5.1-5.3 hard landscaping (horizonal/vertical/rock gardens/water features)

Question 1

Definition of hard landscaping

Answer 1

All non-living features and may be functional (GH, paths, fences) or aesthetic (pergolas, walls, statuary) or recreational (patios, terraces, play areas)

Horizontal elements: paths - (Yorkstone paving, limestone paving, gravel, concrete paving, bark chippings, timber decking wood) patios, steps, decking

Vertical elements:

walls (rough cut sandstone, concrete blocks, engineering bricks, reclaimed bricks), fences - marking a garden boundary, retaining wall or raised beds

Brick wall with metal vine yes and wire stretched between them for Wisteria sinensis to grow

screens - hide unsightly object, provide privacy, grow climbing plants,

Timber trellis to screen bin area. Grow dense climber eg, Hedera,

pergolas - provide shade for seating area, to grow plants,

eg hardwood posts, beams and rails over a sunny patio with climbers encouraged over

Rustic archway - entrance to cottage garden, from corylus with bark retained for rose to grow over

furniture

statuary, provide a focus point

Question 2

Horizonal elements: Concrete - uses, benefits, limitations

Answer 2

Uses: many

Available in wide variety of shapes, sizes and colours. May be used to make geometric patters or used in crazy paving. Relatively inexpensive and of uniform size and thickness

Hard wearing, low maintenance

visually uninteresting, although coloured and imprinted concrete can imitate stone or brick

Poured concrete can be poured to fit irregular shapes

Energy-intensive to manufacture

Question 3

Horizonal elements: Concrete and reconstituted stone slabs

Answer 3

Uses: many

Available in wide variety of shapes, sizes and colours. May be used to make geometric patters or used in crazy paving. Relatively inexpensive and of uniform size and thickness, Durable minimum maintenance. Easy to lay

Not sustainable in construction and some skill required. Blocks are heavy to move and transport

Question 4

Horizonal elements: Bricks and blocks

Answer 4

Uses:

Small and large areas of hard landscaping

Durable, of standard sizes, available in many colour and can be used to create patterns. Bricks age well

durable, weather proof, minimal maintenance

Question 5

Horizonal elements: Gravel and stone chippings

Answer 5

Uses:

alpine gardens, drives

Available in many grades. Heavy but easy to transport and lay and are cheaper than many other materials

Plants can grow through gravel and seed freely, or permeable woven membrane may be laid underneath to prevent plant growth

Needs to be contained and unsuitable next to grassed areas that require mowing.

Noisy to walk on so many improve security

Question 6

Horizonal elements: Natural stone

Answer 6

Uses: variety

Granite is extremely hardwearing

York stone is softly coloured and mellows with age

Stone is expensive and heavy and slabs may be of unequal thickness (so difficult to lay)

Potential damage to environment through extraction of the material

Transporting materials long distance is not sustainable

To avoid quarrying, use reclaimed material

Dry stone walling avoids use of cement

Question 7

Horizonal elements: Wood

Answer 7

Aesthetically pleasing

If sourced the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) scheme is from a renewable source

Can use reclaimed railway sleepers or scaffolding boards

Hardwood is long lasting if treated

Softwood needs high levels of maintenance and is not long lasting

Easily cut and shaped - lightweight to move

Wood can become slippery if not cleaned of algae, etc, regularly also liable to rotting - not durable - softwood lifespan of 10-15 years

Decking can be used as seating or entertaining area or levelling uneven ground, or a boardwalk over boggy ground, or a viewing platform to provide views

Question 8

Horizonal elements: Bark chippings

Answer 8

Readily available renewable resource that is light to transport, easy to lay and rots down to enrich the soil.

Soft to walk on and blends well in a natural setting

Travels and needs replenishing periodically

Question 9

Vertical elements: Timber

Answer 9

Uses: fencing

easy and cheap to construct

Can be designed to suit many different styles: picket fencing for cottage gardens, to more elaborate designs for formal gardens

Two categories: prefabricated panels like larch-lap/softwood timber panels and those made from smaller units like post and rail

Lattice designs effectively filter winder - hazel hurdles may be sourced locally or in garden

Timber requires painting or treating with preservative

Wicker, bamboo, reeds

Railway sleepers could be used to make retaining wall

Question 10

Vertical elements: Brick

Answer 10

Uses: walls

Long lasting

More expensive and require skill to construct

uniform size is an advantage

Works well in formal and informal settings and in traditional and contemporary designs

Should be topped with coping to prevent water ingress and freeze thaw damage

Reclaimed bricks give established style AND more sustainable

Question 11

Vertical elements:

Rock/stone (Purbeck, Cotswold, sandstone limestone)

Answer 11

Uses: stone/dry stone walls

Dry stone construction is highly skilled. Stone walls are long lasting but materials and construction is expensive. Weathers well.

