Garden design, garden planning, garden layout, planting plants and planting schemes

GARDEN PATIOS – PATIO GARDENS

Posted on August 18th, 2009

Sandstone (Ravena)

Granite (Grey)

Sandstone (Mint)

Limestone

Granite (Yellow)

When it comes to deciding which and what type of patio, many people focus on colour. Yes a very important factor but so too is choice of stone, area size and levels. Bright warm colours are very popular, but others prefer rich hot colours whilst the neutral contemporary colours are becoming increasingly more popular. If colour is the most important feature of the Patio area this will largely determine which stone you may select.

Sandstone (Mint)

Granite (Grey)

Sandstone (Mint)

Sandstone (Ravena)

Nothing compares to the natural beauty of sandstone paving for patio areas. Slight variance in tones, even the presence of fossils are vividly revealed after a shower of rain and during sunny spells the results are a light and inviting space to be. Natural stone paving provides an enduring sense of style, is extremely hardwearing and very easy to maintain in optimum condition.

Here are some examples of the more popular choices. For more examples see: www.owenchubblandscapers.com/patios 

Granite (Grey)

Sandstone (Mint)

Sandstone (Mint)

Sandstone (Mint)

Granite (Grey)

Sandstone (Mint)

Bright White Background

Posted on July 10th, 2009

A very recent garden project featured an interesting combination of granite paving/patio with nice bullnose profile on steps which looked particularly well with the vivid green lawn (note the explosive growth in less than 2 weeks) and the white bright painted finish of the timber wall cladding. 

A few before photos again illustrate how design and layout can make even a modest size urban space look bigger and brighter and much more appealing.

The white background works particularly well with the Olive trees to create a Mediterranean look.  

Low Maintenance Garden Design

Posted on April 21st, 2009

 As is so often the case with designing in small spaces, the big big challenge is drawing a balance between looking good but yet having sufficient space in which to enjoy it. Recently I had the pleasure and opportunity to return to a garden which we had designed and built almost two years ago. The clients I am delighted to say are still very happy, in fact they say they love the garden! As do their two beautiful young children! So it was very good that I had this opportunity because it also helped me to correct an earlier oversight when I had forgotten to take any photos of the project when it was completed.  

By way of background, the site is located in an old Dublin suburb near the sea, a period house would describe the external architecture, but the clients had been planning a major refurrbishment to completely re-model and modernise the interiors. I was invited at a very early stage even before the architect had completed his designs, to meet the clients (well technically at the time they would have been ‘prospective clients’)  and discuss posssibities and potential for designing the garden.

In essence they were seeking a garden which would be more contemporary than traditional, low maintenance and would be family friendly, plants were also to be child (very young) friendly but appealing to adults, and also be bold but space efficient. The new building design had effectively split the garden area into two sub sections. The main garden area was to be the lawn area where parents and children would play and the second area would be the location for the patio for  socialising with family and  friends. The architect had designed the boundary of the interior and exterior in a such a clever but effective way whereby the garden was fully visible from anywhere from the back of the house. The house was south facing so was getting plenty of daytime sunshine but had some intrusive details and required more privacy (as the before photos illustrate). Also what is not apparent from the ‘before’ photos is that a significant chunk of the original garden area would be lost to the new house layout putting more pressure on the layout of the garden design.  A further point worth noting was that the boundary walls were in very poor condition and it was agreed that with the exception of the old rubble/limestone wall on the east side which was to be tidied up but retained, the other boundary walls would be demolished, rebuilt and the sand & cement rendered finish would be painted in a light tone to reflect the proposed interior style and colour scheme and simultaneously provide a distinct contrast with the rubble wall. 

This design project made an early but strong case for utilising a stone which would discreetly reflect the characteristics of the new architectural style but expressed in a bright but confident style. Large floor to ceiling high glazed panels created a seamless transition from garden to house and plenty of potential to observe a ‘panoramic’ view of the garden areas.  The split between play and patio areas was also emphasised by the juxtapositioning of both areas. In order to create the illusion of more space all planting was selected for locating in Raised Planting Beds with the  key advantage that such planting would be more visible but also easier to maintain.  For impact , some very attractive Architectural specimens including chamerops, trachycarpus as well as some topiary examples of ligustrum were used. Low level planting featured Acorus Ogon, Euonymus emerald gold, Convolvulus cneorem and Hebe Heartbreaker.  Lighting was discreet but evident as was the ‘S’ shaped Stainless Steel Water feature. The stone selected for the paving (patio and pathway) areas etc was granite, with the additional bonus that it made an ideal material for use as capping stone for both the new Boundary walls as well as the Raised Planting Beds. A selection of photos show some key features, and note that this is the garden, two years later! 

View of Rear wall.

