Garden design with a Curving sandstone patio,turf lawn and stepping stones, Inse Bay Laytown, co.Meath and

Uninspiring Garden before construction

Garden design from birds eye view

 This garden in Inse Bay Laytown co.Meath was a typical suburban garden with no existing planting and an uneven and sloping lawn and cold block wall.
Its owners wished to have and a garden that would look good all year round and be easy to maintain with a good sized patio to enjoy the summer sun.
They preferred a curving style rather than a formal or over contemporary straight lined design. The design i came up with made the best use of the garden space to include a patio area for a table and four chairs while also having room for a sun lounger. This was placed in the best aspect to get the sun throughout the day and into the evening in east west direction.
Curving raised beds with a brick mowing edge to reduce strimming were created to complement the patio and were filled with a mixture of cottage perenials such as agapathus, saxifrage and iris with a small palm in the corner of the patio with bark mulch and landscape fabric to keep the weeds down.
The existing lawn was very uneven and had a small hill in the centre while sloped to the rear of the garden also.A new turf lawn was laid in its             place with stepping stones leading to the patio area from the house. A water butt and harvesting system was connected to the shed to gather rain water which could be used to water the plants and would also prevent water spilling off the shed and onto the patio and bed beside the shed. Trellis and climbers on the newly painted rear wall made a nice backdrop to the garden and softened the existing cold block wall.

Curvilinear Indian sandstone patio and raised beds with stepping stones

Water saving water butt filling from shed

The new garden completed

Laying a new turf lawn at The Palms, Clonskeagh,Stillorgan,Dublin

Old and tired lawn

Rotavating the lawn

New turf lawn

Turf lawn laid

This garden in The Palms, Clonskeagh, Dublin was in a tired state. It had been originally laid some 30 years ago and was now quite worn and infested with weeds, thatch (dead grass) and moss. Its owners now wished to have a new lawn laid which would complement the lovely granite stone wall which was having work done on.
Firstly we sprayed the lawn with weedkiller and waited a couple of weeks till the weedkiller had successfully worked on the lawn. Then we rotavated the lawn using a hydraulic rotavator and with three passes brought the compacted soil to a fine tilth.
 The moss and thatch and some stones were removed and the soil was raked and rolled flat and fertiliser in the form of organic  chicken manure pellets were added to help the new roots form and feed the new grass shoots. The turf lawn was laid with staggered joints in the roll and well watered in.Watering the turf is very important for till the roots get established over the next couple of months and less so later on once successfully established.
In a couple of weeks we will return to give the lawn its first cut at a high setting as to not tear the lawn. A most important maintenance programme of weeding feeding in the Summer,Autumn and Spring in conjunction with grass cutting at the correct heights will keep the lawn in tip top condition with scarification of the dead thatch and moss where necessary.

Raised Vegetable beds, Bettystown,co.Meath

Raised vegetable beds garden design

Garden before

Raised Veg beds

Carrots,Onions,Rhubarb

Apple Trees

The owner of this garden in Bettystown, co.Meath like many others wanted to start growing her own seasonal vegetables but also wanted an easy to manage and laid out plot with a small paved area for a greenhouse.
We created five raised beds 1.2 x 1.8m long with a brick edging surround so that it would look tidy and be easy to cut with a mower. The grass wont now grow against the sleeper edges also which is a great labour saving asset.
The beds were filled with a mixture of farm yard manure and top soil.
With this layout in the design we maximised the space within her garden to allow for five raised beds for crop rotation and an area at the end for two apple trees while at the opposite end we planted some fruit bushes of gooseberry and loganberry and some rhubarb. The raised beds are also suitable for growing herbs too.
Within the raised beds we planted potatoes, leeks,onions (white and red), garlic, carrots,chard and parsnip.Vegetables can be grown from seed or small bulbs& tubers depending on the variety. Though if  you are new to growing vegetables they can also be bought as plugs also which have been grown on from the seed for you! What could be easier for a starter home vegetable kit?.
The apple trees we planted were a desert tree 'Elstar' and a 'Bramley seedling' (cooking apple), one tree pollinates off the other though they can also pollinate from local trees up to a mile and a half away. Though if you have the space having three apple trees is also good combination for pollination.
The garden also has a water butt connected to the roof gutters means a ready, and sustainable supply of water for your garden.Were looking  forward to returning at harvest time and hoping to be invited to the feast!! 

Raised garden folly and water feature using reclaimed bricks. Termonfeckin,co.Louth

Garden folly design

Garden before construction

Under construction with shredder for prunings

Garden folly created with raised bed and water feature

Access steps to tiered beds

Lions head water feature with trough and seated area 

 Our client for this garden in Termonfeckin, co.Louth wanted a garden feature that would resemble an old partly ruined wall which would have some raised beds for growing cottage plants and kitchen herbs.
Together we decided on the look and size of the folly that she wanted and the materials to use, which would be reclaimed bricks. She wanted a water feature that would spout water gently into a trough and and area to sit beside where she could enjoy the evening sun and listen to the sound of the water splashing which would be very relaxing.
The wall is about 10 m long and starts at 1m high rising to 1.7m at its highest point though appears higher as the ground also rises up as you enter the garden.
Solid concrete foundations were poured (10m x 0.6m x 0.6m) so that a supporting wall of concrete blocks could be built behind the reclaimed wall and fixed together using metal mesh ties. About 5 to 6 tonnes of soil was used to fill the beds at the front of the wall which are also doubly supported with an inner concrete block wall.
Access steps were place in the front bed walls to be able to work on the beds.
Our client was a keen gardener and would plant the beds herself with a mixture of cottage perennials and kitchen herbs as well as some climbing an trailing plants in front and on top of the wall itself.

