Every time I walk along a street my heart sinks a little lower and I can’t help thinking of the Joni Mitchell song ‘Big Yellow Taxi’, in particular the line ‘They paved paradise and put up a parking lot’. Whilst I appreciate parking is at a premium in many towns and cities, I live down a street with more yellow lines than parking spaces and everyone needs somewhere to leave their car(s). But I also live in a city well known for its flooding problems, York often hits the national headlines after a bout of wet weather, with its famous shots of the river Ouse rushing past the front door of the Kings Arms pub. By concreting or tarmacking over a front garden we are adding to flooding problems, heavy rain or rising water tables no longer have anywhere to run off or drain to, running into surface water drains which then overflow or gushing down the road.

Not to mention that it goes against Sustainable drainage regulations (SuDS) legislation bought in, in April 2010 in England and Wales (2003 in Scotland and 2015 in Northern Ireland) and permitted development rights (2008),

‘Permitted Development Rights In October 2008 Permitted Development Rights were introduced for householders wishing to pave over their front gardens. This enforces that if the surface to be covered is more than 5m², planning permission will be needed for laying traditional, impermeable driveways that do not control rainwater running off onto roads. Planning permission is not needed if a new driveway uses permeable (or porous) surfacing, which allows water to drain through, such as gravel, permeable concrete block paving or porous asphalt, or if the rainwater is directed to a lawn or border to drain naturally.’ susdrain.org website

Front Garden Inspiration at the RHS garden, Harlow Carr, North Yorkshire

However with a little imagination front gardens can be created that provide both parking spaces and permeable surfaces that allow rainwater to drain through. Something the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) is very keen on, having recently looked at the example they have created of a front garden at Harlow Carr, near Harrogate. By using two different materials (paving slabs with gravel) it makes the space look much more interesting and increases drainage. Along with a path between the street and the front door there is even room to add plants into the scheme. These are just two materials that could be used, there are many more possibilities out there, to suit the type of house (whether it’s a Victorian terrace, a new-build or a 1930s style house) and the surrounding landscape.

Front Garden on resin bound gravel with large planters

Simple things like adding a green roof to storage, keeping ugly wheelie bins out of site but also encouraging bees and butterflies into your garden. A couple of feature plants flanking the front door, a few scented plants by the window, where the fragrance will waft in on the breeze on a summer’s day and there is always a corner where the car won’t fit but a small shrub or grouping of perennials and bulbs will.

Wildflowers: meadow turf can be used as a green roof

Just imagine having a glorious, imaginative space that greets you as you leave the house in the morning or welcomes you home after a long day at work. How on a grey wet day as you look out of the window there isn’t just a grey slab of concrete and a few wheelie bins sitting outside but some stunning greenery, perhaps evergreen topiary or a multi-stemmed birch glistening in the rain, how much more likely it is that your heart will sing rather than sink.

Creating a scented rose hedge in a front garden

If you’d like help making the most of your front garden please feel free to get in touch.