The garden of this Bristol terraced house like many town gardens has no independent access, so everything needs to come through the house.

When space is limited, carefully thought and planning are needed to fully realise the potential of a small garden. Two other key considerations were maintenance and cost and with this project both needed to be kept as low as possible.

It was decided to do away with the lawn so the garden could be used year round and to replace it with a versatile cost effective alternative. We used a material called Hoggin which is a self binding grit, bordered with limestone setts.   When installed Hoggin has many of the attractions of a paved surface, being smooth, easy to walk on and natural in appearance combined with some of the advantages of gravel being both versatile and free draining.

Borders were slightly raised with sleepers to contain the planting and keep the central area clear and a deck installed to resolve levels close to the house. Limited access influenced the choice of materials and the completed garden has resulted in a light, bright and easy to manage space.