Before and Afters
Landscape Design
Patio of the Week: Planted Terraces Remake a Sloped Yard
An unusable wide, shallow garden is now an inviting space, with two patios linked by a winding path and varied plantings
“The difficulty with wide, shallow gardens is you don’t really have a direct focal point,” designer John Brennan of Yorkshire Gardens says, “so you have to send the eye left or right.” This backyard had the added challenge of being on a steep slope, so Brennan created a terraced design with a journey through pretty plantings.
Some of the photos below are of the just-finished garden, showing the structure; others taken later reveal how the plantings are starting to make the space lush and beautiful.
Some of the photos below are of the just-finished garden, showing the structure; others taken later reveal how the plantings are starting to make the space lush and beautiful.
Need a pro for your landscape design project?
Let Houzz find the best pros for you
Let Houzz find the best pros for you
Before: The sloping plot was a large but mostly impractical lawn. “Slopes are good for rolling down, but that’s about it,” Brennan says.
After: Brennan terraced the slope to make it usable. The terraces were created from new wooden railroad tie-style planks, bringing structure to the garden but with a natural feel. The wood pieces are all treated and should last for decades, he says. The patio paving is Indian sandstone.
Find a landscape designer on Houzz
Find a landscape designer on Houzz
The plantings took careful planning. “It was tricky, because just under the grassy slope there was some really poor soil — heavy clay, large pieces of bedrock, building rubble,” Brennan says.
“We terraced it using imported soil, so as you go up, the depth of the decent soil varies. Some of the plants we put in went completely mad, while a couple didn’t thrive,” he says. (He’s since replaced the latter.)
Shop for gardening supplies on Houzz
“We terraced it using imported soil, so as you go up, the depth of the decent soil varies. Some of the plants we put in went completely mad, while a couple didn’t thrive,” he says. (He’s since replaced the latter.)
Shop for gardening supplies on Houzz
This photo, taken when the garden was newly planted, shows the wide, shallow nature of the space. A path runs from this patio to a second, circular patio, with cottage garden plantings and Mediterranean plants along the way.
This is a view of the just-planted garden from the opposite end. “As with long, thin gardens, it’s best to break up a wide, shallow space into smaller areas,” Brennan says. “The main thing is to try to give a reason for going to different parts of the garden, rather than it just being nice to look at. I tried to create different spaces the owner could use.
“There’s an area on the left [of the garden] to sit, an area on the right to sit, and a nice walk through the middle,” he says. “And the walk alters as you go along, as you’re changing level and direction and going through different styles of planting.”
“There’s an area on the left [of the garden] to sit, an area on the right to sit, and a nice walk through the middle,” he says. “And the walk alters as you go along, as you’re changing level and direction and going through different styles of planting.”
This photo, take later, shows how the Mediterranean-inspired bed is flourishing. “I tried to mimic a Greek hillside in the middle, gravel section,” Brennan says. “In the mix, there’s a mugo pine [Pinus mugo], trailing rosemary [Rosmarinus officinalis ‘Prostratus’] — which creeps rather than being bushy — thyme, lavender, geraniums, euphorbia and fountain grass [Pennisetum sp.].”
Elegant cypress trees bookend the garden. They’re Italian ‘Totem Pole’ cypresses (Cupressus sempervirens ‘Totem Pole’), which Brennan says are slow-growing and don’t get very big.
Elegant cypress trees bookend the garden. They’re Italian ‘Totem Pole’ cypresses (Cupressus sempervirens ‘Totem Pole’), which Brennan says are slow-growing and don’t get very big.
In the middle of the garden, at the top of the steps, is a small serviceberry (Amelanchier sp.) tree, which acts as a focal point when viewed from the back door and softens the line of the top terrace. “It’s important when you put terraces in that you break up the lines,” Brennan says.
The brick retaining wall of the property behind this lot is a beautiful feature in itself. “I did have the benefit of that amazing wall as a backdrop,” Brennan says.
He initially put wildflowers in the back planter but wasn’t really happy with them. “They tended towards very few species — mainly Achillea,” he says, “so then I put in loads of bulbs and some grasses.” You can see those newer plantings in the next photo.
He initially put wildflowers in the back planter but wasn’t really happy with them. “They tended towards very few species — mainly Achillea,” he says, “so then I put in loads of bulbs and some grasses.” You can see those newer plantings in the next photo.
“I also added fan-trained fruit trees,” he continues. (The trees have been trained so that the branches radiate from a short, central trunk, helping maximize yields.) “They’re quite small and have nice blossoms in the spring.”
The bank is south-facing, but the area near the front of the garden is in the shadow of the house, so Brennan chose shade-tolerant plants for the lower beds, including hebes, hostas, heucheras and ferns.
How to Design a Beautiful Shade Garden
The bank is south-facing, but the area near the front of the garden is in the shadow of the house, so Brennan chose shade-tolerant plants for the lower beds, including hebes, hostas, heucheras and ferns.
How to Design a Beautiful Shade Garden
The pergola is planted with honeysuckle, clematis and a climbing rose.
This photo, taken later, shows the climbing rose starting to bloom.
The cottage garden plantings around the pergola include columbine (Aquilegia sp.), geranium, Schizostylis, bellflower (Campanula sp.), hebe and Luzula nivea.
Brennan gave the smaller, circular patio a different feel from the cottage-style garden under the pergola. It’s made of Raj Green Indian sandstone.
A wisteria is now spreading nicely across the circular patio’s pergola and along the wall. There’s also star jasmine (Trachelospermum jasminoides) growing up the other side.
Brennan has taken the space from dull, unusable lawn to a garden with lots of interest and a reason to visit every bit of it. “Everywhere you stand, you see something different,” he says. “And it’s actually pretty low-maintenance too.”
Shop for Outdoor Products
Item 1 of 4
Sponsored
Providing Quality Home Improvements in South Riding for Over 30 Years
Who lives here: A professional woman
Location: Roundhay, West Yorkshire, England
Size: 3,234 square feet (300 square meters); 33 by 98 feet
Designer: John Brennan of Yorkshire Gardens
The owner wasn’t sure what she wanted to do with the space, beyond making it usable and enjoyable, but Brennan established that she liked Japanese, Mediterranean and cottage gardens, so he aimed to subtly blend elements of all three.