Case Studies
Full Outside Space Re-Design - Helen
Helen’s garden had fallen into disrepair since her husband died a number of years ago. Every aspect of the garden needed work from the front garden right though tothe drive along the side of the house and especially the back garden. The garden was once the attraction in the local area due to her husbands enthusiasm for the railway. The garden had become a shrine to locomotives over the years but now had fallen on hard times.
Helen’s mobility issues had also become an increasing problem with the uneven surface becoming a real issue of safety. We were tasked to bring life back to the garden, levelling the space and creating a garden that was practical for the homeowner and her grandchildren.
The clean out was fairly extensive, removing over 100 tonnes of material most of it recycled. All new fencing and the construction of a beautiful open summer house was important. The open plan nature of then summer house meant that getting in and out wasn’t a problem. The whole area from front to back was constructed all on one level without a step in sight. This made it easier for the homeowner to move around the new garden.
Colourful Raj green Indian stone was used for the paving, with matching sets in the border. This gives a good area to play with grandchildren as well as the artificial lawn. We recycled some of the old sleepers and created raised beds across the back of the garden and re-housing the station platform light as a centre piece.
The transformation is incredible and the customer couldn’t be happier. The space is now practically maintenance free, but practical at the same time.
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Driveway and Gate, Restricted Access – Philip & Linda
Philip and Linda had lived in their house for 27 years but never really thought the drive was a necessary investment, even though drive was filling with water every time it rained and generally looked untidy.
As Philip’s mobility decreased they began to think about having the drive and the surrounding area to the garage paved to help create a smooth level surface to help with mobility. As they have a number of cars and continually arriving friends and family they decided to have block paving installed due to the robust, weight bearing nature of product.
The area was levelled and it was decided that instead of using steps, the whole area would incorporate ramps and gradual inclines so that if a wheel chair was ever required the setup was already there. The side of the house extends all the way round to a rear patio. We again decided to ramp this area and remove the steps so that the customer had full access to all the grounds around the house.
Even though there was a garage at the rear of the property there was actually no hard standing access. The sub-base drive that was previously there ended at the side of the house and grass had been laid up to the garage. Not idea in the colder, wetter months. We decided to continue the drive right round to this give access to the garage if they even needed to store a car there. Adding value to the property in the process.
The area was fairly large around 200m2, so a number of ACO drains were installed to deal with any top lying water. As the house is on a private road we also decided to block pave the front apron which is usually in concrete. A large double gate was also included to separate the rear garden from the front garden, but also to give privacy and security.
The final result is an attractive, but more importantly practical solution which will serve the owners for years to come. There were so pleased with the job, we have been back since to install an Indian stone patio and maintain the trees and bushes.
Full Garden Design & Build – York Council
We were contacted by York council to provide a quote for a facility they have on the city walls just off Blossom Street. Changing lives supports ‘York Drug and Alcohol Service provides a range of free, confidential and non-judgemental services for local residents in York who are affected by drug or alcohol misuse’
We were tasked to build a user friendly but easily manageable space for the patient’s, friends, family and staff to enjoy. The area had to be practical to use, but also easily manageable. A budget was agreed and we set about designing the area.
As the area is in a fairly busy part of town, we decided that we would need to secure the site. A new fence and gate were constructed to achieve this. They also gave the area a fresher feel then the old fence.
Artificial Grass was decided to be the best choice. It provides a green surface without all the maintenance of a real lawn. Indian stone paving was used to create a walkway through the garden with the pergola providing some shelter from the sun in the warmer months.
Due to the large project and budget, we decided that gravel would be a good way to fill the area without being too expensive. The ground underneath was replaced with top soil in order to provide more possible planting in the future.
2 small patios and some choice plants and shrubs were used to break up the space to give an attractive but low maintenance garden, which can be used for years to come. If you walk the city walls in that area you can take a good look for yourself.
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Driveway & Garden Makeover – George
George had been using York Gardens Ltd for a number of years for regular work but after discussions with myself & the team we decided that his aged landscaped front garden needed redeveloping.
It had a single paved path to the front door with gravel one side for parking with a bed of over grown plants and larger unsightly rocks to the other.
George spoke to me about ideas he had and I offered him some suggestions on what we could achieve within his budget. We worked together over a couple of weeks to come up with the perfect design to pave the whole of the front drive in order to get 2 cars parked side by side, and redesign the garden area to make it more open and manageable. A new fence would be required along with some driveway lighting.
This created a number of problems with drainage as the pitch of the area falls heavily towards the house. Also we needed to retain the garden area as sloping the drive to make the 2 parking spaces, had effectively made 2 different levels. For this we put in a slim ACO drain against the house to catch any running water from the drive and built a retaining wall out of sleepers to hold back the higher level of the garden.
He also wanted a Japanese theme for the garden area as it had become overgrown and was rather unsightly. This has now been raised and levelled with a wooden sleeper edge with lighting on the inside to light up the drive at night. We persuaded him to keep a few rocks in the raised bed to break up the trees and plants and to cover the area in wood chipping’s to giving a low maintenance and professional finish.
He was delighted with the finish, getting many compliments from passers by and neighbours, who have also contacted us to take a look at their respective gardens. A difficult and time consuming project, but one we can be proud to add to our portfolio.