Cockthorpe Close
Harborne

Before, the owner of this house was upset each day, having to look at her front Garden. The brickwork was very unsightly and an inadequate lower retaining wall was being pushed over by the weight of the soil.

Digging out most of the coniferous trees in front of the house provided more natural daylight into the lounge, as well as reducing dark shadow cover for would be burglars at night.

Dan Arthur Griffiths replaced the bowing wall with a stronger, concrete block wall. Loose or cracked bricks were replaced in the unsightly wall above.

New Juniper and Heather was planted to match and extend those kept when clearing the trees.
Now the client is very happy when she returns home each day, standing proud before her envious neighbours.



Oaklands Avenue
Harborne

The clients had recently extended the rear of their property with a larger kitchen and a conservatory.

The problem they now had was a five-foot drop to the garden below. Building brick or block walls, to support a stone patio would have been a huge undertaking, both physically and financially. The only access to the garden was through the house.

The thickness of the timber would allow a large overhang without flexing. From the main structure, a walkway leads to a ground level deck, positioned to catch the best of the afternoon sun.

With the clients having no desire for a lawn, natural stone slabs were laid on a concrete foundation over mesh. Surrounded by varied sizes of aggregate, this provides a seating area in the shade and a path to the shed at the back of the garden.

The clients are extremely pleased with the end result. We are now discussing a planting plan for the near future.



Wolverhampton Road South
Harborne

This garden had been neglected. Long grass
and tall weeds ruled. The far end of the garden had become a rubbish tip, beset with Sycamore saplings and other small trees. An ancient crazy paved path flanked the house and outbuilding.

The neighbour’s fence, to the left, was old and falling apart. So an amicable deal was made, for Maple Landscaping to replace it, once the garden was cleared and before hard landscaping began.

Dan Arthur Griffiths presented four designs. The converging concentric circles concept, was the clear winner. Natural stone slabs were cemented onto a concrete base. Each circle was highlighted with a pinewood cube edging by cutting 3” wide channels with an angle grinder, on a scribed line from each axis. The cubes were then cemented into the channels, with an addition of PVA glue, then soaked with a wood preservative and left to dry. Kiln dried sand mixed with cement, was then swept over the patio, packed tightly into the joints and watered with a fine spray. This same process was continued at the far end of the garden, with a small seating circle, set into a curved bed of exotic planting. Perfect to catch the last of the afternoon sun.

A new pine gate was hung, along with two new doors on the outbuilding. A good quality turf was laid and kept continually moist in the scorching summer heat. Everything tidied and cleared away. Another good job done.

Cornwall Gardens
Brighton

Dan Arthur Griffiths worked on this project with GARDENVISTA, A Brighton based Garden Design Company.

The Design involved, the excavation of many tons of Sussex Downs chalk to enable a large terraced seating area to be built. The walls were constructed of concrete blocks, which were rendered to paint white, incorporating a wide sweep of stone slab steps, for comfortable access to the lawns above, together with three levels of lush planting beds.

During excavation for the foundations, a deep Victorian cesspit was discovered, capped with a Victorian brick dome.

West Hill Street
Brighton

This was one of the first gardens that
Dan Arthur Griffiths worked on with GARDENVISTA.

A large derelict garage had to be dismantled, which opened up the area to twice its original size. Double gates were hung in the wall space to allow for off road parking if desired. The garden was designed on the diagonal, creating an elusion of space in such a small walled area.

Bear Road
Brighton.

Dan Arthur Griffiths designed and built this garden using reclaimed stable bricks from a local Salvage yard.

This client wanted privacy from neighbours to the rear of the property. The design effectively turned a long narrow garden into a series of distinct areas, using wooden pergola style partitions, bringing height to the garden along with layered screening.

Preston Drove
Brighton

Dan Arthur Griffiths Designed and built this deck as his first solo project.

The client wanted decking as an extension of the existing terrace that would lead out from the steps, down to the lawn. The lowest of the excising steps sat uncomfortably high above the lawn, so it was recommended that the deck should exist on two levels, making the transition onto the grass safe and comfortable, especially for children.

Joists were bolted to sturdy concreted posts in the ground. In order for the decking boards to be laid in a 45-degree herringbone pattern, it was imperative that the supporting structure was accurate to within millimetres.

An expert plasterer was employed to render all of the prepared walls, which were painted with a brilliant white masonry paint to match the frames and fascia boards of the house.

Rocks found while digging the soil were used to enhance the extended flowerbed before planting.

Dan Arthur Griffiths suggested the construction of a large solid deck, made from a thick, wide chunky timber. The circular design chosen was far from simple, but it was within budget and offered a very comfortable progression to soil level, within the space available. Construction of this garden was a welcome challenge; being tackled by Dan, single-handed.

Wall plates were bolted into the brickwork and a supporting frame was concreted into the ground, it was quite complicated very important that measurements and angles were worked out exactly, before the thick boards were put down, scribed from a central point and cut.

The clients brief was to provide a large patio for entertaining, with an adjoining area for a free-standing barbecue. Nothing too square or ordinary would do. The existing lawn area was very uneven and sloped from left to right. This needed to be lifted, then rotivated and levelled perfectly, ready for re-turfing.

Unfortunately, this compromised the construction of the main load-bearing wall.

After much deliberation, it was decided we should span the well, once it had been capped with concrete, by building a brick Gothic Arch, thus creating a feature inset Barbecue. Behind the brick arch, the brick dome still exists and serves as a funnel to the chimney above.

Old railway sleepers were cleaned with an electric plane, to reveal the beauty of the hardwood grain and round off the edges. They were cut with a chainsaw and bolted into place on a concrete base, to create raised planting beds, the perfect height for sitting on.

Six of these triangular raised beds were used in the design, for the planting of climbing plants, small shrubs and herbs for the kitchen.

A children’s playhouse was erected on stilts over a bed of chipped bark, allowing space for hanging bikes and toys out of the way. For the construction of the playhouse, marine ply was used with a protective layer of paint in bright primary colours. A felt roof was applied to the top.

The garden had been opened up into a safe, practical and usable space for the whole family to enjoy.

A private two tiered deck was built at the top of the garden, screened by a climbing rose pergola on a raised base.

The lawn was raised level, with the construction of a low block wall, edged with the reclaimed stable bricks, against the gentle slope of a curved path. This was punctuated by a two metre high, towered water feature. Reclaimed stable bricks and painted slabs from the original garden were used to build a patio leading straight from the kitchen, edged with matching raised planters. Plenty of room for seating and all of the clients potted herbs.

In the design of this decking, all support was hidden from view, or cast into deep shadow. This would make the upper deck section, look as if it was floating above the lower deck section.