Ruth and her partner decided to set themselves a small but mighty update to their new-build front garden. They wanted to level the area and make the space more manageable with low-maintenance raised beds.
Ruth’s front garden raised beds
This was originally a typical new build front garden laid with lawn and a central paved pathway leading to the door on a slight slope. Due to the quality of the soil and shaded areas the lawn between the drive and the path was not growing particularly well.
It would also become very muddy in winter as the drain cover (pictured in the before photo) was having to be used as a stepping stone between the driveway and front door. Mowing was also difficult due to the uneven ground and the slight slope which meant they couldn’t get a smart finish on the grass.
Planning the Garden
Ruth looked at the overall aesthetics and found areas that could be improved. The existing planted areas were overgrown and merged into the lawn. She saw this as an opportunity to make a clean line to separate the lawn and the border, replacing the plants to be more in keeping with the style of her home. The lawn quality between the pathway and the drive was exceptionally poor, so it was decided that raised beds would make a great solution and provide space for more plants at the front of the house.
Knowing the areas that they wanted to improve, and how they wanted to use the space, they were able to make some conceptual sketches of the area, and select the option which seemed low maintenance, and aesthetically appealing.
Preparation and building
Ruth sent some sketches to our Free Design Team and they set about creating a Design Pack which included diagrams of how WoodBlocX could be used to achieve the design she wanted and also the costs involved. The design included a low-level raised bed with an adjoining section to create a new step and a C-shaped garden border which would utilise the brick wall of the house.
Being a new-build garden, when Ruth came to prepare the ground area she found that the base was full of concrete! Although this limited the number of ground spikes that could be used to pin the structure to the ground, the planters remain sturdy and secure now they are full of soil.
Finished Garden
With both the raised bed and the wooden border against the house, Ruth and her partner needed to submerge some of the base of the structures into the slope which worked really well. The front garden is now an attractive, low maintenance and functional space full of life and colour.
The C-shaped wooden border against the house utilises the back wall and supports plant growth. At only 0.25m in height, both WoodBlocX kits were affordable but have really made a huge impact at the front of the property. Ruth opted to use Modern capping to create a sleek planter finish which works well against the contemporary style house.
Ruth’s tips for plant planning
We were really impressed with Ruth’s planting choices and asked her to share her tips for choosing plants for an ornamental raised bed or border.
–
Ruth says...
When planning out our planters, we were keen to have a range of textures, shapes and colour to provide interest and soften the clean lines of the new build brickwork throughout the year, whilst being relatively low maintenance. Our first focus was on the spring / summer planting, with the aim to bring in a variety of bulbs in the autumn to bloom in the winter months. If you don’t know where to start with planting, give Garden on a Roll a try!
With a little bit of research we knew we needed a balance of shapes from spikes, mounds and fillers. We decided on strong vertical structures as accent plants (15%), with mound forming soft amorphous plants (40%) to accompany the vertical structures. Finally a base layer of filler plants to tie the planting plan together.
In terms of colour pallet, we wanted soft colours to compliment the aesthetics of the front of our home. We are drawn to whites, greens with pops of purples and blues as a classic pallet.
For Spring / Summer Ruth introduced:
- Hydrangeas Annabelles (mound forming)
- Anemone × hybrida ‘Honorine Jobert’ (mound forming)
- Perovskia atriplicifolia ‘Blue Spire’ (Spikes)
- Agapanthus ‘Charlotte’ (base filler)
- Athyrium niponicum f.metallicum ferns (base filler)
- Nemesia ‘Wisley Vanilla’ (lower base filler)
- Lavandula angustifolia ‘Hidcote’ (lower base filler)
- Lamium maculatum ‘White Nancy’ (lower format base filler)
Seasonal bulbs that we intend to plant in late autumn will be a blend of tulips, alliums and Iris to flower throughout the winter / spring.
Building with WoodBlocX
Ruth said: "We were hugely impressed with the quality and simplicity of WoodBlocX. The design fit perfectly within the area available. We are planning our back garden and have already decided to use WoodBlocX again! "The garden took a weekend to dig out the area, build the planters and extend the patio. We took our time planning out the plants, and slowly added them over the next weeks. The plants are still a working progress, to ensure we have blooms throughout the seasons."
Raised beds for front gardens
Ruth's garden is a great example of how our modular WoodBlocX system can solve front garden problems. Our Free Design Service is ideal for helping you map out how you can use your space more effectively.
