Whilst the garden was originally designed as a low-maintenance space over two different areas, Barry and his wife weren’t enjoying the time spent potting and re-potting plants every year and moving the terracotta containers around the garden to avoid winter frost damage.
Luckily for Barry, his daughter Becky led the garden transformation. She is currently studying for a certificate in Horticulture from the RHS and this overdue garden update was the perfect opportunity to showcase her design and planting skills!
Barry’s garden was originally made up of ground-level borders and various containers for planting. The space also included a dated water-feature and rockery. At the back of the garden there was a huge tree in a brick raised bed and a garden shed. Much of the perimeter of the garden was a brick wall which created the ideal backdrop to build raised borders against.
The vision for the garden was to create three separate zones: a pond and wildlife space closest to the house, a dedicated seating area surrounded by year-round planting and a mix of raised beds and borders around the edge. Becky also wanted to install a metal arch over the steps which would be attached between two WoodBlocX structures.
The design would replace the pots and container planting with functional and accessible raised beds using the perimeter brick wall behind the structures. After drawing an initial sketch, Barry and Becky contacted us through our Free Design Service. Harry from our design team worked closely with them to recreate Becky’s design vision using WoodBlocX in our computer modeling software.
Preparation and building
The final design (agreed before ordering online) beautifully frames both sides of the garden. To the left, a long retaining wall acts as a decorative garden border providing plenty of planting space most of the length of the garden, stepping up a level as it reaches the garden steps. At the top of this wall section a raised bed has been designed to accommodate a unique shape at the back of the garden. To the right hand side, another long retaining wall and rectangle raised bed provides more planting and a small raised pond has been designed to sit in the middle of a newly built brick border.
As much of Barry’s garden was laid with a flat and level patio, ground work for installation was minimal. When building WoodBlocX on hard ground types such as patio or concrete, we provide angle floor brackets to attach your structure to the ground.
Finished Garden
Barry’s garden has been completely transformed! Our modular timber system fits perfectly within the space and also allows for unique features using angles and different levels. He was interested to see how the natural wood finish of WoodBlocX would work with the existing brick and paving and, as the photos confirm, the combination of materials creates a beautiful finish.
The small raised pond brings a sense of calm to the space and creates a mini wildlife habitat in the garden. To aerate and keep the water moving, Barry has installed a water feature in the corner of the pond.
The newly built raised borders will ensure easy access for weeding, watering and tending to plants plus the beautiful planting scheme brings the garden to life. Becky has worked with a colour spectrum of white and purple, and planted up varieties that will provide year-round interest. Overall, it should be much easier for Barry and his wife to maintain the garden.
All of the structures in Barry’s garden have been finished with our modern capping style which sits flush with the width of WoodBlocX – this option is only available through our Free Design Service.
Barry says: "Choosing WoodBlocX was easy; we were impressed by the website and by the flexibility of the product. A significant factor in our choice was the availability of support from your design team. The reviews on the website reinforced the good impression we had already gained of WoodBlocX. The free design team were extremely helpful, with clear plans and dimensions, and a “can-do” attitude, which was really necessary as there are few straight lines in our garden. The instructions for the implementation of the finished design could not have been clearer, and we found the construction very straightforward and robust.
"We are delighted with the finished result; our daughter, Becky has done a magnificent job in the overall design and selection of plants, and it is now a real pleasure to sit in our easily-maintained garden, and to relax and wonder why we had not chosen raised beds and WoodBlocX a few years ago!"
Refresh your garden borders with WoodBlocX
Build raised garden beds and borders to a more manageable height using our modular timber system. If you need something more bespoke, our Free Design Service is here to help you get exactly what you need for your garden!
