Belsize Square.
"This front garden was one of my first full renovations, and it was a job I did entirely by myself. The garden was completely overgrown due to access being quite hazardous and impractical, which in-turn made the job of hauling bags of rubble out quite tough (but also quite satisfying).
The brief was simple; create access from the street to the basement level, and make the garden beds accessible & m
Access to the garden bed from the basement entrance was via three old slabs sat on top of stacked breeze-blocks.
The first job was to clear all the unwanted greenery. As you can see from the image, once it had been cleared it created a lot more space and light, however the slope was still quite precarious.
To create more space at basement level, the retaining wall was to be removed and rebuilt further back. Digging out the section however threw up a few surprises, one of them being the gas pipes, smack bang in the way of the intended steps.
Another surprise from digging out the earth and removing the existing wall was uncovering an old rusted rifle. The clients' brother was an amateur archaeologist and reckoned the rifle to be a late 19th century 'Henry repeating rifle'!
Due to the gas pipes location the steps had to be moved over, but the clients didn't want to lose anymore bed at street level as they intended to plant a hedge. The answer was to create a curved design that still allowed ample space for planting.
This picture shows the footings for the new retaining wall and also highlights the depth of the soil & clay that had to be dug out and removed.
One "small" load of soil, clay & rubble, carried out by hand, by Salty, ready for the skip in the morning. Often clients are unaware of the amount of physical work that's involved in landscaping, and it isn't until work is underway that they really begin to understand the cost of a quote.
There's something about a curve that makes a wall a bit more exciting and aesthetically pleasing.
The steps starting to take shape.
With hindsight, unearthing the gas pipes was a blessing in disguise at it allowed Salty to create the beautifully curved steps and walkway. More often than not a clients willingness to trust can have the best results.
As the clients budget was quite modest, they were keen to re-use materials and happy to leave the walls bare, as opposed to having them rendered or painted.
Here's the garden planted up, complete with an established 'Teucrium fruticans' hedge.