Make The Most Of Your Space With Tiered Garden Design
At S&D Paving, we believe that every garden has potential, which is why we offer a wide range of services across the region. No matter the size or shape of your landscape, our team can bring your vision to life. Our recent paving project in Reigate is a testament to this and a great example of how effective tiered garden design can be in uneven spaces.
In this post, we are walking you through this garden transformation and sharing our best tips for how to make the most of small, uneven gardens.
The Challenges Of Small, Sloped Gardens
Our clients in Reigate were struggling with a small, overgrown garden that seemed impossible to design because of the steep slope. This slope caused the garden to have varying levels, which meant traditional garden design was not an option.
Sloped gardens can pose a lot of challenges, which is why professional help is often required to renovate these spaces. Those dealing with sloped and uneven landscapes may experience issues such as:
- Poor Access and Navigation: A major concern for sloped gardens is that the steep and uneven terrain can cause navigation issues. These sites are typically difficult to assess, as they cannot be moved through safely or comfortably. This is a concern for everyone, but becomes especially dangerous in households with small children or elderly people.
- Water Drainage Issues: Due to the slope and uneven terrain, these gardens often flood or remain waterlogged after rain as there is nowhere for the water to run off. This can also lead to erosion of plants and surfaces.
- Limited Usable Space: Sloped gardens typically have limited usable space, as the uneven surface makes it difficult for hardscaping installations, decor and furniture. This becomes a larger issue in sloped gardens that are already on the smaller side.
- Soil Erosion: A combination of rainwater and gravity causes soil to fall downhill, which leads to erosion of your planting areas and makes your landscape inhabitable for a range of flowers, plants, and trees.
Luckily, as experienced landscapers, this is not the first time we have encountered a sloped garden and could deliver a suitable solution for our clients. Many homeowners across the region struggle with sloped and uneven gardens, and we have discovered that the best solution is tiered garden design.
What Is Tiered Garden Design? Making The Most of Sloped Gardens
Tiered garden design is an ideal solution for sloped and uneven gardens, like this one in Reigate, as it allows us to work with, as opposed to against, the organic structure of the landscape. This not only makes the garden renovation process easier, but also ensures success as we are incorporating the natural elements of the landscape into the finished result.
This particular tired garden design in Reigate centred on a combination of hardscaping and stairs. Our focus was to create flow between the varying levels and make zones for both entertainment and relaxation outdoors.
The steep slope of this garden previously made navigation a huge issue, which is why hardscaping and brickwork were an essential part of this project. To make use of the uneven terrain and create a sense of flow between the tiers, we incorporated features such as:
- Upper Patio Installation: At the height of the slope, we installed a compact but practical patio using porcelain paving. This would become the main seating area within the tiered garden design, and is close to the lawn area to keep an eye on the children when playing outdoors.
- New Lawn: A new turf was installed from the patio to the back of the garden, on the upper tier of the design, to take advantage of this raised space. This lawn is the ideal play area for our client’s children and leads into a shed base, which is ready for a garden room to be installed in the near future.
- Retaining Walls: Installed using a stylish porcelain stone cap to complement the sleek new patio, these retaining walls define the individual tiers of the garden design. A dark stone face was used to provide contrast to the white patio and light colours of the property.
- Step Layout: To enhance flow through the tiered garden design, we decided to install a bespoke step layout. This avoided a potentially awkward ramp, which is another alternative for tiered garden design, to make the garden safer and easier to access for the whole family.
Ensuring Access In Tiered Garden Design
As we have mentioned, navigation is a major concern with sloped gardens. Our tiered garden design actively combats this and ensures cohesive flow between the varying levels of the garden. This not only makes the layout look complete and attractive, but also ensures the garden is a safe space for the whole family.
Access between the varying tiers of these kinds of gardens can come in the form of ramps or stairs. For this particular garden in Reigate, steps were preferred as they were safer and easier to implement with the steep slope of the landscape.
Using complementary paving as the patio and retaining walls, the stairs between the upper and lower levels of this tiered garden design are a stunning focal point. They combine both practicality and visual appeal, which is the aim of every garden design project we undertake.
Gardens with smaller slopes or less space between tiers may benefit from ramps instead. As professional paving installers, we will work with you to determine the best choice for your landscape and ensure a bespoke design to suit your needs and preferences.
To align with our client’s needs for this project, the steps were designed to offer the following:
- Bullnose Step Structure: This unique rounded structure was chosen to offer a soft, safe edge to the steps and tiers, as the garden will be accessed by small children
- Custom Depth: As per our client’s request, the steps were installed at a custom depth to avoid taking up too much space from the usable lawn area and ensure cohesive flow between garden zones.
- Integrated Platform: An integrated platform was installed underneath the garden gate to allow for smooth, safe access to the garden from the property.
The Finished Result: How To Make The Most Out Of Small, Sloped Gardens
Our clients were very happy with their new tiered garden design, and this is a great project to demonstrate the skills of our team at S&D Paving. Following this work in Reigate, we have shown what can be done with small, sloped gardens.
With careful planning and professional installations, you no longer have to suffer from an uneven outdoor space, as we can create a tiered garden design to offer:
- Multiple garden zones to align with your needs and lifestyle. For example, this tiered garden design in Reigate includes spaces for play, seating, and utility, with the base for the future garden shed.
- Safe, attractive access points both at the main entrance of the garden as well as between tiers to ensure a suitable environment for the whole family
- A polished finish that will withstand the test of time, thanks to our use of smart materials, such as porcelain paving and contrasting stone
This project has successfully transformed an awkward, overgrown garden into a modern masterpiece, complete with separate zones for parents and children to enjoy the outdoors. With the tiered garden design, our team successfully works with the natural flow of the landscape to create a bespoke, accessible environment for the family.
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We offer a range of solutions to our clients and are ready to take on your next project. Contact us today for a consultation or to learn more.
