Location: Shoreham by Sea – Front garden of a detached house in a private road

Design Consultant: Jon Lee

Build :Martin Eccles, Gavin Hunter, Nate Orrell

Materials:  STONE – Marshalls Fairstone Silver birch multi, Pennant drivesetts, Argent light block pavers

PLANTING – Supplied by Big Plant  - Box, Olive, Liquid amber, various grasses

We were asked by an old client and friend to cure the routine nightmare of mowing and weeding of her front garden. She had a sketch of an idea that she would like us to bring to life. I have to say that this type of project is one of my favourites as the client already is an already accomplished gardener herself and so I knew that the quality of the entire project would be under scrutiny and we would be tested really produce something special.

The whole area was cleared and 20 cubic metres of soil removed to create a blank canvas. From this we set the levels and prepared the sub base for the hard landscaping to start in earnest.

We used Fairstone silver birch multi Indian sandstone pavers from Marshalls with Drivesett  kerbsetts and drivesett argent light block pavers to create the walkways. The terracing was an important part of the overall design and we had to be careful to maintain our falls and make each terrace fit perfectly with the next one. Obviously with this amount of hard surfacing drainage is very important and we used aqua cells in two different locations to ensure that the run off could be easily coped with.

We had the guys at Big Plant Nursery help us with sourcing quality plants that we could get hold of in time to be planted out immediately so the whole project could be finished on schedule.

The whole project took only three weeks and there were a few long days getting everything  just right.

On the South side of the property we created a dining area with Balau hardwood screen and planting pockets for some specimen bamboos and grasses. A quick rendering job covered to old brick work plinth that made to house look dated and along with a custom built gate made from Balau and stainless steel fixings the whole are came to life.

I went to town with the attention to detail on this gate to the point where every screw head  points North-South and even the gate stops are bespoke. The timber was finished with a hardwood decking oil to suppress the greying effect of UV light on wood.

Although we do not get to create gardens everyday where we are allowed the degree of control and creativity such as we were allowed here i feel that we did the project justice as the end result speaks for itself. Every person that walked down the road as we created the garden commented on just how good it looked. I am very proud of the team and the quality of the work they provided here.