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Path design
Paths need a purpose. They have to take you somewhere. Of course this journey is not necessarily a physical one; many of the greatest journeys are ones of the mind. The upshot of this is that before “putting a path in” you must first ask the question – what is the path for? This in…
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Drive dimensions
This is a short collection of notes on the dimensions of a private drive. These are for guidance only and should be checked before being used. Local regulations and restrictions may apply and you should check before starting any work. The drive entrance should only be at the verge crossing. The verge crossing will have lowered curbs…
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Drive design
With drives, probably more than any other thing in gardens, the most important thing is it actually functions as the drive. No mater how nice it may look if it does work as a drive it is a waste of money. As ever there has to be some compromises, you may what a turning circle…
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Paving materials
The trick when designing your patio is to make it blend into the surrounds while adding to them. To do this you are free to use every trick in the book. You can use materials which contrast with their surrounding or complement them but care should be taken when trying to match materials as…
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A patio to eat out on
As foreign travel has increased, so has our appreciation of the continental lifestyle; and with it the idea that the garden can be an extension of the home. This has lead to an increase in the appeal of eating out on a garden patio. In itself the idea of eating a meal out in the…
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What to put in the garden
By now we’ve got the garden under control and we can take time to consider what we are going to do with it in the longer term. I can’t give a list of what to put in as every garden is different as are its owner’s needs. What actually goes into the garden is going…
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To drain or not to drain that is the question.
When faced with an area of waterlogged garden the solution put forward is always to put a drain in, as if digging a trench and putting in a length of perforated pipe will magically make the problem go away. If only life was so easy. If you are going to drain a piece of ground…
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Brick
A small regular building unit traditionally made from fired clay but occasionally concrete. They have been used for thousand of years in various sizes and still are available in a range of sizes; with different standard sizes in different countries. In addition to the normal cuboid shape bricks are also many other shapes available for…
