Driveways

We live in age an age now where most households have one if not two cars that have to be parked on roads. These roads were clearly not designed to accommodate so many vehicles and therefore people have been forced to turn their front gardens into mini concrete car parks. Although this has solved some of the problems it has also created many more.

The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) carried out research into the subject and found, Almost a quarter of the front gardens in north east England are now completely paved. And it is estimated that the capital's losses are equal to the area covered by 5,200 football pitches, according to the London Assembly.

So why would this be a concern to us all? The RHS research also concluded, First and foremost, it is the part hard surfaces play in causing environmental problems, and increasing the risk of fooding is top of this list. Gardens can soak up rain, while paving, tarmac and concrete are less porous and increase the amount of rainwater that runs off by as much as 50 per cent.

This additional water usually flows into street drains, which can't always cope with the thousands of extra litres in a storm. The excess can then go back up people's front drives to flood their homes. RHS Principal Environmental Advisor, Rebecca Matthews Joyce, explains, "The water has to go somewhere and, even if you are not flooded, it might be affecting your neighbours downhill."

Source: http://www.rhs.org.uk/Gardening/Sustainable-gardening - Read the Front Gardens leaflet (pdf)

So what is the solution? Well it's quite simple really, the use of a bit of imagination. There are many different surfaces available that not only provide additional parking but can also be incorporated into a fantastic living garden full of year round colour. Block paving doesn't have to be laid wall to wall fashion, it is a great product but could often do with a bit of help.

The pictures show how a front garden in Hartlepool was transformed using Ground Reinforcement Blocks. The preparation work is exactly the same as if laying a concrete type of driveway in so much as the ground has to be excavated, type one stone installed and then sharp spread and consolidated. The difference is in the next stage of the work; instead of using a concrete product for the finished surface Ground Reinforcement Blocks are laid onto the sharp sand and filled with a soil and grass seed mixture that produces a lawn driveway.

With this project I laid a living Sedum carpet in the centre of the lawn and surrounded it with shrubs, perennials and various bulbs.