Spotlight on Hard Landscaping

If the garden is the outdoor room, then the hard landscaping defines the walls, doors, windows, floors and ceilings.  This key element of garden design therefore needs careful consideration.  The position of all of these elements is addressed during the creation of the sketch plan, and it as at this time that the designer will start to formulate ideas about the sort of materials required by the design, and their look and finish.  During the detailed design phase the designer will choose the exact materials - the type of timber, the exact stone to be used, whether the finish is to be polished or rough and so on.  But what drives these decisions?

Two simple philosophies guide our work - simplicity and harmony.  Simplicity means using a restricted palette of materials - a well chosen palette will meet all the functional needs of the garden while providing a sense of continuity throughout the space.  A restricted palette does not mean flat, boring surfaces - materials can be combined or contrasted, for instance using polished stone and rough stone to create textural changes in a dividing wall.   Subtleties such as changes in paving pattern can affect the mood of an area, for example dictating whether it's an area to move through or a place to stop and contemplate.

The choice of hard landscaping material is almost limitless - brick, stone, metal, timber, concrete, rubber, glass, plastics, fabric and more.  A successful scheme will use materials which are in harmony with each other and with the site itself.  The hard and soft landscaping elements also interact - glossy leaves may bounce light through a glass panel, or steely blue flowers may complement a stainless steel water feature.  When all of these elements are considered in a design the results are guaranteed to be stunning.

The individual materials selected for use will also be governed by site specific factors and the overall style of the scheme - polished slate and stainless steel may not sit well in a classical scheme for a country cottage, although the juxtaposition of classical and modern features can occasionally be used to good effect.  The aspect of the site will play a part in the decision - some surfaces will succumb to the effects of moss and algae more readily than others, making them treacherous underfoot whereas highly reflective surfaces may strain the eyes on an exposed, sunny site.

As with other aspects of garden design, the dimension of time must also be considered when specifying hard landscaping materials.  Brick and stone must be able to withstand the rigours of the British climate, metals may weather and discolour and man-made materials must be stable in sunlight, and of course everything must be designed to shed rainwater in a controlled fashion.

To summarise, Pure Garden Design uses the philosphies of simplicity and harmony to control the palette of hard landscaping materials used in the garden but the actual choice of each material is governed by a host of other tangible and intangible factors.   By acknowledging and harnessing thse factors, the resulting garden is guaranteed to be a cohesive whole which sits well in its environment.

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