ESHER
REAR GARDEN
This house in Claygate, Esher is built on a steep slope; the children of the house have one obsession – football! These two factors are not a good combination, they were left with a thin, worn out strip of grass to play on – something had to be done.
The budget of any job is, unfortunately, always limited; to maximise the budget here, a decision was made to configure the design to eliminate the need for large amounts of soil to be removed or brought onto the site. This saved money, better spent elsewhere in the garden.
The layout achieves a large (over 100 sq.m) lawn area and also provides plenty of usable space outside the rear doors. Easy, gentle steps connect to a ‘mezzanine’ paving area leading to the lawn, side door and summerhouse. A wide strip of planting between the lawn and hard landscaped areas brings shelter, colour and movement to the garden.
The original design provided two sets of steps and two inbuilt benches, but this proved to be over the budget, so the design was changed, still retaining the overall shape and feel of the original proposal.
We were also commissioned to redesign the front drive/garden, also with a very steep slope, so steep as to be unusable for cars. A stepped ramp was designed for pram /wheelchair/wheelie bin access and new steps centred on the front door.
A large retaining wall provides the flat area needed to park cars.
We are hoping to carry out the front landscaping later this year, we are currently (February 2019) landscaping the rear garden.
Happy To Help
Please call or email to make an enquiry, I will be happy to come and visit to discuss your needs.
The first consultation is free of charge as is producing quotations for work; design work is chargeable, I can give you a fixed price for this based on the size & the complexity of your garden and based on your needs.
Please Read Our Reviews
John designed a lovely garden and deck area for us, which makes most of the space. The low planting plan has worked well too, and it looks green all year around.
We are very pleased with the work of John Gale and his team. He showed a deep knowledge of landscaping construction and dedication to his work. We wish him success in all his endeavours.
John is a fantastic landscape gardener and built the Amphitheatre at the Infant’s school (which is still as solid as the day it was built) and built a play area, out of timber, for us too. I also know of many others who are pleased with his work.
John carried out work for us involving the laying of a patio and pathways, necessary preparation work and installation of garden lighting. We had no snagging issues and at the end of the project our garden was left in pristine condition. In terms of other comments I would only say that John is meticulous and I wouild have no hesitation in recommending him.
Quality of work was excellent. John is a real perfectionist and works incredibly hard to make the vision come alive. He doesn’t cut corners and is always willing to look at different ways of doing things – expensive and cheaper options. Work was completed to the budget we agreed. Very friendly but not at all intrusive on our lives. Very reliable – turned up promptly every day. Neat, tidy and no hassle. I absolutely recommend him and his work.
“We have worked with John Gale Landscapes twice now, at two separate properties.
On both occasions we were very happy with the process and the final result. John took time to talk over our requirements and ideas. He interpreted these perfectly and showed us clear plans and drawings of what was proposed. The work was completed in a timely fashion and the site was always left in good order. A curved bull-nosed stone step was beautifully executed and the attention to detail when decking around an old tree was excellent.
Both projects were finished on time and on budget.”
John made some good suggestions to improve on what we were trying to achieve. His team was excellent and worked extremely hard to finish the job. We were very pleased with the end result of a curved brick mowing strip, a brick wall and a relaid lawn. We would have no hesitation to use them again for our next project.
John laid our front drive, rebuilt our walls and railings a few years ago and we were so pleased with the result that we had him back to do our back garden. John has excellent attention to detail which extends to very precise symmetry in the garden layout, making it very pleasing to the eye. We were extremely pleased with the result. John’s team worked hard and the project ran smoothly right through to the final sweep up.