Surrey
Stone Steps & Retaining Walls
Garden steps, retaining walls & planting
The project
Stone garden steps and retaining walls cut into a sloping plot, with mature planting used to soften the structure the moment it was finished.
The effort behind it
The slope was steeper than the survey suggested, so the walls were redesigned as reinforced structures with geogrid and a full drainage layer behind — a change made in four days to protect the programme. Each step tread was set at a 150mm rise and 400mm going and checked with a level on every single course.
Challenges faced
Stone Steps & Retaining Walls asked the team to deliver a finished-looking garden in a single season — against wet ground, delivery restrictions in Surrey, and planting that only tolerates being moved at the right time of year. Sequencing hard works before any soil improvement, and holding an experienced crew together through the weather delays, was what made the difference.
Team & involvement
A core landscaping crew stayed with the project from first excavation to the final sweep, supported by our in-house stone masons, electricians and planting specialists. Because the same team set out, built and finished the work, the detailing stayed consistent across every square metre — and the client dealt with one foreman and one phone number throughout.
A successful outcome
One season after completion, the garden at Stone Steps & Retaining Walls has settled exactly as designed: drainage performing through the wettest months, paving uncracked and planting establishing ahead of schedule. The client's own verdict, at the twelve-month aftercare visit, was that it looks as though it has always been there — the highest compliment a landscape can earn.
