How to ensure planting and permeable surfaces lead the way in front gardens
People often lament the loss of traditional front gardens that once distinguished suburban streets; walk around most cul-de-sacs and closes today and those once proudly kept privet hedges, lawns and rose beds have become parking spaces, lost to concrete, paving and, painfully, artificial grass. In 2015, the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) estimated that 55 per cent of front garden space in Britain was paved, and one-third of front gardens had no plants at all.
The RHS warned then, and continues to do so today, that turning these spaces into hard standings can cause flooding and subsidence, increase local temperatures, and reduce wildlife habitats and the benefits of nature, and yet the reformations continue. A recent article by property search company Rightmove, for instance, recommended ‘Converting gardens into off-street parking’1.
Pressures on the spaces that flank our homes are certainly intense. Besides providing access to the house itself, the front garden today ideally allows parking and charging space for a car; it is where we keep one, two, three or more various types of rubbish bin; it is a place where push- and motorbikes need secure storage; and where, increasingly, many of us want to enable couriers to securely stow deliveries. It must also offer privacy without making the house a target for thieves.
Equally importantly, though, front gardens also have the capacity, if planted carefully and combined with others, to slow rainwater run-off, trap polluting particles, mitigate noise, reduce summer heat, and support biodiversity.
These are spaces about which Chloe Wood, an Oxfordshire-based garden designer and pre-registered member of the Society of Garden + Landscape Designers (SGLD), feels strongly. ‘Front gardens must fulfil lots of roles and have to work hard; you walk through them every day, even in winter, so they shouldn’t be an afterthought,’ she says. Clients often know what they want from their front gardens but trying to fit everything into a scheme that looks and feels cohesive and visually appealing is challenging.
Trees and planting
Trees provide cooling shade and height, particularly in roads without street trees. ‘Adding these verticals is a way of introducing greenery when space is at a premium,’ said Caroline Loup, a pre-registered member of the SGLD who favours ‘flame-shaped’ trees in front gardens.
‘They add height and privacy and provide a sense of proportion beside the house, but you’ve got to pick the right one,’ says Katrina Kieffer-Wells MSGLD, who uses evergreen Arbutus as well as Japanese maples, Liquidambar styraciflua ‘Fastigiata’, and Prunus serrula for its shining bark.
If possible, Chloe advises having a planting bed that is 4.9 feet (1.5 metre) deep in front of the house as she feels the effect softens and ‘grounds’ the building. ‘Even with small front gardens you can have a bit of fun. Japanese-influenced planting, for instance, can be simple but effective; for one project, I used a trained specimen pine, which looked rather like a large bonsai, and underplanted it with tulips and box balls, within a square, raised bed,’ she says.
Caroline considers plant shape. ‘I usually want to create a sense of entrance and a warm welcome. The shapes can be dictated by the architecture of the house and surroundings, and they can give the space a framework or structure.’ She also likes to use evergreens in front gardens and chooses species such as Sarcococca and Daphne x transatlantica ‘Eternal Fragrance’ for their deliciously scented flowers.
Permeable surfaces
Driveways and paths must comply with National Standards for Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS)2. Approved materials include permeable block paving and resin-bound surfaces and of course, gravel, which pre-registered SGLD member Helen Parsons favours. ‘I’ve started using recycled gravel from trusted suppliers with proper screening processes – a specialist in waste removal has shown me how to check these, and to realise it’s not a cut and dried or easy process; due diligence is constantly necessary. The mix includes brick or tarmac fragments but most people can’t tell the difference, and a little brick can sit more comfortably with the house than some decorative aggregates. I specify a permeable base such as Type Three or No Fines, which is also available in recycled form,’ she says.
Gravel retention systems reduce movement, as does installing clay pavers to make an edge that helps provides a ‘finish’; a raised driveway apron also prevents gravel travel. For her design for a front garden with an existing driveway, Caroline installed a gravel surface to allow for occasional parking. ‘Mixing permeable and hard surfaces tends to be cheaper and rain friendly,’ she adds. ‘If parking is not a requirement though, lawns and small wildflower meadows are the ultimate permeable surfaces.’
Rainwater run-off and storage
Because of their proximity to public highways, any plans to incorporate rainwater capture and storage systems in a front garden must consider the likely existence of complex systems installed below ground. Access during the build and after installation is also key, particularly for urban, pre-existing sites.
Personal experience of a tricky drainage problem at home encouraged Helen to expand her expertise in dealing with sites that require more than a soakaway. ‘At home, I have a large in-ground Graf tank which was installed when we built the house. It is excellent, but the amount of spoil and cost of muck-away [incurred during installation] made it a luxury. Also, inspection covers need careful integration, which contractors do not always prioritise,’ she says.
