Stirling – dry stone garden transformation

The original garden

The front garden at this property in Stirling had a fairly unispiring look. It was mostly turf with some shrubs; an old set of steps and a path up to the front door.  The turf was difficult to mow and the steps were not ideal being less than 300mm deep.

We discussed options to make some radical changes. The final design settled on two dry stone terraces and a staircase that would become the focal point for the garden.

Design changes

We had initially decided on using a large boulder as a visual point where the two terraces began.  The client liked the boulder so much we decided to built more of them into the walls.  This was the first of several changes to the design made as we went along.

The terraces were going to be capped with big flat cap stones. As construction proceeded, I felt that that the garden was becoming dominated with stone, and we needed an option to soften it. Having used the sedum mats on my previous job, I made this suggestion for capping the upper terrace.  The finished look added so much colour to the walls.

Meanwhile the main staircase went through many modifications and minor changes.  When the client is an engineer and loves accurate drawings but the builder works by eye, it can cause a clash of styles!  We worked through the design changes and created a fine entranceway.

As I got close to completing the work, I was asked to replace the upper concrete steps and rebuild them in the same style as the main steps.  I did this but demolishing the upper steps left a very ugly section of broken concrete and brick from how the original builders had built the steps.  So after a bit of thinking, a small planter was made.

The finished garden

In the end the front garden was transformed from a fairly boring space that was difficult to maintain, into a garden that has opened up huge possibilities for developing a garden full of colour and texture.  There’s a lot of planting to be done. I think the clients are already looking at planting plans for the Spring!.

All materials were supplied by Border Aggregates in Kelso apart from the sedum that came from Sedum Supply in Oswestry.

You can see more examples of my dry stone walling work on the projects page.