Finding ideas for small gardens is the easy part, but transferring those ideas into a design that works perfectly for space available can be tricky, especially is the garden is sloped or on an incline.

Our customer Rob struck the right balance of functionality and style whilst creating a design for his sloped garden that fits perfectly into the space available.

His new build garden was, like many others, made up of a budget patio, a narrow pathway and some poor quality turf. It was totally uninspiring and not the kind of space he wanted to live with. His update was driven by a desire to use this garden as an extension of his beautiful new home, to create an area for his daughter to play safely, to enjoy for BBQs and entertaining, and also to add stunning planting that would change throughout the seasons.

Read on to find out how he did it.

Sloped garden design case study

The property is a new build house therefore the garden was as the builders left it, there was little consideration for design; the garden level and the usability of the space. The garden sloped from the back fence to the house approximately 900mm over an 8m length and had a single path running from the house to the back gate for access from the driveway.

The garden benefits from a south facing position which has long durations of sunlight throughout the day, making it a brilliant spot for growing plants and edibles in raised beds

Rob created his own design for the space, his ideas included tiered raised beds, which wrapped around a lawn area. Adding an integrated seat saved space and made a great design feature, maximising the space available. He added steps, which worked perfectly against the planters and the incline of the garden to make the area feel much more inclusive.

Rob did explore other options for materials including traditional brickwork, rendered block work and railway sleepers, before settling on WoodBlocX as it enabled him to carry out large elements of the garden works without the requirement for specialist resources.

We took Rob's design and simply remodelled it using our modular system. Rob then completed the excavation works, laid the base material and built the structure before using a landscaping company to complete the paving works and grass. See how easy it is to build with WoodBlocX here.

"This is a brilliant example of how a relatively small space can still include a number of different design features without taking up a large footprint. Rob's design effectively cuts into the slope of garden to create a large level space and the tall planters provide a strong retaining wall to support the steps and the existing earth below the fence.

Overall its a great showcase of the versatility of WoodBlocX and how our modular system can be used to create a full garden design."