Hartnell Gardens
Improving accessibility with a new 25 metre concrete sloping path links the three alms-houses together, with decorative gravel paths and rose beds either side.

Project

Landscaping for Accessibility

Landscaping three front and rear gardens for improved accessibility and low maintenance.

Location:
Alphington

Alphington Church contacted us to improve the gardens of the Griffin Almshouses, which are three terraced houses donated to them as community housing for those in need. The gardens were very overgrown, lacking accessibility, and completely unusable in places, with no privacy.

The brief was to overhaul the three gardens, making them private, safe, and accessible for current and future tenants. We designed a budget friendly, low maintenance, landscaped option. Our proposal included extending the existing patios, creating new lawns and replacing the chain-link fences with timber fencing. We also created a new bank, and planted with evergreen, wildlife-friendly hedges. In front of the houses, we constructed a new 25-metre-long concrete path to link the three properties and provide wheelchair access.

The final result meant the gardens were more accessible to tenants, with improved paths and easy to maintain borders. The new fencing provided security and ownership of their areas, but still allowed for social interaction between neighbours if desired.

An old stone rockery wall barely visible amongst a thicket of brambles, mares tail and bindweed. Overgrown, unsuitable planting spills onto a garden path hindering accessibility and blocking light to a lawn. A large pile of rubble in the garden during the clearance works. A mini digger is used to assist clearance of the garden shrubs and removal of the lawns between the rear gardens. Fencing is installed on a bank adjacent to the medical centre, providing screening and security. A flowering evergreen hedge of Viburnum is planted in front of the bank fencing to provide seasonal interest and scent. Narrow front garden paths and steps to the property create accessibility challenges for the residents. Improving accessibility with a new 25 metre concrete sloping path links the three alms-houses together, with decorative gravel paths and rose beds either side. A new lawn is created with a wrap-around patio providing improved accessibility for all. Low garden fencing provides security and ownership of the rear gardens but allows socialising if desired. New paths and patios installed with no trip hazards, flush with the lawns for easy mowing and accessibility.
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