Clive Abben, McCrae

The clients got in touch with me after they had visited an open garden in Red Hill that we had open during the Garden Design festival in 2022.  They had a steeply sloping block that would need retaining walls and were impressed by our dry-stone walls.

I met the clients on site, and they explained that when they first moved in the back garden was virtually inaccessible due to a lot of weed trees having taken over a lot of the area.  They had cleared a lot of the unwanted vegetation so that we were able to commission a detailed survey of the property.

The clients wanted retaining walls to create a series of flat areas and wanted a path that would allow for a ride on mower or small machine to access the whole garden.  We were then able to plan the layout of the walls using CAD software that created a detailed topographic “site model” that allowed us to plan the layout in 3D.  This gave the clients a valuable insight into what the garden would look like and enabled them to be an important part of the design process.

Construction was complicated by the limited access. We could only get a 1.7 tonne excavator and a small skid steer loader into the back garden.  We persevered and the clients also were very involved in helping with a lot of the manual work including vegetation clearance, garden lighting and fencing work.  Having the clients so closely involved meant that they had a real influence on the garden and understanding of the complexities of working on such a steep site.

The result is that at the very bottom of the garden we have an area that will be predominantly indigenous planting.  The next layer up comprises of 3 levels of sleeper walls which are planted with fruit trees.  The next level is the largest flat area and will have a shed, green house and vegetable gardens in the future.  Above this area we have 3 level areas retained with dry stone walling.  Generous steps lead through the centre of the walls and a meandering path runs along the outside.  The planting is cottage style with the aim of having something interesting all year round.

The front of the house has shade planting by the house with a succulent garden on the other side of the drive.