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Sloping gardens, and what they actually need

Most of the gardens we are asked to landscape around Caerphilly, Bedwas, Llanbradach and the Aber valley slope. That single fact drives more of the design and more of the cost than any choice of paving, because before you can have a level terrace you have to hold the ground back.

• Retaining structures are structural. Anything holding a meaningful height of soil is carrying real load, and it is priced as engineering rather than as walling. It also needs drainage behind it — a retaining wall with nowhere for water to go is a wall waiting to move.
• Terracing beats one big level. Two or three shallower terraces usually cost less than one deep cut-and-fill, use less retained height, and give a garden that is actually pleasant to use.
• Cut and fill needs compacting properly. Made-up ground that has not been compacted in layers will settle, and it takes your new patio down with it. This is the corner most often cut and the most expensive to put right.
• Steps and levels. Consistent riser heights across a sloping garden take setting out. Inconsistent ones are a trip hazard and are obvious once built.

Water, and where it goes

Valley gardens shed water fast, and a lot of the ground around Caerphilly is heavy. Falls need to run away from the house at roughly 1 in 80, and surface water is not allowed to discharge onto a neighbouring property. On clay, a soakaway needs to be sized and sited for ground that drains slowly — or the surface itself needs to be permeable so the water does not concentrate in the first place.

Where a new impermeable driveway exceeds five square metres, the water has to be dealt with on your own land or the work needs planning permission. A permeable surface is usually the simpler answer, and we design it in rather than leave you to find out later.

Stone, and matching what's already there

A lot of Caerphilly properties have existing stone boundary walls, and new work sitting next to old stone either looks considered or looks bolted on. Reclaimed or locally matched stone, the right mortar mix, and coursing that follows the existing wall costs more than a concrete block and render, and on a stone-walled plot it is usually worth it.

Exposure and planting

Higher plots above the town catch far more wind than a sheltered Cardiff garden, and it shows in what survives. Hedging and structural planting take longer to establish, fence panels take more load so posts and fixings matter more, and anything in a container dries out faster than you would expect. We would rather specify planting that copes with the position than sell you something that looks good in the first season.

When to book

Groundwork is easier and cheaper in drier ground, so spring and early autumn are the least disruptive windows for anything involving excavation. Hard landscaping runs year-round, but on a sloping clay site a wet January costs time. Planting and turf establish better outside the height of summer.