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Garden designer Fi Boyle’s Old Quarry Garden won the People’s Choice category at the Society of Garden and Landscape Designers’ Awards. The steep former quarry site was made more usable through terraces, retaining walls, routes linking levels and planting suited to local conditions. Boyle’s advice includes surveying the slope and planning access for maintenance.
Garden designer Fi Boyle’s Old Quarry Garden, a terraced garden built on a steep former quarry site, won the public-voted People’s Choice category at the Society of Garden and Landscape Designers’ Awards, according to Amateur Gardening. The project shows how surveying a slope, creating usable levels and planning access between them can address common problems in steep gardens.
The site was described as incredibly steep, with areas that were difficult to use, overgrown and crumbling. Boyle said the clients, who were keen gardeners, wanted to make as much of the space usable as possible. Their brief also called for machinery and wheelbarrows to move between levels without relying on steps, so the garden could be maintained.
Boyle used several kinds of retaining wall, including stone from the site, rendered breeze blocks, and steel and sleepers. The number and placement of the terraces followed the ground’s topography, with routes planned for movement both by steps and sloped access. Boyle advised commissioning a site survey, saying apparent level changes can be misleading.
The garden’s planting and surfaces vary by area. The sunniest terrace uses a Mediterranean-inspired palette, gravel and stepping stones; shaded areas may suit wood, logs or bark, Boyle said. Limestone paving and rounded Cotswold gravel recur through the garden to connect its separate levels. The source report also describes wildflower turf on steep banks, but the supplied material ends before giving further details about that planting.
Making Steep Ground More Usable
The project provides a practical example of how a steep site can be divided into workable terraces rather than treated as one continuous slope. This matters for gardeners who struggle with planting, access or maintenance on uneven ground. The design also accounts for how people and equipment move around the space, not just how it looks.
Boyle’s advice is not a universal specification: the right layout depends on the slope, soil, aspect and intended use. But the garden illustrates a useful sequence of decisions: establish the true levels, determine where retaining structures are needed, plan connections between areas, and choose plants and materials for each terrace. The award offers recognition from a public-voted category; it does not, by itself, establish that the same approach will suit every garden.
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From Quarry Site to Terraces
Before the redesign, previous owners had tried to create usable areas, but Boyle described much of the garden as virtually unusable. Parts that could be reached were overgrown and in poor condition. The clients’ request to reclaim more of the site shaped the decision to terrace it and to provide access that could accommodate garden equipment.
Boyle cautioned against trying to maintain borders on slopes that are too steep. She said slopes above 30 degrees are very difficult to look after and, in practice, still too steep to work comfortably. On steep banks, soil and added compost can move downhill, leaving the top dry and the base wet; Boyle also noted that the base may become a frost pocket. Those conditions can make plant establishment harder.
To make the separate areas feel connected, Boyle repeated materials across the levels. The limestone paving and gravel were selected to work with the stone walls, which used material found on the former quarry site. On the sunniest terrace, offset stepping stones slow movement along the path, Boyle said. In the wider planting scheme, she advised moving from more cultivated planting near the house or terrace towards native or near-native varieties at the garden’s outer edges, taking the surrounding landscape, soil and aspect into account.
“Anything over 30 degrees is very hard to look after. In reality this is still much too steep to work comfortably.”
— Fi Boyle, garden designer, as quoted by Amateur Gardening
Details the Report Does Not Give
The supplied report does not state the year of the award, the project’s location, its budget or the full dimensions and gradient of the site. It also does not give a complete account of construction methods, drainage, engineering checks or the long-term maintenance requirements of each retaining wall. Those details would be needed to judge how closely another garden could follow this example.
Boyle’s 30-degree guidance is presented as her professional advice in the report, not as a building regulation or a substitute for site-specific assessment. The available source material cuts off during its description of wildflower turf, so the full planting plan and any further lessons from the designer are not confirmed here.
Survey Before Planning Construction
For readers considering a similar project, Boyle’s reported first step is to survey the levels before setting out terraces. A plan can then account for retaining walls, planting conditions and how people, wheelbarrows and machinery will move between areas. The report does not announce a follow-up project or a new design milestone for the Old Quarry Garden.
Any construction proposal should be assessed against the specific site and local requirements, particularly where substantial retaining structures or changes to levels are involved. The source material provides no engineering specifications or cost guidance, so these cannot be inferred from the garden’s award or design features.
Key Questions
What award did the Old Quarry Garden win?
Amateur Gardening reports that Fi Boyle’s garden won the People’s Choice category at the Society of Garden and Landscape Designers’ Awards. The supplied report does not specify the award year.
How did Boyle make the steep garden usable?
She used terraces and retaining walls to create distinct areas, then planned routes between levels. The clients’ brief included access for machinery and wheelbarrows without depending on steps.
What should gardeners do before designing a sloping site?
Boyle recommends getting a survey of the level changes. She says judging a slope by eye can be misleading, and a survey helps inform terrace placement and access planning.
What planting works on a steep bank?
The report describes wildflower turf on steep banks, but the supplied text does not include the designer’s full explanation or planting list. Boyle says plant choices should reflect the soil, aspect and surrounding landscape.
Can the same design be used in any sloping garden?
Not necessarily. The Old Quarry Garden is an example, not a universal plan. A suitable design depends on a site’s levels, ground conditions, access needs and intended use; the report gives no engineering or cost specifications for applying its approach elsewhere.
Source: amateurgardening.com
