Garden walls aren’t just the structures that go around your outside area, separating the little bit of the outside world that you own from everything else. Though most walls in gardens have a similar function, that is they’re designed to demarcate, letting the user know that one part of the garden has finished and another is beginning.
The garden wall, like the garden path, may be used to denote the boundaries of a flower bed, or to separate the herb or kitchen garden from the floral part of the plot. Garden walls may also be used to level off a garden laid on a slope: the slope is segmented into flat tiers, each one of which is then contained within a series of low slung walls.
A garden wall also helps to extend the theme or feeling of a home out into its outside spaces. By mirroring the home in color, materials and construction, the garden wall unifies the plants and grasses of the outside part of the property with the general aspect of the home itself.
For example, old style red brick houses with patterning in their brickwork can echo those patterns throughout their garden walls. And period homes can take elements of color and stone type from the house’s architecture to give resonance to their walls and borders.
The types of wall suitable for your property depend on two things – the size and construction of our home, and the size and purpose of your garden. In large homes, for instance, where there is a sizable outside space, garden walls can be tall, wide and used to segment the grounds into discrete areas – gardens within gardens, if you like, each with their own layout and purpose.
The kitchen garden is one of the most delightful types of walled garden. It takes a lot of care and attention to keep it managed, but if you have either the time of the employees then it can lend a real old English aspect to your property. Surrounded by high garden walls, the kitchen garden is specifically for edible plants, featuring vegetables, fruit trees and extensive herb beds.
Modern properties can use similar sectioning to make the most of smaller spaces. Garden walls can be used, for instance, to segment off a space for barbecuing or eating. A raised wall running around a patio turns that patio into an effective outdoor dining room, with the lawn laid at the height of the wall for added effect. Or a small walled enclave can protect a barbecue from any prevailing wind – as well as helping funnel the smoke up into the air.
Garden walls are incorporated into the designs of spaces in all sizes. The key is to keep the wall in proportion with the house and its outside areas.
