Garden Tour: Pretty Terraces Transform a Shallow, Sloping Plot
An unusable wide, shallow garden is now an inviting space, with two patios linked by a winding path and varied planting
Sarah Alcroft
7 June 2020
Houzz UK Editorial Team
“The difficulty with wide, shallow gardens is you don’t really have a direct focal point,” designer John Brennan of Yorkshire Gardens says of this plot, “so you have to send the eye left or right.” This space had the added challenge of being on a steep slope, so John created a terraced design, with a journey along it through pretty planting.
Some of the photos below are of the newly finished garden, showing the structure; others taken later reveal how the planting is starting to make the space lush and beautiful.
This article is from our Most Popular stories file
Some of the photos below are of the newly finished garden, showing the structure; others taken later reveal how the planting is starting to make the space lush and beautiful.
This article is from our Most Popular stories file
Garden at a Glance
Who lives here? A professional woman
Location Roundhay, West Yorkshire
Property A late 20th century detached stone house
Garden dimensions Around 10m x 30m
Designer John Brennan of Yorkshire Gardens
The owner wasn’t sure what she wanted to do with the space, beyond making it useable and enjoyable, but John established she liked Japanese, Mediterranean and cottage gardens, so aimed to subtly blend elements of all three.
Who lives here? A professional woman
Location Roundhay, West Yorkshire
Property A late 20th century detached stone house
Garden dimensions Around 10m x 30m
Designer John Brennan of Yorkshire Gardens
The owner wasn’t sure what she wanted to do with the space, beyond making it useable and enjoyable, but John established she liked Japanese, Mediterranean and cottage gardens, so aimed to subtly blend elements of all three.
This is the same view as the first photo, but from when the garden was newly planted, showing the wide, shallow nature of the space. The design runs from this patio, amid cottage garden planting, along a path bounded by Mediterranean plants, to a second, circular patio.
This is a just-planted view from the Mediterranean end.
“As with long, thin gardens, it’s best to break up a wide, shallow space into smaller areas,” John says. “The main thing is to try to give a reason for going to different parts of the garden, rather than it just being nice to look at. I tried to create different spaces the owner could use.
“There’s an area on the left to sit, an area on the right to sit, and a nice walk through the middle,” he says. “And the walk alters as you go along, as you’re changing level and direction, and going through different styles of planting.”
“As with long, thin gardens, it’s best to break up a wide, shallow space into smaller areas,” John says. “The main thing is to try to give a reason for going to different parts of the garden, rather than it just being nice to look at. I tried to create different spaces the owner could use.
“There’s an area on the left to sit, an area on the right to sit, and a nice walk through the middle,” he says. “And the walk alters as you go along, as you’re changing level and direction, and going through different styles of planting.”
Before the redesign, the sloping plot was a large, but mostly unusable, lawn.
“Slopes are good for rolling down, but that’s about it,” John says.
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Need some help with your outdoor space? Find local landscape contractors and gardeners in the Houzz Professionals Directory.
To turn the slope into a usable space, John terraced it. The terraces are created from wooden sleepers, bringing structure to the garden, but with a natural feel. “The sleepers are all treated and should last for decades,” he says.
“A lot of the wood is from the local builders’ merchants, but we also go to a timber supplier in Bradford for different sizes and finishes,” he adds. “They’ll supply a really nice, tanalised, planed post, for instance, that you can use for pergolas, rather than rough-sawn. It makes a difference.”
The patio paving is Indian sandstone.
Timber, Estate Sawmills.
“A lot of the wood is from the local builders’ merchants, but we also go to a timber supplier in Bradford for different sizes and finishes,” he adds. “They’ll supply a really nice, tanalised, planed post, for instance, that you can use for pergolas, rather than rough-sawn. It makes a difference.”
The patio paving is Indian sandstone.
Timber, Estate Sawmills.
The planting took careful planning. “It was tricky, because just under the grassy slope there was some really poor soil – heavy clay, large pieces of bedrock, building rubble,” John says.
“We terraced it using imported soil, so as you go up, the depth of the decent soil varies. Some of the plants we put in went completely mad, while a couple didn’t thrive,” he says. (He’s since replaced these.)
“We terraced it using imported soil, so as you go up, the depth of the decent soil varies. Some of the plants we put in went completely mad, while a couple didn’t thrive,” he says. (He’s since replaced these.)
