Walls—defining the space
Every wall is a blank canvas for you to decorate and an opportunity to define your outdoor space.
From a practical perspective, walls are the perfect backdrop for the
planted garden or outdoor room. They can provide a secure environment
and, at the right height, also offer intimacy, privacy and sound-proofing qualities. More than this, a wall can be a feature element in itself, to draw
the eye, seduce people into the garden, set a design theme and help to
create the beginnings of your outdoor room.
When security and privacy are priorities—and if you live in the city, that’s pretty much a given—the garden wall is going to figure strongly in your overall design. Whether you're wanting to dress up or rebuild an existing fence line or to start completely from scratch, there’s plenty to look at when it comes to selecting the material you’ll eventually work with.
To choose your ideal material, you will need to think carefully about what you want to achieve and how you want to live within in those spaces. Do you want it to be an intimate refuge for relaxation, or do you need lots of room kids play areas or built-in bench seating for entertaining a crowd? This will dictate where to position the walls and what materials to use.
Some wall materials to consider are:
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Blocks and bricks—including clay/concrete and stone blocks, modular block and wall systems, mud brick and rammed earth
•
Steel—including steel frameworks. See
material feature and
product review
•
Stone—including basalt/bluestone, granite, lavastone, limestone, marble, sandstone and stacked stone
•
Tiles—including ceramic, terracotta, mosaic and onyx
•
Timber—including battens, cladding, lattice, paling fences and sleepers
•
Natural fibres—including bamboo, brush fencing, natureed and palm fibre
•
Metal—including gabion, louvres, mini-orb, mesh, panels, perforated and veneer
•
Glass and synthetics—including mosaic, panels, plastic and resin, and synthetic stone
• For more information and images see my book
The Source Book Second Edition
