GARDEN DESIGN
BRISTOL LANDSCAPER CHOOSES LONDON STONE PAVING FOR STUNNING BUILD
Image Credit- Will Cooke
The Bristol landscape offers opportunities for truly arresting garden builds. Here, with a breathtaking view across the Avon Gorge, sleek modern architecture made one of our most popular porcelain paving colours a perfect fit for this multifunctional design.
The finished project is by Artisan Landscapes Bristol, using Florence Grey porcelain paving in combination with clay pavers.
A difficult site A plot with a drop of 30m from the top of the drive to the bottom of the garden, on a steep-sided river gorge, would make some landscapers think twice. Artisan Landscapes stepped up to the mark.“ No machinery access and question marks over the existing construction were just two of the many hurdles,” explains Will Cooke, founder and managing director.“ But I trusted our design team to create something special and our experienced landscaper to deliver. And they did.”
The brief When the client moved in to this beautiful view of the Avon Gorge, the patio was just decking and artificial grass, with no safety railings.
The young couple who had moved in with their children knew how unsuitable their outdoor areas were.“ The site was unusable,” says Will.“ They wanted a multi-functional space to cook outside, use as a family, to entertain other families and groups of friends and children, and enjoy themselves.” Instead, they had a very sterile space, with no plants at all and, frighteningly, a 7m drop from an unfenced edge.
Making it safe With no machinery access, everything had to be hand-dug and portered.
With no machinery possible on site, it was fortunate that the existing“ garden”, put in place by the developer, comprised only artificial grass and decking and was simple to remove. However, great care was needed over the construction, as the position obviously made it of the utmost importance that the base was rock-solid. Once everything was dug out by hand, behind the alreadyexisting huge retaining wall, concrete was pumped in from a lorry at the top of the drive. A wire balustrade finally ensured the space was safe to use.
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