This later photo shows how the Mediterranean bed is now flourishing. “I tried to mimic a Greek hillside in the middle, gravel section,” John says. “In the mix, there’s a mugo pine, trailing rosemary [Rosmarinus offinalis ‘Prostratus’], which creeps rather than being bushy, thyme, lavender, geraniums, euphorbia and fountain grass [Pennisetum].”
Elegant cypress trees bookend the garden. “They’re Italian Totem Pole cypresses [Cupressus sempervirens ‘Totem Pole’], which are slow-growing and don’t get very big,” John says.
Elegant cypress trees bookend the garden. “They’re Italian Totem Pole cypresses [Cupressus sempervirens ‘Totem Pole’], which are slow-growing and don’t get very big,” John says.
In the middle of the garden, at the top of the steps, is a small Amelanchier tree, which acts as a focal point from the back door and softens the line of the top terrace. “It’s important when you put terraces in that you break up the lines,” John says.
The brick retaining wall of the property behind is a beautiful feature in itself. “I did have the benefit of that amazing wall as a backdrop,” John says.
He initially planted the back trough with wildflowers, but wasn’t really happy with it. “They tended towards very few species – mainly Achillea,” he says, “so then I put in loads of bulbs and some grasses [see next photo].”
He initially planted the back trough with wildflowers, but wasn’t really happy with it. “They tended towards very few species – mainly Achillea,” he says, “so then I put in loads of bulbs and some grasses [see next photo].”
“I also added fan-trained fruit trees,” he continues. “They’re quite small and have nice blossom in the spring.”
The bank is south-facing, but the area near the front of the garden is in the shadow of the house, so John chose shade-tolerant plants for the lower beds, including hebes, hostas, heucheras and ferns.
The bank is south-facing, but the area near the front of the garden is in the shadow of the house, so John chose shade-tolerant plants for the lower beds, including hebes, hostas, heucheras and ferns.
The pergola on the right-hand side is planted with honeysuckles, clematis and a climbing rose.
This later photo shows the climbing rose starting to bloom.
The cottage garden includes Aquilegia, geraniums, Schizostylis, campanulas, hebes and Luzula nivea.
Read expert advice on how to design a blue and purple garden.
Read expert advice on how to design a blue and purple garden.
John created a smaller, circular patio on the left-hand side of the garden to give it a different feel to the cottage garden one. “The circle patio is Raj Green Indian sandstone,” he says. “It came in a kit from a local supplier. I like to get decent stuff that has some provenance.”
Paving, Well Stoned.
Paving, Well Stoned.
A wisteria is now spreading nicely across the circular patio’s pergola and along the wall. There’s also a star jasmine (Trachelospermum jasminoides) growing up the other side.
John has succeeded in giving this garden bags of character, but what if he were faced with a wide, shallow plot that was level rather than sloping?
“I’d approach that by including screening – a hedge or similar – and having a glimpse of something through it, to give the impression the garden’s bigger than you think,” he says. “So create an interesting foreground, then a glimpse of something behind – but only a glimpse, so you have to go into the garden to see it.”
“I’d approach that by including screening – a hedge or similar – and having a glimpse of something through it, to give the impression the garden’s bigger than you think,” he says. “So create an interesting foreground, then a glimpse of something behind – but only a glimpse, so you have to go into the garden to see it.”
John has taken this garden from dull, unusable lawn to a space with masses of interest and a reason to visit every bit of it. “Everywhere you stand, you see something different,” he says. “And it’s actually pretty low-maintenance, too.”
Tell us…
What do you like about this wide, shallow garden? Would you use any of these ideas in your garden? Share your thoughts in the Comments.
Tell us…
What do you like about this wide, shallow garden? Would you use any of these ideas in your garden? Share your thoughts in the Comments.
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What an incredible transformation. Jaw-dropping beautiful.
I have seen terraced gardens, often in brick, in wide narrow gardens. Not being a lover of hard landscaping they have always looked too artificial and lacking in greenery.
This is the other end of the scale, thoughtfully planned, expertly executed and beautifully planted. Over time the basic structure will become more hidden under the generous planting. It is gorgeous. I love my garden but could very easily live with this.
Excellent design and very well executed.