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Fi Boyle’s Old Quarry Garden won the public-voted People’s Choice category at the Society of Garden and Landscape Designers’ Awards. The former quarry project shows how surveys, terraces, accessible routes and repeated materials can make a steep garden more usable and cohesive. Boyle says planting choices should reflect each level’s conditions and the surrounding landscape.
Garden designer Fi Boyle won the public-voted People’s Choice category at the Society of Garden and Landscape Designers’ Awards for the Old Quarry Garden, a steep former quarry redesigned with terraces and routes between levels. The project offers practical examples for gardeners dealing with difficult slopes, including how to plan usable spaces, maintain access and choose materials and planting suited to different conditions.
Boyle said the clients wanted to make more of the site usable. Previous attempts had left large areas inaccessible, while other sections were overgrown and crumbling. The clients were keen gardeners, but their brief also called for machinery and wheelbarrows to move between levels without relying on steps, so the garden could be maintained.
The solution involved creating terraces shaped by the site’s topography, with several kinds of retaining wall. Boyle used natural stone found on site, rendered breeze blocks, and a combination of steel and sleepers. She also suggested that a low retaining wall can adjust a slope enough to make it workable, rather than requiring a more extensive structure.
Access was planned alongside the terraces, using both steps and sloped routes. On the sunniest level, Boyle chose a Mediterranean-style planting scheme with gravel and stepping stones. Elsewhere, repeated limestone paving and rounded Cotswold gravel helped link the garden’s separate areas. The report also describes wildflower turf on steep banks, though the available source ends before giving further details about that planting.
Making Steep Gardens More Usable
The project matters to gardeners because a steep plot can be difficult to plant, cross and maintain, even when it has attractive views or varied levels. Boyle’s design treats access and maintenance as part of the layout from the outset, rather than as later additions. The requirement for wheelbarrows and machinery to travel between levels shows how practical needs can shape the garden’s structure.
Its approach also points to choices that may help homeowners plan realistically: survey the slope before setting out borders, use retaining walls where the ground is too steep to manage, and connect terraces with routes suited to the site. The project is an example, not a universal design or a guarantee of lower costs; soil, drainage, construction requirements and budgets vary from garden to garden.
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From Quarry Slope to Terraces
The Old Quarry Garden began as a steep, former quarry site that previous owners had tried to make usable. Boyle said parts were effectively out of use, and the areas that could be reached were in poor condition. The clients’ wish to use more of the land led to a terraced plan, with the existing changes in level informing where each outdoor area would sit.
In the Amateur Gardening report, Boyle advises getting a survey to establish the actual level changes. She cautions that a slope can look less steep than it is and says banks above 30 degrees are very difficult to maintain comfortably. On steep ground, soil and added compost can move downhill, leaving the upper area dry and the base wet; Boyle also describes the bottom as often becoming a frost pocket.
The designer used a distinct planting character on the sunniest terrace, while repeating stone and gravel across levels to connect them visually. She says planting should respond to soil, aspect and the surrounding landscape, with more cultivated areas near the house and native or near-native varieties towards the outer edges.
“The clients are keen gardeners and wanted to make as much of the space as possible into usable garden.”
— Fi Boyle, garden designer
Details the Report Does Not Give
The source does not provide the garden’s location, dimensions, construction costs, completion date or the precise date of the awards ceremony. It also does not quantify how much usable space was added or give a full planting list. The report’s final description of wildflower turf is cut off, so further claims about its maintenance or performance cannot be confirmed from the supplied material.
Boyle’s advice is based on her design experience and this specific site. The article does not establish that a particular wall type, terrace layout or plant palette will suit every sloping garden. Structural design, drainage, permissions and costs for a retaining wall will depend on local conditions and should be checked for an individual project.
Applying the Lessons to Your Site
The source identifies no further project milestone or follow-up announcement. For gardeners considering similar work, Boyle’s advice points to a practical next step: establish the site’s levels with a survey before deciding where to terrace, plant or build access routes. The brief should also account for how people, tools and maintenance equipment will move between levels.
Any construction plan would need to be developed for the specific ground and budget, with suitable professional advice where retaining structures or drainage are involved. The award recognizes the Old Quarry Garden, while the broader design lessons remain guidance rather than a one-size-fits-all plan.
Key Questions
What award did the Old Quarry Garden win?
Designer Fi Boyle won the public-voted People’s Choice category at the Society of Garden and Landscape Designers’ Awards. The source does not state the ceremony date.
How did the design make the steep garden usable?
The garden was divided into terraces with retaining walls, and routes were planned to connect levels. The clients’ brief required machinery and wheelbarrows to move between levels without using steps.
What does Boyle advise before designing a sloping garden?
She recommends getting a survey of the level changes. She says steep slopes can be hard to maintain and that soil and compost may migrate downhill, affecting growing conditions.
Which materials were repeated across the garden?
The report says limestone paving and rounded Cotswold gravel were used across different areas. Boyle said repeating stone helped connect the separate terraces.
Does the same design work for every sloping garden?
No. The report presents this garden as an example. A suitable layout depends on the site’s slope, soil, aspect, access needs and budget, and construction requirements may differ.
Source: amateurgardening.com
