Hard Landscaping Features And Materials Flashcards
Definition
Term used to describe what you do to your garden that doesn’t involve plants and soil
Horizontal elements - paths, decking, patios and steps
Vertical elements - walls, fences, pergolas, furniture
Timber examples and pros and cons
Provides environmentally friendly answer
Can be used for wide variety of elements
Durability depends on species, treatt and end use.
Softwood cheaper and easier to work with but require regular treatment.
Hardwood more expensive but more durable.
Should be seasoned
Can be painted
Sleepers - long lived
Log sections - edging and paving
Bricks
Uniform in size so easier to calculate how many are needed
Particularly suitable is house is made of brick
Can be harder to work with than other materials
Lend themselves to creative design.
Some bricks not suitable for paths
Blocks
Available in wide range of shapes, sizes and colours.
Can be solid or incorporate holes to aid drainage or wind turbulence.
Stone
Provides character when matched with house.
Expensive
Heavy
Construction requires skill.
Concrete
Presents may options
Base for a garden structure
Economical compared to other options
Bags of dry mix can be purchased or depending on access ready mixed can be delivered direct to site
Can be moulded to form paving slabs or flags in wide range of sizes, shapes, colours and finishes.
Gravel
Rounded or angular pebbles usually ranging from 3mm to 18mm
Available in a range of colours and provides a cheap and easy option for surfacing an area.
Man made products
Can be made from recycled materials e.g. composite decking
materials for vertical elements
Rock e.g. marble, limestone, flint or slate Bamboo, Reeds or Willow screening Brick Concrete Plastic Glass fibre Metal
Considerations when selecting materials
Colour theme
Style - formal or rustic
Existing hard landscaping materials
Proportion to the size of plot
Ground coverings that are neutral in texture have little influence over the sense of direction and speed of movement
Walls and fences can be used to create boundaries or as growing opportunities
Timber maintenance
Softwoods need regular preservative treatment.
Pressure washing may be required to remove algae.
Rock garden
Can be useful way of dealig with a slope .
Can be a created feature e.g. dry stone wall, raised bed,
Should be designed to have as natural an appearance as possible so use local rocks, sone and gravel.
Rocks should be sloped inwards towards garden centre to make structure more stable and encourage water into the soil pockets.
Pavement ecok garden from large flat stone
Scree and slate can also be incorporated
Stone troughs
Often used to compliment rocks in a rockery
Can be made from natural or artificial stone or hyper tufa.
Water features
Key element of a garden
Provide visual focus, reflection and sounds, as well as contributing to ecology.
Raised pond
Constructed above ground
Good solution if animals and children
Can use timber frame and liner or pre formed plastic container
Can be constructed from bricks, blocks and stone.
Wildlife pond
Usually made by digging below ground.
Shallow, gently sloping sides
Usually planted but not stocked with fish.
Often constructed with a big garden as part of the design.
Puddled clay
Natural looking
Low cost of materials
Time consuming
Bigger holes needs to start with a clay needs to be thick
Needs to be kept full to prevent drying out
High transport costs if needed
Site may be unsuitable
Flexible pond liner
Can be shaped to any shape and size of pond
Affordable
Dark colour gives natural look
Edges easily covered with stones, bricks, blacks, gravel or pebbles.
Don’t last forever.
Can be punctured.
Pre-formed liners
Concrete and plastic
Long lived and came in wide range of shapes and sizes.
More difficult to install
Must conform to the shapes available
Levels
Very important to find the perfect level. Water will always find it and if the liner is off it will never look correct.
Rill
Long straight body of water with a pump at one end.
Water constantly flows from one end to the other.
Calming effect
Strong design feature.
Fountains and pebbles ponds
Self contained water features
Fountains can be all shapes, sizes and materials.
Pebble pond much safer for children and animals. Flexible in size
Drilled natural stones
Stone with hole drilled through the middle with water pumped through it. Has a concealed reservoir which collects water and pumps it back up.
