A Seaside Garden

Separated from the beach only by a quiet road and with a commanding view across the English Channel, this fine property in Deal was let down by the garden. With a massively overgrown rockery and dilapidated crazy paving their coastal garden design was very dated, in a poor state, and completely unmanageable for our clients who are an elderly couple. They wanted us to come up with some suitable seaside garden ideas that would transform their garden.

The new seaside garden design was commissioned in early April 2013. Work started in early July. The first task was to remove approximately 50 tonnes of ragstone and soil rockery and then level the garden. This immediately ‘enlarged’ the garden and revealed the rather lovely flint walls. A natural sandstone and clay brick path and patio area were laid next and the existing terrace and steps were refurbished with the same materials.

The house has a basement flat with its own access to a new steel ballustrade that was added to make safe the drop whilst retaining the light. The garden gate was removed, sandblasted, and repainted.

With the hard landscaping in place, a planting scheme was created. Plants were selected for all year-round interest and to suit the dry soil and harsh coastal microclimate. Finally, the coastal garden design was finished with pebbles to reduce weeding and watering and complete the ‘seafront’ feel.

With a break for one week, while our clients moved in, the garden was completed by mid-August. Our clients now delight in sitting on the terrace admiring their seaside garden and watching the ships go by.

Some comments from our delighted clients - “Exactly what we had in mind. Our seaside garden design is Inspirational. Terrific, superb, Ideal for elderly people. The terrace is a really nice feature”.