Client:
Mr and Mrs Doll
East Ashling
West Sussex

Designer
Peter Gillespie - John Brookes Landscape Design

Garden Condition:
This property is a grade II Listed building in a quiet location in West Sussex.
It was in a terribly neglected state and overgrown.
There were awkward levels with inspection chambers where the sunken terrace was to be located.
Apparently there was an old well in amongst the undergrowth.

Weather conditions and duration of works:
Started out sunny, however, it was not long before the rain set in and stayed throughout most of the contract.

Suppliers:
Paving – Miles Stone Southampton
Water feature accessories –Fishtastic, Alton
General Building materials – Wolseley Centres and Covers, Chichester also Dudmans for bulk aggregates
Waste disposal – Lift and Shift, Portsmouth
Plants – Petworth Nurseries – Wholesale only.
Turf – Rolawn
Bark mulch – Goodwood Forestry
Plant hire – Chichester Plant Hire

Final Outcome:

The garden was cleared and the larger conifers and overgrown shrubs removed. Planning permission was granted to fell the conifers as the property lies within a Conservation Area.
Excavations were carried out enlarging the parking area adjacent to the house/front door.

New drainage systems were installed to allow for the construction of the new sunken terrace.

A new close board boundary fence was erected.

A series of retaining walls were erected to allow the levels to be changed and create a sunken terrace outside the rear patio doors.
This also allowed us to raise the levels in other areas to create an almost level garden throughout!

Steps were created to allow access to the gardens from the terrace and gravel drive.

A new pond was created within a gravelled area, the centre of which runs through the centre of the main path with the eye leading to the existing Betula pendula tree.
The gravel paths and lawn are edged in brick creating a series of flowing curves around the garden.

A new lawn was laid within the brick edge and planting throughout to compliment the scheme.

The project took 11 weeks to construct and the final cost was in excess of £45k

Interesting finds were the old well and its metal workings which were left in place and an old blocked up cellar under a series of old sleepers.