It’s Only A Phase!

Clients commonly ask us if it is OK if they can phase their garden build. We ensure there is complete flexibility with all our designs and how they are built. If it’s something you are considering read our blog about the benefits and downsides to this approach.

A garden in Perth which was built over two phases

Sometimes it’s not possible to build your newly designed dream garden at the one time. Maybe budget doesn’t allow it or perhaps other building work going on in the house might impact on the garden. By building the design in phases, though, it is still possible to eventually get the dream garden over a longer timescale.

Planning Process

The most important thing is to be organised and draw up a masterplan of everything the final garden will contain. This masterplan will ensure that the phases marry together neatly and produce a cohesive overall feel once all stages are complete. The master design also becomes roadmap for every cable and pipe to be laid above or below ground and the identity and position of every tree and plant. For example if you’re laying a patio in an early phase it will be important to know if you’re installing a lighting feature at a later stage so that electrics can be properly located and the patio doesn’t need to be lifted temporarily.
It is useful to also have a mood board of the different soft and hard landscaping to be used in each phase to give a greater appreciation of how those will work together too.

A mood board shows all the areas of the garden which will come together

Building Process

In order to get as much instant gratification as possible the larger surfacing work should be done in phase one. This includes laying patios and lawns further away from access points. Not only will you be able to enjoy these spaces but getting the soil covered will help keep your house clean! Another priority should be getting shelter from wind or sun and some privacy/security. This could be boundaries such as fences and walls or trees. If you’re including any “grow your own” areas you might wish this to be done earlier in the build too so you can start to re-coup money savings on shop bought produce.

A design for a phased garden in Stirling

If you’re redesigning front and back gardens it can be tempting to start with the front garden to get best kerbside effect. But all the hard work can easily be damaged if there are subsequent access issues getting materials into the rear garden and waste out. It’s best not to “paint yourself into a corner”!

The last thing you do is seed the lawn or lay turf. Newly planted lawns need time to germinate or root and that’s hard to do if they’re being trampled all over by gardeners lugging other plants around! It’s also best to plant up the ornamental flowers and trees in the latter phases as they’ll need maintenance and pruning so you may as well put that off until the end.

Phase 2: This back garden was phased to tie in with the new house extension

Benefits

Downsides

• You will miss out on the immediate wow factor of having your whole garden transformed at the same.

• The overall cost is likely to be a bit greater. A project broken into phases normally costs more than a whole project built at once. This is because elements of the overall garden build normally overlap so you can save on manual labour costs as the team can be getting on with another aspects they wait for patios to set or paint to dry etc.

• Some areas of the garden may need to be re-done if there is a lot of traffic going over them during Phase 2 (however, we would normally recommend a certain way of work being done to minimise this and we always protect existing work which is to be kept.)

It’s important to think how the phasing will work so no damage is done to areas already completed

Before Your Design

Are You Sitting Comfortably?

The good summers we’ve experienced recently means we’ve seen an increase in requests from clients to incorporate comfortable areas for outdoor seating and entertaining. That’s meant we’ve been drooling over some great designs for garden seats.  As this week is National Gardening Week (13th-19th April) we thought we’d help you get comfortable to enjoy your garden too.

A well designed and comfortable seating area allows you to really appreciate your garden

Garden Seats: Points to consider

Before you buy new furniture you need to work out what you use your garden for.  Is it for relaxing in the sunshine (with plenty of suncream on of course!), long weekend lunches with family or for more formal dining alfresco? Do you use it during the daytime or evening and at what time of year? Do you have storage space to move it inside in winter or do you need it to withstand all the elements of a UK winter (and summer!)? You can get outdoor furniture covers that may help. Is your decking or patio strong enough to take the weight of the furniture plus your guests? How big an area do you have for the furniture and how many people will be using it at any time?

What material?

Rattan effect 
Good points: lightweight, available in wide range of colours, weather resistant and easy to clean.
Bad points may snag your clothes (less of an issue with modern rattan effect). Darker colours may get hot in sunshine.

Metal
Good points:  comes in traditional and contemporary designs.  Can have folding parts to ease storage, can be lightweight.
Bad points:  Some designs can be quite heavy, can rust if not weatherproofed by manufacturer.

A metal bench in a garden we designed & built

Wooden
Good points: durable and strong.  Can be stained or painted your choice of colour.
Bad points: heavier, can be harder to store. May need to be treated annually to prevent warping.

Plastic
Good points: affordable, lightweight, weather resistant and normally can stack for easy storage.
Bad points:  can warp with prolonged sun exposure, strong winds can lead to plastic furniture being “relocated” around your garden!

Caring for your garden seats

Rattan effect: remove cushions and wipe with a damp cloth.  May be fine to leave outside over winter (check with manufacturer).

Wooden: waxed woods should be cleaned with a soft, dry cloth.  Hard woods can be scrubbed with warm soapy water. They may require annual treatments with oil or stain. It’s a good idea to keep in shade when not in use in summer to prevent the sunlight warping.

We built this garden room with a hidden rear storage area for the seat cushions

Metal: use warm soapy water but nothing abrasive to prevent scratches. Can be cleaned with a pressure washer on a low setting.  Dry thoroughly to prevent water marks.

Plastic: use warm soapy water but nothing abrasive to prevent scratches. Can be cleaned with a pressure washer on a low setting.  Good idea to keep it in the shade to prevent warping when not in use in summer.

Home made garden seats

At Vialii we are always keen to have a go at making our own.  We’ve done some larger scale fixed seating areas like on these recent client projects:

Troughs for planting with integrated seating made for a multi-functional patio

We integrated a seat into the dry-stane dyke in this garden

Plus we’ve designed secluded areas perfect for a simple bench:

This bench is in the ideal area to watch the garden change with the seasons

And it just wouldn’t be a Vialii furniture blog if we didn’t mention some up-cycling would it? From a pallet seat to a stump stool there is plenty you can create.

Hopefully we’ve given you some inspiration to get your garden seats organised for maximum enjoyment this year.  If you’d like to discuss your options for creating a bespoke seating area in your garden please get in touch.

Thanks for reading,

All at Vialii