A very demanding client this one! Only kidding, and so good to give my mum a new space in the garden for her to enjoy. The ‘before’ picture below, was actually after I ripped out all the plants and numerous rocks, from a rockery I helped my dad collect the rocks for as a kid around 40 years ago! At 7 meters long, 2 meters deep and 1 high, it had become too much maintenance for my mum and recently became riddled with horsetail, a prolific weed that’s nigh on impossible to get rid of once it’s taken hold throughout existing plants in a bed.

After digging out about 60 sacks full of wet soil averaging 40kg each (yes I weighed them after initially estimating they were about 25kg) I had a flat 7x2m section on which to build this arrangement of raised planters, two sleeper framed artificial grass beds and a 3.4m wide deck.

It’s amazing how transformative this has been to the look and feel of the garden, whilst at the same time making it hugely practical for my elderly but active mother, who still likes to do what she can in the garden. Ease of maintenance, from the artificial grass to the planter heights and depth and the integrated watering system to come, make this a garden solution for any age, but especially for the elderly who want to continue gardening but know at some point, kneeling down in cold damp flower beds, weeding, pruning, etc just isn’t going to be an option.

As I always say, preparation and care in the ‘foundations’ of any job are critical to a quality job, and I built this to outlast me let alone my mother. Plant/weed contaminated soil removed, weed killer applied multiple times, weed membrane laid, all wood surfaces, visible or not, painted, no wood in soil contact, thorough prep of surface for artificial grass… and so on, before anything is even built. The planters at 4 and 5 deck boards high, would contain a lot of excess soil and compost, so I built them up inside to be only 2 boards deep in compost, saving both money and future maintenance. The insides of the planters are fully painted, then completely lined with plastic on the sides, with drainage out the bottoms through slopped bases lined with permeable membrane. Finishing touches and the purpose of the planters… fill them! I don’t consider myself an expert with plants but I can put a good selection together.

This project transformed the garden and will give my mum easy access to the plants for years to come without any groundwork, heavy tools or risk of injury. If you’re interested in this design or variations of it, stand-alone planters (conventional or funky), cabins, BBQ shacks, benches etc, drop me note.