Hasler Grove
The Challenge
To inject garden vitality for a house on a new estate. The project saw all kinds of weather as we started in February 2022, catching the tail end of winter and then early spring. We faced some immediate redesign as we soon found that the original plan to plant hedging along the wall behind the pergola wasn’t possible due to the wall having a huge footing.
The Garden Design and Creation
The new design added interest and focus, and increased our clients’ privacy from neighbouring homes. We included patios, a number of planting areas, a bespoke barbecue area, and a pergola with a fabulous swinging chair. The client asked for a cottage-style garden, and our plant design met this beautifully, with overflowing, scented foliage and flowers.
After measuring out to the design, we began with the woodworking element. As the pergola was being built to house the large swing chair specifically, we ensured that it wouldn’t go anywhere by using sturdy, 3-metre oak posts, concreted in at 1m depth and covered in deck tape to waterproof the wood. The ground was very unforgiving when it came to digging; it was thick with compacted clay, made all the harder by the cold weather. At this stage, we also put posts up for the trellis screen, attached the battens and built the two raised sleeper beds.
We stripped the existing lawn and excavated some of the soil to get to our required depth. It was here that we came across a simple irrigation system across the highest part of the garden, which made no sense, as it rendered it ineffective. Our clients told us that they’d paid a third-party company extra to install it alongside a new lawn. We were appalled.
The ground was prepped for laying on, which meant we put non-woven geotextile membrane down, followed by a compacted scalping sub-base. We always put down a full-contact bed (meaning there are no holes/gaps beneath the paving) and use a slurry primer to ensure the full adhesion of the slab to the mortar bed. For this project we used Kota blue limestone for the main paved areas and the colourful, mint sandstone setts for the paths, creating a lovely contrast and adding warmth into the palette.
When excavating for the lawn, we came across an excessive amount of blue clay which indicates poor drainage and lack of oxygen when saturated. We suspected this but did the dig-a-deep-hole-test and see how fast (or slow) water drains – it took an inordinate amount of time. To get around it, we agreed with our clients to excavate even more. We dug out trenches in front of one of the patios and path which was filled with gravel in order to help with drainage and keep water away from the paved structures. We brought in BS-certified, free-draining topsoil for the lawn and beds and compacted it. A top layer of rootzone was used for the lawn which was levelled before being turfed.
The New Garden Landscape
The garden design created vibrancy for this small garden, incorporating components that draw focus and interest. The unique commissioned barbeque area houses a special outdoor grill, engineered and created by a relative. We built the structure using rustic bricks and Brazilian grey slate, crafting bespoke copings that were bullnosed and polished. The paving was grouted and metal edging was installed to retain the decorative gravel; the decorative screen was installed, as well as the stainless-steel vine eyes and wires. Finally, the swing chair itself was hung!
The project was completed with the planting. The stunning variety of plants provides an abundance of colours, textures, structures, and fragrances. Wisteria grows around the pergola, to our client’s delight who now loves to relax in her beautiful garden.