A sloping garden presented designer Simon Orchard with quite a challenge. We look at how he came to the rescue with curves and clay pavers.

View up garden to white house. Curved path winds between sunken seating and cascading water feature
Simon Orchard's design disguises the steep drop in the garden with curves and an infinity lawn.

The site

At 800 square metres, the garden offered plenty of space to play with. The drawback? It sloped down from the house in two directions to the far corner, dropping a couple of metres on the way. The fact that the garden boundaries weren't true to the house but skewed away from it was additional challenge.

The client wanted to keep the pre-existing patio by the house, but was keen to have a flat terraced lawn area. "Because of the high drop," explains Simon, "I couldn't terrace from top to bottom." The client also wanted a pond, but not the non-functioning, water-wheel endowed confection left behind by the previous owner.

View across airy planting and large descending gravel steps to round sunken seating area.
Gravel steps retained with Corten steel sides to match the retaining wall of the infinity lawn, descend to Moderna clay paving and the sunken seating and fire pit.

Disguising levels

So, not suitable for terracing completely, a skewed plot, flat lawn required. "We had set levels at top and bottom and had to make everything else work," says Simon. This included working out the position of the fire pit, the fall of the cascading pond, and, in particular, the size and shape of the lawn so that it felt like a natural progression onto the slope of the rest of the garden. For this, Simon created an "infinity" lawn, with Corten steel providing the near-invisible containment. In places the steel edging is half a metre deep. The crisp curved edge creates flow and makes the most of the space available, while at the same time allowing for a comfortable step off at the place where the lawn meets the natural fall of the garden.

"Curves mask disparity and level changes," says Simon. "They feel more natural." They also allow for longer approaches. "Garden steps," says Simon, "I always like the rise not to be too high, so it's gentle and you don't realise levels are so different."

Choosing the hard landscaping colours

Overhead view of garden with curved paths and lawn.
The existing patio informed the colour choice of landscaping materials in gravel, clay pavers and concrete.

With the porcelain paving of the in situ patio an attractive mid-grey, it made sense to tie the design together with materials that closely matched. Here Moderna clay pavers from our Kessel range were a shoo-in, providing even colouring that suits a contemporary garden. "I like to put clay pavers into schemes," says Simon, "often for secondary seating and paths." He's also a fan of our stone pavers, a smoother-textured alternative to clay.

Curved path of Moderna clay pavers runs between sunken seating and cascading water feature
The Moderna clay pavers tie in with the colour of the Schellevis concrete steps and add texture in conjunction with the cascading water feature.

The clay pavers provided textural contrast with the uniform expanse of the Schellevis concrete steps that wind up to the lawn and the gravel steps that descend from the patio. However, the pavers also offer the addition of pattern, which Simon uses to full effect in the sunken seating area.

Sunken seating area

round sunken seating area paved with Moderna clay pavers
The radial laying of the Moderna clay pavers creates a sunburst feel that adds energy to the space.

Here, in contrast to the paving, the walls of the sunken seating area create a white highlight to match the walls of the house. The clay pavers are laid radially, putting the focus on the central fire pit. The sense of movement contrasts with the still point of the circle. Sharp eyes will note that four separate bricks are laid along the curve of the wall. These already belonged to the client, who wanted the message engraved on them incorporated into the garden. The bricks support the colour scheme and Simon placed them separately to ensure they stood out.

Slope-proofing a clay garden

Moderna clay paving between porcelain patio and airy planting with gravel steps
Sanded joints in the Moderna clay paving helps with surface drainage, as do the gravel steps retained with Corten steel edging.

One of the challenges of a sloping garden can be drainage and the problem was illustrated in spades as the build took place a couple of years ago in one of our wettest winters. "It was a very, very tough build," says Simon. "It's on heavy clay, and it rained October to March. Natural springs were popping up all over." Luckily Waratah are highly experienced landscapers. They put in additional land drainage. Simon's design includes details to aid drainage. As well as making up some of the steps, gravel edges the paving and sunken seating. The clay pavers have sanded joints, which allows water to percolate down between the bricks.

The result

"I'm really chuffed with it," says Simon, who runs Simon Orchard Garden Design. And we think he should be!

For more designer solutions to sloping gardens, see A Garden Revamp with Pavers and Porcelain and a weighty design for a steeply sloped Surrey garden.