Around the border, a combination of plain
and patterned Spanish tiles created an
attractive pathway to the front door and an
area for the rubbish bins. The couple chose
a design called ‘World Streets’ – a small-
format porcelain collection of tiles by Vives
that is available in an anti-slip version so
is ideal for high-traffic areas. ‘Porcelain is
very durable,’ says Juliet, ‘It has a near-zero
absorption rate, so is frost-proof and perfect
for the UK climate.’
At the edge of their plot a short section of
brick wall was knocked down and replaced
with a longer stretch of brick wall to match
the existing walls, which all included railings.
‘We had a spare railing, so we were able
to match the walls that bordered with our
neighbours,’ explains Neal.
To make such a big border accessible, the
couple decided to create stepping stones
throughout the planting to make weeding
easier and a visit to CED Stone in West
Drayton offered a wide choice of solutions.
Although they had initially been keen on
porphyry seen on the company’s website,
on looking around the yard, they fell in love
with some softly rounded grey Turkish
paddlestones and felt that the shapes and
sizes offered of this product were more
suitable to their project.
The couple did the soft landscaping
themselves including the placement of the
paddlestones. ‘Without the planting, the
paddlestones looked a bit mad,’ says Juliet.
‘And a couple of passerbys made jokes.
However, now that the flowers are beginning
to flourish, the stones look very natural. We
love the result and are enjoying the fact that
it is a work in progress.’
www.julietmcdonald.com
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