Friday, October 2, 2009

Garden on a Shady Spot

Tall fences on either side, as well as trees that line the roadside, add to the shady aspect of this small space, so this was an important factor that had to be considered in the new design. You will also wanted to keep a snake-bark maple, Acer capiaipes, that was already there and to retain the crazy-paving car parking space at the side of the house. This meant that tine ground surface chosen for the garden had to blend with this. Sally opted for bricks, in tones to complement those of the house as well as the crazy paving, and used them to create a hexagonal terrace featuring an ornamental urn as its centre point.

As this is a very small plot bricks were chosen for the main area of ground surface, the small-sized units being in scale with the setting. At the centre of the design stands an ornamental stone urn which is placed in the centre of a brick hexagon, that is divided into four separate sections of herring-bone laid bricks, each section outlined with a line of bricks laid straight.

A bench looks into the garden and is positioned outside the front door where it captures the small amount of sun that reaches this garden. On the opposite side of the hexagon the bricks continue as part of a further hexagon to meet the crazy paving of the car- parking area.

Patterns with pavers and bricks This paving has many uses, from a pat;erneci area in the centre of a terrace of larger paving, to a country look for a patio or car-parking area. 8!‘, using different colors or laying the bricks in a range of patterns more effects can be created. Five alternative ways of using mall-sized paving units shoe some of the patterns possible

Brick-like parsers divide up a large area of paving, adding extra interest to the expanse.

1. Wavy-edge paving is used here and forms an alternative to bricks laid sideby-side. The blocks are laid in a simple side-by-side pattern so that each block fits snugly into the next.

2. Herring-bone is the traditional method of laying bricks, or In this case parsers with an antiqued finish.

3. This is an unusually shaped paver that mixes colors and tones and offers the chance to form a wide range of patterns.

4. By mixing gravel and pavers a far wider range of patterns can be created, as here where a series of swirling circles is formed out of wedge-shaped pavers interspersed with gravel.

5. This tinted concrete material. impressed when wet with rubber mats to simulate cobbles, setts or paving, is tough enough to be used for a driveway and comes in a r(vide range of colors.

For good ground cover include Persicaria campanulata which can grow to around 90 crn/36 in with a similar spread and tolerates light shade. This is a clump-forming semi-evergreen perennial that has hairy mid-green leaves which are lighter underneath. On the tall stems bell-shaped fragrant pink or white flowers (the variety 'Southcombe White' has white flowers) appear in clusters from mid-summer through to early autumn.

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