Founded in 2005, Scenic Blue Design has spent the last decade growing from strength to strength, crafting unique, one-of-a-kind gardens that captivate all who lay eyes on them. The company specialises in producing bespoke designs that meet every client’s needs, enhancing the outdoor space to seamlessly blend with the home, creating a cohesive, unified design.

Scenic Blue Design offers a comprehensive range of services including, conceptual design, 3D imagery, construction detailing, sectional and elevation detailing, drainage and waterproof plans, lighting and irrigation plans, material specifications, and planting plans with soil analysis. This thorough approach ensures accuracy in both cost and project timelines from the outset.

THE ROLE OF HARDSCAPING
Let us start by asking what hardscaping is and what purpose it serves. Hardscaping covers all the non-living elements of landscaping, including decking, paving, concrete and water features. Whilst these features serve a practical purpose, their role goes beyond functionality, seamlessly aligning with the overall style of the outdoor space. The exterior hardscaping should complement the home’s internal flooring, connecting and bringing cohesion into the two spaces.

Slaughter explains how this can be mishandled, “As far as the role of hard standing in its physical sense, all too often the placement of the hard standing is kept quite plain, generating a him-and-her environment with the adjoining hard standing. I always want to find a way of visually interlocking two different finishes. Yes, hard standing has its role of providing pathways, gathering spaces etc. but this element is only part of its role”.

He also warns us of a few common mistakes that trip up many hardscaping applications. For example, many homeowners neglect to plan the spatial layout and make design choices that undermine the garden before it’s even built, with clashing colours and finishes that spoil the overall view. Moreover, failing to give consideration to the slip resistance of a surface creates a health hazard, while poorly considered element sizing creates an environment that feels ‘bitty’ instead of unified. Making widths of pathways too narrow renders them awkward to navigate and can be further exacerbated if the spilling of plants over the top is not given proper thought.

Practical applications must be given proper thought, but they can never overshadow the beauty of a garden, as the hardscaping must always be in harmony with its surroundings. Before installing any hardscaping Slaughter recommends thinking carefully about why you want to install it – the more thought you put in at the beginning, the better the result will be.

THE NATURAL LOOK
The natural environment, also known as softscaping, is the necessary companion to hardscaping. The ideal use for plant life in a garden is as a softener for the hardscaping elements, and one must always be kept in mind when designing the other. The natural elements should be sympathetic to their neighbours, with similar feels, colours, finishes and sizes.

Slaughter shares one of his tricks for successfully blending elements, “one way of blending plant life and natural features like bush rock is to place it between the hard and soft of a low growing grass. This simple approach removes the visual abutting of the two elements.”