Granite/Marble: statuary

Limestone: walls - flat material making laying easier - weathers well

Flint - used to face up walls and unifies well in areas where there are flints in the soil

Slate

Question 12

Natural and Man-Made Materials for Vertical Elements

Answer 12

Human-Made

Walls

Natural

Stone e.g. York stone or Flint

Clay for a cob wall

Human-Made

Walls

Brick

Concrete blocks

Fences

Natural

Timber e.g. larch lap

Bamboo

Human-Made

Plastic

Geotextile membrane

Screens

Natural

Corylus, Salix hurdles

Coir

Human-Made

Plastic

Coloured glass

Pergola

Natural

Treated Pinus (softwood)

Treated Quercus (hardwood)

Human-Made

Brick

Iron or steel

Furniture

Natural

Wood

Natural stone

Human-Made

Resin

Plastic

Statuary

Natural

Wood

Natural stone (marble)

Human-Made

Resin

Bronze

Question 13

Rock gardens - examples

Answer 13

Scree slopes

traditional

troughs

Question 14

Natural rock

Answer 14

Sandstone - visible strata - ages well. pH neutral to acid

Limestone - clearly defined racks and crevices, but now under threat because of extensive quarrying

Tufa - porous limestone full of air pockets. Expensive, difficult to source and under threat in the natural environmnet

Question 15

Natural rock

Answer 15

Sandstone - visible strata - ages well. pH neutral to acid

Limestone - clearly defined racks and crevices, but now under threat because of extensive quarrying

Tufa - porous limestone full of air pockets, so light. Expensive, difficult to source and under threat in the natural environmnet

Granite - heavy, dense and unsympathetic backdrop to plants. Does not age well

Question 16

Man made - pulhamite, concrete troughs and sinks and porcelain covered with with hypertufa

Answer 16

Pulhamite: Victorian invention of cement, sand and clinker poured over crushed bricks and rubble

Stone troughs are rare, but can be made of concrete

Butlers sinks can be covered with hypertufa (peat, coarse sand or fine grit and cement in 1:1:1 ratio)

Benefits of troughs: can adapt soil and aspect to suit selected plants and display is raised closer to eye level (easier to care for too)

Question 17

Water features examples

Answer 17

open water: wildlife ponds, rills

Self contained features: fountains, pebble ponds

Moving: statue on plinth as fountain

Water from a spout in the entre of raised pond

A rill - narrow shallow channel made from steel or polished stone with square cut stone edges and no planting. Water falls from the rill into a square pool

A stream - meandering down a slop - water falls over irregularly placed rocks and stones. Edges planted with native marginals/ferns

A reciprocating rock and pebble pumped from reservoir through hole in rock or hewn stone trickling onto pebbles before draining into reservoir below - may be formal or informal depending on form and materials

Question 18

Water features - materials - manmade

Answer 18

Pond construction:

Pre-formed plastic or fibre glass

Benefits: easy to install, tough, long lasting, ready-made planting shelves at different depths

Limitations: shape is predetermined and size and shape may be limited, colours may be unsympathetic, transport may be awkward

Flexible liners Butyl/PVC

Benefits: relatively easy to install, tough and long lasting, transportation is easier, butyl can be welded to any shape or size, can incorporate bog gardens and can be mended

Limitations: butyl is expensive, PVC is not tough or long lasting, PVC cannot be mended,

Site preparation must be thorough

Concrete

Benefits: hard waring, long lasting

Limitations: materials are heavy, difficult to construct and repair, must be sealed or cured to prevent lime leaching

Puddled clay

Clay cracks if allowed to dry out

Question 19

Water features - materials - natural

Answer 19

Puddled clay

Benefits: plants can be planted directly into the pond, natural material, which blends easily into naturalistic setting, long lsting

Limitations: only suitable for larger scale ponds and lakes, fairly expensive to install

Stones

Drilled natural stones for self contained features, eg. pebble ponds