Combining Past and Present with a Spacious Rural Patio

Location

Tewkesbury, Worcestershire

The brief

The client had recently completed a new conservatory on their attractive sixteenth-century farmhouse. Now they wanted an interesting, irregularly shaped patio to complement the brick and natural stone farmhouse – a pleasant, open, al fresco dining area to fit perfectly with the rest of the property’s mature garden.

Project execution

Although not a sloping site, the large garden included subtle variations of level that had to be imaginatively incorporated into the finished design – achieved by sinking the new patio into the undulating lawn area and building reconstructed stone edgings. After initial exploration of ideas with the client, the approved design featured a curving patio that, sweeping around the corner of the property, linked the back of the house with the side access.

During construction, a quantity of natural stone was found in a barn – as well as several staddle stones and a large flagstone slab that had been dug-up during earlier renovation works.

The staddle stones and flagstone were perfect for a feature bench, a traditional counterfoil to the modern curves and reconstructed stone of the patio, its edging, several raised beds (filled with excavated soil from the sunken patio) and stone-flanked steps that were carefully shaped to match the changing lawn levels.

The stone discovered in the barn was used to build an archway at the side of the property – giving much needed additional privacy to the patio. A measure of the team’s sensitivity to the garden’s existing planting was the way a mature wisteria, immediately adjacent to the raised beds and archway construction, was still in full leaf on completion of the build, despite having a new raised planting area built around it.

Main client benefits

• A stylish, open patio that integrates the property and lawn areas.
• Added privacy from the new archway.
• Satisfying recycling of reclaimed stone.
• A striking improvised feature that uses recovered materials to reflect the property’s past.

Main strengths demonstrated

• Creativity.
• Ingenuity and ability to add value through on-site improvisation.
• Sensitivity to mature existing planting.

Do you have a landscaping or garden design challenge like this? Please contact us for your free no-obligation consultation.