Attractive above-ground water storage options are limited and tend to take up valuable space on a small site: ‘Livingreen Design offers good-looking options, including bespoke shapes,’ says Helen, ‘and I hope more off-the-shelf choices will emerge now the National Standards [have put] rainwater harvesting at the top of the drainage hierarchy.
‘I’ve successfully adapted recycled, high-grade, intermediate bulk containers of around a thousand litres with taps and screening. I also utilise agricultural troughs under downpipes as dip tanks or stormwater planters. They need [to be adapted so they] direct excess water back into the drainage system or, preferably, into a rain garden,’ she explains.
Off-the-shelf stormwater planters are available, but Helen finds its cheaper to direct water into a rain garden border.
Planning
Planning permission is required for impermeable materials used on areas measuring more than 53.8 sq ft (five sq m) but if permeable materials are used, unless the site falls within a conservation area, it is not usually necessary. If the front garden is separated from the road by a pavement, and parking is part of the client brief for the space, then a dropped kerb must be installed as it is illegal to drive over a pavement onto the property, and a specific dropped kerb application for a domestic vehicle crossing licence must be submitted to the local authority. There are also instances when planning permission will be required3 and there may be a cost involved; the local authority will be able to confirm whether permission is required.
Root Protection Areas in place around existing trees are a common challenge and can make requests to widen a driveway tricky. ‘No-dig drive construction is expensive, but when you consider the character, screening and ecological value a mature tree provides, it is often a worthwhile investment,’ says Helen.
Boundaries
Hedges are wildlife-friendly, tough, long-lasting, vandalism-proof and a simple way of increasing biodiversity, particularly in urban locations. Species such as Crataegus, Ilex, Rosa spp. and Fagus have been found to mitigate noise and airborne pollution4 and hedges generally are an important means of helping to reduce water run-off.
Their semi-transparent forms also make them a more attractive solution for creating privacy than a solid fence or walling. Espalier trees are ideal space-saving living screens for creating privacy and separation from neighbouring gardens – ‘They give height without much breadth,’ says Katrina – but that said, removing an existing hedge can solve problems if space is tight. Taking such an approach enabled Maïtanne Hunt MSGLD to transform the front garden of one of her clients. ‘I managed to help them see that taking out a huge Leylandii hedge [that ran] round the side [of the house] meant we could shift the car-parking area and so free up space directly in front of the house for some lovely planting,’ she explains5.
Design with the house
Integrating a new garden into the house setting requires attention to detail, be it in the use of common materials or patterns; a path of brick laid in a herringbone pattern that echoes flooring inside the house, for example. For a garden in front of a mock Tudor-styled modern house, for instance, Maïtanne designed a knot garden comprising four square raised beds, each planted with topiary yew and silver-leaved plants, as a nod to the architectural motif, while crab apple trees provide privacy from the street.
Using design to draw the eye away from parked cars, or to guide visitors to the main entrance is another useful tactic. In a large, mostly paved front garden, for instance, Maïtanne diverted visual focus with a river of cobbles that twists between large square planters.
Design is also useful for guiding visitors to the ‘destination point’ through the garden, particularly if it is not immediately obvious from the street. ‘It’s surprisingly common for visitors to be unsure of where to go,’ comments Helen. ‘I’ve had clients whose kitchen door has become the main door because the layout encouraged that route. Widening the path to the front door and screening the back door with planting resolved that issue and the client described it as life changing.’
Stores and chargers
Where hedging or planting is not an option for hiding bins and bike storage, Katrina suggests Bikebox Works, although she caveats this with a note that permission may be required before an electric vehicle charger can be installed, and if the house is listed, consent will be needed to make any changes.
ENDNOTE
1 Agents reveal 5 renovations sellers think will add value but often don’t...5 home improvements that can add value to your home, rightmove.co.uk/news/articles/property-news/5-renovations-sellers-think-add-value
2 gov.uk/government/publications/national-standards-for-sustainable-drainage-systems/national-standards-for-sustainable-drainage-systems-suds#standard-7-design-of-drainage-for-construction-operation-maintenance-decommissioning-and-structural-integrity
3 planningportal.co.uk/permission/common-projects/dropped-kerbs/planning-permission
4 sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1618866718306848
5 You may need planning permission if installing boundary walls or items measuring 3.2 feet (1m) or more in height next to a public footpath.
Words, Philip Clayton
Main photograph, (front garden) Maïtanne Hunt