Lions head water feature trough

Low Maintenance Garden design Kells co.Meath

Unkempt and sometimes unruly garden

 This garden in Kells co.Meath belonged to a young couple. Their garden was on a slope and was difficult for them to maintain as the lawn they inherited was in poor condition. The oil tank was an eyesore and overall the garden which was their largest room had no character or patio for them to enjoy sitting outdoors with their friends.
Their budget was limited but they wished to have some shape and design put into their garden and which they could enjoy.
We decided that for their budget of under 3000 euros we could create a beautiful contempory garden with patio area raised beds, low maintenance planting which would include some silver birch and rowan trees for screening and seasonal interest and an area where they could have a garden shed installed. Also i would over seed and feed their lawn to encourage it back to a manageable lawn with a brick edging surround to define the lawn and reduce on strimming. The results were pretty pleasing overall and shows that with experience and imagination garden makeovers can be designed to suit a range of budgets..

No patio area to enjoy sitting outdoors

GreenArt Landscapes  proposed Axonometric garden design

Garden redesigned

Trellis screening around oil tank

Contempory garden design

Space  in corner defined for a new garden shed.

New patio Ballsgrove Drogheda co.Louth

Poor state of conrete yard, cracking + breaking up

 This concrete yard in  Ballsgrove, Drogheda co.Louth was in a poor condition. The concrete had originally been laid some fifty years ago and was now tired and cracking up in places. The owner of the house was elderly and uncomfortable negotiating steps as well as  tired of looking at the grey drab yard.
We decided to lay new affordable cracked ice patio slabs from Oldbridge concrete a local manufacturer of patio products.
We took out two steps, one into her conservatory and the other into her utility shed to make the use of her garden and out buildings more accessible.
The new slabs brightened up the whole yard while
 also tied in nicely with the previous paving work we had done for her a few years previously with the same slabs..

New cracked ice slabs

Clean + bright yard

Patio area with cracked ice slabs

Garden design + turf lawn, Five Oaks, Drogheda co.Louth

Garden before with large cherry trees.

This garden in Five Oaks Drogheda co.Louth had two large cherry trees which were starting to damage the boundary wall as its roots were coming up underneath the foundations as can happen with certain cherry tree species which are over 20 yrs old. The overall look of the garden was beginning to neglected looking and a poor reflection on the frontage of their house.It was decided to remove the trees and create some new raised beds in there place and  a new turf lawn could also be laid now. The lawn could now be graded better to reduce the existing slope which was quite steep. We did this by raising the lawn at the bottom of the lawn with decorative kerbs. A mowing edge was also laid around the lawn to negate the use of a strimmer and make lawn cutting easier with a tidier finish.
To the right hand side of the garden we created a second bed with decorative gravel as a mulch. To the rear left side we created a raised sleeper bed in an area which was previously neglected and dull looking. The plants used in the garden were a selection of hardy perrenials, delpiniums, lavender, grasses, heathers, agapanthus, astelia, pittosporum with spring bulbs such as crocus, miniature daffodils and grape hyacinth for seasonal colour.Also a small Japanese Maple tree (up to 3m tall when mature) was planted to replace the cherry trees which turn a fiery red/orange in autumn .

Curving raised bed with mowing edge

New turf lawn

Turf lawn + mowing edge

New gravel bed

Raised sleeper bed

GreenArt Landscapes Garden design :Indian Sandstone patio, Raheny co.Dublin

Rear garden Before

Undefined border

Proposed Garden design

Indian sandstone patio

Low Retaining wall+ steps to garden

Linear drain + wheelie bin screening

Meditation corner

This garden in Raheny co.Dublin we recently completed lacked a distinct patio to enjoy the south facing aspect. It also was waterlogged at many times throughout the year.
Our client who was also a keen gardener wished to have a nice bright terrace and a retaining wall built that would complement her garden. The garden was on two levels and had a continuous flooding problem resolved.
           We came up with the design of a large sandstone terrace 40 msq, with a retaining wall and stepping stones across the garden which would lead to a small patio which could be used as a mediation corner.
Linear drains connected to the storm drains would resolve the drainage problem while a new timber enclosure would conseal her wheelie bins.The results were particularly pleasing.

Landscaping Balbriggan co.Dublin. Concrete post and panel fencing + garden makeover

Front garden with open fencing and little soft plantings

Rear garden before with 5ft high fence , panels + posts touching ground  susceptible to rot

Our client for this garden in Balbriggan co.Dublin wanted to freshen up his garden and add some raised beds and new plantings with some new boundary treatment.. The front garden had a plain and open boundary that he wished to have replaced with a picket style fencing and raised beds that would be easy to maintain. The rear garden offered little in terms of soft plantings and the fencing was quite low 5ft and the timber post were beginning to rot. We replaced the timber post with concrete post and concrete panels which raised the fencing to 6ft and gave him more privacy and a much stronger and durable fence. Raised beds and a mixture of cottage perennials such as lavender, Russian sage, Iris, grasses and small shrubs among others would provide colour through out the year. 

Front garden design

Rear garden design

New concrete post and paneling +  new raised beds

New picket style fence and raised beds

Wheelie bin screening