In Part 1 we covered the basics. Fencing, lawns, trees, hedges and ongoing maintenance. The things that need addressing before anything else makes sense. If you have not read it yet it is worth a look, particularly the bit about drainage, which affects more gardens across Greater Manchester than most people realise.
This time we are getting into the stuff that actually changes how you use the garden. Because there is a big difference between a garden that is tidy and a garden that you genuinely spend time in. In the Northwest, where a decent summer evening feels like it should be marked on the calendar, having a space that actually works for you matters quite a lot.
The Patio Situation
Most patios in gardens across Stockport, Didsbury, Poynton and Heald Green were laid a very long time ago. You can tell because they are uneven, cracked in places, covered in green growth, and generally look like they have been there since the previous owners put them in sometime in the nineties. Which, again, is often exactly the case.
A new patio is one of those things that immediately makes a garden feel completely different. It gives the space a centre of gravity. Somewhere to put the furniture without it wobbling, somewhere to stand with a drink when the weather finally plays ball, somewhere that actually looks like it was designed rather than just happened. It also makes the rest of the garden look better almost by default because it sets the tone for everything around it.
We cover the whole job from planning through to laying, and we work with all sorts of gardens across the Stockport and Greater Manchester area. Our patios and decking page gives you a sense of what is possible, but honestly the best thing is to get us out for a look because every garden is different.
Decking Gets a Bad Reputation It Does Not Always Deserve
Cheap decking, badly fitted, is genuinely awful. Slippery, rotten within a few years, and a splinter waiting to happen. That has given decking generally a bit of an image problem, which is a shame because when it is done properly it is one of the best things you can do with a garden.
It is particularly useful for awkward plots, and there are plenty of those across Stockport, Glossop and up into the hillier parts of Greater Manchester. A sloped garden that feels impossible to use can be completely transformed by a well-positioned deck that creates a level area with a proper outlook. Suddenly the garden makes sense in a way it did not before.
We will always come out and have an honest conversation about what will and will not work in a given space. If decking is not the right answer, we will say so. If it is, our patios and decking team will make it look like it was always meant to be there.
Composite Is Worth Thinking About Seriously
If you have replaced timber fencing or decking before and found yourself back in the same position a few years later, rotting or warping or needing treatment again, composite materials are worth a proper look before you just replace like for like.
Gardens in Stockport, Warrington, Macclesfield and across Cheshire get a lot of weather. Even in summer there is plenty of rain and wind in between the good days, and traditional timber needs regular maintenance to hold up to it year on year. Composite does not. No painting, no staining, no treating, and it does not rot or warp the way timber does when the rain sets in for a week in August.
Our composite fencing and decking page goes into more detail, but the short version is that the upfront cost is a bit higher and the long-term cost is significantly lower. For gardens in Alderley Edge, Bowden, Knutsford and similar areas where people want things to look good for a long time without constant upkeep, it tends to make a lot of sense.
Getting It All Done Before Summer Arrives
The gardens we enjoy working on most are the ones where everything comes together at once. Fresh turf, a new patio, good fencing, the trees and hedges properly managed. It sounds like a big project but when it is all planned and done by the same team who know what they are doing, it tends to move faster than people expect.
We cover Stockport, Manchester and all the surrounding areas including Cheadle, Cheadle Hulme, Timperley, Sale, Trafford, Styal and everywhere in between. We offer a free site survey and a no-obligation quote so there is nothing to lose by getting in touch.
