Outdoor Living | How to plan your Garden Zones and Planning your garden for how it will actually be used
Everyone is looking for good ways to maximize their usable space. The idea of outdoor living is to increase your usable space by making the outdoors part of your daily life and this requires smooth transitions between the different zones, such as from the house to the decking, anf the decking to lawn for example. To achieve this, careful planning is needed. Who will be using the space, and how will they be using it?
Properties and their gardens around London are generally small in comparison to the rest of the country. This limits what you can do compared to houses in the countryside. Most London gardens, especially in terraced houses, would have 2 or maybe 3 zones, or spaces, often made smaller with the additions and kitchen extensions.
Garden Zone 1: Dining
The first zone, or area of your garden, is immediately outside the back doors. If you add 3-4 meters of Flooring, generally installed at the same level as the interior flooring, you have started on your inside/outside living journey. I mention 3-4 meters of Flooring as this permits a dining table and 4 chairs. When planning please remember the chairs do have to be backed up for people to sit at them. If you do not build out a flooring area at least 3-4 meters you are making a path.
Gallery of House to Zone 1 Transitions
Keeping these 2 spaces, the interior and the first garden area, at the same elevation makes it feel comfortable to move between the two spaces. These is especially true for young children, seniors, or those with disabilities. It may come as no surprise that we work with these groups of customers on a regular basis. One thing young families and people with disabilities have in common is that their gardens require careful planning. Making the transition from the inside to the outside as easy as possible, and keeping the elevation the same between the interior and the first area in the garden, encourages everyone to get outside.
If the interior of the house is higher than the garden lawn area, which is often the case after a kitchen and dining room extention, then Decking makes the best option as opposed to paving.
Although Natural Stone or Porcelain Paving is incredibly durable, it does require building up the ground level to the interior if you are trying to match the two flooring levels. In some cases this means adding significant amounts of crushed Gravel, or MOT, to ensure the paving does not shift or move and separate over time.
Garden Zone 2: Main garden area
The transition between are 1 and area 2 are where you add your elevation changes such as steps or Ramps. If adding Ramps add a Handrail. If the elevation change is 600mm or more you are required to add a Ballustrade. Getting this section right, including the transition, will assist in your resale value.
Gallery of Staircases and Steps (Zone 1 to 2 Transitions)
How you finish this area is hugely dependent on who is living in the house and using the space, however the best solution is to give this zone to nature in one way or another. A natural lawn and grass is what we always recommend, combined with flower beds and planting, is always ideal to break up the floored zone by the back of the house and the Retreat Zone at the back of the garden. We never recommend artificial turf.
Natural grass is a lesson in perseverance, the rewards of hard work, keeping something living alive, understanding and learning about nature and eco-systems. Worms and snails and bees and bugs are required. Decomposition is required. If you do have children this is where they learn about how things grow and possibly about how to maintain a garden, and why it is important. There is no point having an electric car out front, recycling every week, and having artificial turf in your garden. The subbase for artificial turf changes the composition of the soil underneath it and also even leads to increased chance of flooding in the neighbors properties. Not to mention artificial turf will spend 10-20 years in a garden and then sits in a landfill for thousands of years once it smells so badly of urine it had to be thrown away, leaving the artificial turf problem for hundreds of future generations to resolve once it has passed its usefulness. We feel this is the wrong way to do gardens which is why after a few installs of the stuff years ago, we stopped recommending and installing it.
So yes, we prefer natural lawns. Flower beds are always good dotted around the property. This is also a good place to run a path to connect the first and third area. If doing this in a straight line it maximises the central space which is good for kids, you may as well run this along the side that doesn’t get much sun and give the sunny side of the garden to the flower beds.
This is probably the area you would probably want to have a bbq and/or a bench, so add a small space For this between the path and the fence.
If you don’t have kids using the garden, you can really make this connecting area more interesting and play with the visuals of your garden to make it appear larger, hiding the back area of the garden by using a winding path, taller trees and planting.
Other options to separate usable spaces is using partitions such as Trellis Fencing, Arbors, raised Planter Beds, or Hedges. This greatly helps section off areas and provides privacy and reduces visibility. This is key depending on how you wish to use the Back Garden Area, or section 3.
Garden Zone 3: The Retreat area
Maximise your usable space by finishing the end of your garden. This is the area where you can create an office or workshop, a yoga retreat or workout space, a completely separate Dining and Entertaining area, or a games area. In an ideal work you combine two of these. This is certainly where people will go to take a private phone call so it should have some outdoor seating. This is the reading area, the glass of wine area, the private retreat. Your own interests and hobbies grow in this area.
The back of the garden often has completely different natural lighting than the walk out immediately behind your house meaning it is used in a different way because of the difference in daylight.
The main obstacle is often uneven, muddy or unusable ground level . To make it work long term, finish the walls (fencing) first, then add paving or decking depending on your desired elevation and finish. We always recommend Decking, Porcelain, or sealed Natural Stone for this area as it is easiest to clean. You won’t clean this area as frequently as the area immediately adjacent to the house. Composite Decking is by far the easiest material to clean.
One of the most popular current trends it a combination Shed & Gazebo area. The best solution for bikes, lawn mowers, and all the little bits is off the ground storage for bikes, or in the small shed section, and then the Gazebo area which would have a covered roof would be the separate covered area for Dining or a Workout area.
Keeping the garden tidy
One of the most important parts of keeping your garden tidy is adopting a minimalist attitude and planning for storage. If you aren’t going to use something in the next 12 months for sure, give it away. Managing clutter will make your garden far easier to maintain and keep clean and tidy.
However, don’t leave the storage decisions to the very end once everything is finished as you will then be cutting into your perfect garden and you will also be doing so after your budget has run out. Plan your storage from the start.
One item to mention is that we often see the areas between the Shed and the Fence completely filled in. It should not be. It can be kept clear with weed control Membrane and Gravel. It doesn’t have to be a work of art, however the important thing is not to use this small narrow corridor as a storage area. This area is for air circulation around your shed. If you fill it up, you will remove the air circulation for both your Shed and your Fence and both will rot prematurely. Keep it clear. Use your local recycling centre to get rid of the excess garbage. We often find the Car Roof Rack, bicycles, unused timber offcuts, paving slabs, and sheet materials stored in this area. This is a terrible idea. Get rid of them or store them inside. By the time you try to use them they will be stained beyond repair anyways.
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