sloping site in surrey
The Location
Sloping sites can be tricky to deal with. Whilst terracing is often the answer, the retaining wall materials must blend well and be softened by planting, and the design needs to include sufficient useable lawn. This Claygate garden was a wonderful technical challenge, and the results have been spectacular.
The Design
The clients were wonderfully adventurous, and had already worked hard with an architect to create a beautiful house, dug into the hill. They were happy to experiement with materials, and loved the look of gabions, so these were used to hold back the soil. The brief was to create a garden around it which softened the house and made enjoyment of the sloping site possible, providing vantage points to enjoy the incredible view. The planting has since exploded into a riot of colour and movement, with good strong bones for winter structure.
Before
After
