Traditional Garden Renovation - Burnham-on-Sea, Somerset

Back to soil, then built to last

The whole garden was stripped back to bare soil. Five years of overgrown planting was cleared, the ground was levelled, and the site was properly prepared before anything new went in. Getting this stage right mattered more than any single finish, since a garden built on an uneven or poorly prepared base rarely lasts. The old conservatory was removed first, opening up the rear of the house and giving a clean run from the back doors into the new garden. In its place, a traditional timber pergola was built, brick footed to match the property and positioned to frame the main patio area. Limestone porcelain slabs were laid across the new patio, chosen for a traditional look that would wear well and stay low maintenance. Railway sleepers were used to frame planting borders around the perimeter, creating clearly defined beds rather than the loose, undefined greenery that had taken over before. New trees were planted within these borders to add height and privacy along the boundary fences.

In Progress

In Progress

Real turf was laid to form a curved lawn at the centre of the garden, edged in brick to tie back into the property's existing brickwork and keep a clean line between grass and paving. The railway sleeper beds were finished with gravel along their edges, giving the planting room to establish without spreading back into the lawn. Where the old conservatory once stood, there is now open patio space, with room for furniture where there simply was not any before. The pergola gives the rear of the house a proper outdoor connection, something the deteriorating conservatory never really achieved. The result is a garden that goes from unusable to fully functional, with a layout built to last for years rather than needing constant upkeep.