14 Dec A look back at some of our landscaping projects from 2022

We’ve been privileged to work on some fabulous landscaping projects this year.  Here’s a snapshot of just a few of them.

2022 was a great year for the landscaping industry in general. The Covid 19 pandenic seemed to have a profound effect on people’s attitude to the way they use and value their gardens. Either that or spending more time at home gave folks more of an opportunity to focus on landscaping projects.  Whatever the reason – we had a record number of enquiries.  And we were lucky enough to be asked to build some very stylish gardens.

Working With The Weather

The weather was arguably our biggest challenge this year.  Anyone who knows me well will agree that I’m a bit of cynic at times. I don’t believe everything I see in the media and prefer to dig a little deeper to reassure myself of the facts before I form an opinion. The threat of climate change though seemed very real this year. 

A very wet winter meant that working with predominantly clay soils was not at all fun.  I’m very particular about caring for the soil – it’s a precious resource – and so trying to avoid compacting the wet ground with our machinery was a challenge at times. Fortunately I have a very experienced and innovative team. They can find a solution for any problem.

Spring was followed by the hottest, driest summer I can ever remember. Dad often talks about the summer of ’76. But I wasn’t even born then  so I have to take his word for it.

Our biggest and most important test for summer 2022 was making sure that the team didn’t suffer dehydration, heatstroke or sunburn.

We also had to project manage jobs very carefully and put extra measures in place to ensure that our work would be sustainable for the future.  Concrete must never be allowed to dry out too quickly because that affects it’s structural stability over time. It’s not easy to slow the process down in thirty degrees of dry heat! And as for planting…. Well, unless the client was willing to invest in an irrigation system, planting projects were postponed until the weather was kinder.

Landscaping Projects For 2022

We really did work on some great landscaping projects this year. There’s not one I’m not proud to put my name to. However, this blog can’t go on forever and ever and so I’ve selected just a few gardens to share with you.  If you are one of our clients and your garden isn’t on here – please don’t be offended.  I’m sure it will make it on to another blog.

Back Garden With Workshop – Great Bentley

Wow, this was a stunning transformation. And best of all, it was only a few miles from our yard which meant minimal fuel emissions for the team travelling to work every day. I do try to be as environmentally friendly as possible.

The garden was beautifully maintained and our clients clearly loved their outdoor spaces. But they wanted to invest in a large workshop for their hobbies and decided to landscape the garden so that the building wouldn’t look out of place.

Working with Tapestry Design Studios, Ben built a new patio with planting pockets. He installed a lovely water feature that tinkles away all day long and a figure of 8 shaped lawn with a pretty brick edging.  Finally, the beds and borders were planted with a selection of perennials to give all year round interest.

Medium Sized Back Garden In Colchester

Gardens don’t need to be big to be beautiful.  In my opinion, this plot in Colchester is just the right size. Plenty of room to move around and experiment with different planting combinations. But not so big that it becomes difficult to maintain.  

We reshaped the patio and swapped tired brick pavers for some stylish porcelain paving.  A gravel pathway was laid to one side of the garden and we erected some screens to hide the utility area from view. Finally we prepared some nice wide planting beds and laid a lush green lawn.

Sloping Garden In Colchester

This is one of the landscaping projects that we finished in November 2022. In other words, after the heatwave but before the snow.  Our clients wanted their garden lodge to be more accessible and also to have a better view.  As you can see from the photos, the building looked out onto a slightly overgrown plot which was difficult to manage. 

It’s not obvious at first, but the plot actually slopes towards the building. Which is never ideal because rainwater naturally runs downhill. Ben started the project by clearing the garden and then installing a drainage system to capture and divert excess water.

He then installed a series of porcelain paving terraces. Between each terrace is a retaining wall to stabilise the soil. The plot is not quite square to the building and narrows towards the back fence. So the clever garden designers at Tapestry Design Studios decided that the paving should embrace the shape of the garden. These asymmetrical edges give the garden great character and I for one can’t wait to see what it looks like with the planting in place.

The pavers in this garden are Serenity Sand from Arbour Landscape Solutions

Floral Front Garden

This was a private project – it’s my own garden. I’m so proud of it that I can’t resist sharing it with you. Would it look like this if I hadn’t invested in irrigation? Absolutely not. Young plants need a lot of water to help them establish a strong root system. In the heat of the summer, I doubt they’d have survived let alone thrived.  Next year, with plenty of mulching, the irrigation won’t be used nearly as much.  I’ve also installed several water butts to catch and store winter rainfall so I can use it next summer.  Mother Nature gives us lots of free resources – we just mustn’t take them for granted!

Thinking of remodelling your garden in 2023?  Here’s what to do next

Take a look at our portfolio pages for more garden inspiration

Read our blog about landscaping budgets to help you decide what to spend on your garden.   What  Does 25K Buy You In Landscaping?