the driveway for a consistent appearance throughout this project.

We hope to be able to start laying fossil mint Indian Sandstone at the beginning of next week.

Capel le Ferne - Early Work

The driveway has been excavated and the sub-base is being laid

This week has seen us start work on a project in Capel le Ferne near Folkestone, Kent.

The remit for this job is to re-model the driveway and lay a new paved area and entertainment circle to the rear of the property.

The image above shows the driveway sub-base being laid. The image below shows one of the Orchard Priory site team pouring the concrete footing for the outer step of the entertainment circle.



Pouring a concrete footing

Bridge : Another glowing report!

Client Testimonial

We always like to bring you this sort of blog update. We take great pride in ensuring that our clients are satisfied with the work we carry out on their behalf and the way in which that work is carried out.

It is therefore always pleasing to receive comments such as those above following a project.

Sittingbourne - New Project

The lawn has been re-turfed

New bed has been created and planted

We have been busy working on a new project in Sittingbourne for the last couple of days. Whilst it is a small project the challenges are generally the same, just scaled down.

For example we still need to create the right 'sight lines', putting features in the correct places so that they are seen from the house or as you walk into the garden.

Barham - The Finished Fountain

The completed fountain

We are delighted to show you this picture, the finished fountain at our project in Barham.

As you can see the two tiers and carved acorn at the summit are in place and everything is working.

This has been just one feature of a very interesting restoration project at Barham and we are delighted with the results.

With just a bit of tidying up to do now, this project is very close to completion.

Barham - Fountain Final Touches

Making certain that the bowl is level

Well, it is the start of the new week and the wonderful weather continues.

Today sees us putting the final touches to our works in Barham, including the installation of the fountain centrepiece.

The image above shows our Site Manager ensuring the the first tier of the centrepiece is level prior to installation of the second tier and the the final piece, a carved acorn.

The pipework is all in place with final adjustments set to be made to the five outlets involved in this particular fountain.

Barham - Applying the fibreglass to the fountain

The fountain with sealant applied prior to fibreglassing

The fibreglass applied to the fountain

The end of the week sees much of the work on our Barham project completed. We will be on site at the start of next week but things have been going well.

On Thursday we finished the fibreglassing of the fountain, the pictures above are from works on Wednesday and Thursday when we had to seal the new render that has been installed, apply the fibreglass itself and then apply a final, moisture cured polyeurethane layer as a final sealant.

Barham - The finished pictureframe

The finished terrace pictureframe

Welcome to a new week. We have now completed the brick pictureframe at our Barham job (as you can see in the image above).

Further works on this project are few, just a few bits and pieces here and there including the fibreglass treatment for the fountain and applying some natural, self-binding gravel around the fountain.

Picture Framing - Another Orchard Priory sideline?

The Orchard Priory Site team working on the Picture Frame

Who knew that Orchard Priory also made picture frames? No, not a side line in frames for pictures but a method of decorative outlining a feature, in this case a new terrace.

The picture above shows the Orchard Priory team laying a picture frame around the new, Yorkstone terrace at our Barham project.

The frame is constructed of Tudor Imperial bricks, laid on edge and will surround the terrace completely when finished.

Detail in the brick picture frame