In my opinion the garden looks every bit as fresh today as it did two years ago and I will be confident that it will continue to look well. One of the clients made  avery interesting comment about how little effort was required to keep the garden in shape. She said “it take such little effort, I sometimes forget to do it”.  Now that’s what I’d call low maintenance. I’m particularly proud of this project because it illustrates simply but effectively, that it is possible to mix classic and modern styles in such a way and in a comparitively small sized modern sub-urban garden. The results speak for themselves, despite the rather simple layout, each area has some uniqueness but yet at the same time share a common style/identity. They also meet the functional requirements of the owners and various users. In design terms the overall impression is modern and emphasised by the colour and materials used. The owners lifestyle is probably typical of young modern Irish families,  which love the garden not so much perhaps for the planting, yes of course they are important but  rather the overall enjoyment and satisfaction comes from I suppose of the time spent in the garden with their  young children or entertaining with friends.  It is very often this sense of achievement, helping clients get more fun, get more use from the outdoor space, which makes us feel privileged but fortunate to be landscapers. Good garden design is not just about nice looking aesthetics but getting more fun and use from this critically important aspect of our living space.

Urban Garden Design

Posted on April 15th, 2009

Some photos from a recent project illustrate how functional design together with a well executed installation can provide very rewarding results in  a garden which is practical, functional and eye catching. To achieve an appealing and successful outcome, requires from the outset  clarity of design requirements and good searching discussions with clients are an ideal means to determine a design layout and style of finish that will comply with prescribed criteria. As always, our approach is consistent throughout all of our projects irrespective of size, location or indeed budget. For us the challenge as designers is not to merely meet client needs but to exceed client expectations.  In this instance the client was anxious to rectify an earlier error in which a large and cumbersome looking composite decking had been installed the previous year. The client’s disappointment with the decking was such to to effectively suspend any further development of the garden. Eager to seek a fresh evaluation of area the client contacted us for a meeting to discuss and explore the deisgn potential. Arising from discussions and preparations of costings,  a design was developed which satisfied the client’s wishes and preferences.

It became clear during the early stages of the design discussions,  that the client had been attracted to the design of one of our earlier projects. Also, it emerged through discussions on options that the decking had to go.  This was subsequently clarified and it was agreed to remove the decking and replace it with natural granite paving of silver grey hues. Other finishes included the use of guillotined  grey sandstone for the construction of the Raised Planting Beds and that the wall and fencing was to be cladded with our weatherboard (shiplap) finish and painted a dark colour. We agreed that black would provide a highly defined background, but rather than worry about possible illusions of less space but instead select plants with distinctive colour foliage and forms to effectively contrast and stand out against the dark background.  Other factors which influenced plant selection included that the plants be relatively low maintenance and also be capable of withstanding some of the playful advances of the family’s pet dog. Some aspects also required consideration including screening on the left side (Street Light)  and rear (neighbouring houses).  The end results are refreshing and illustrate very well how  a practical layout can provide more interesting layouts, better views and a sense of more planned and open space which results in an area which is more appealing and make for better use and greater enjoyment of the garden. Which is not a bad thing today.

The Design challenges of a small garden

Posted on November 23rd, 2008

Unlike large areas, where there is good scope to exploit the area with plants, features, structural elements etc but in more confined spaces the design requirements and demands to achieve a practical layout with good visual aspects is much more difficult and challenging. A recent project was a good case in point. The site featured a new house build within an existing (corner site) garden and by the time the construction of the new house was completed, the outdoor space was restrictive. A small spatial area but with an unusual but dual purpose (a) a Patio area for the owner to sit and enjoy and (b) a place to park the owner’s car. To add to the design challenge, the space was not level and also somewhat overlooked. The ‘Before’ photos show the site and end of construction and also a new concrete slab which the Builder had poured for a car parking space. It proved very strong and difficult to remove but it had to go.

Early on in the design process it was agreed to define the space in terms of two functions and on a split level. Planting it was agreed would be restricted to mainly rear at perimeter and some trapped beds within the ‘patio’ area. To balance privacy with openness, we specified mainly specimen planting, for example Photinia (Red Robin) standards in Patio and Olive Trees for eventual easy to maintain rear screening. Buxus Sempervirens (Box hedging) was cleverly utilised to disguise and soften the otherwise ‘I’ roll track for the garage/side gate.

Having considered a number of different natural paving types, including sandstone and granite, the client was keen to utilise granite (bush hammered grey finish), as it was considered the stone best suited to provide a contemporary look as well as being ideal surface for car parking. The finishes were very defined and broadly simple clean lines used throughout. There were however some contrasting granite forms used (granite setts and granite kerbing) to provide added visual contrast.

One might also notice the garden statue which had been within the original family garden and the owner was keen to retain for lots of warm childhood memories etc. We did manage to re-position the ‘garden lady’ discreetly behind one of the Olive tree.

Crisp clean lines with good definition are hallmarks of this particular project, and one which despite its relative small size, demonstrates the importance of paying attention to details and achieve a simple but harmonious end result. The planting scheme involved more emphasis on mature specimens, with the simple geometric forms of Bay Laurel and Photinia Standards contrasting nicely with Chamerops and Olive Trees. To retain interest over the winter months, the Mahonia with its scented yellow flowers will give lift to the lower growing Hebe Heartbreakers, again the simple compact forms of this variety will produce spectacular colour variations. As temperatures change from winter frost to summer sunshine, the hebe heartbreaker will dramatically change colour from glowing pink to firey red to augment the plant’s more regular variagated look.