Garden Design and Landscaping in Binley
Front and back gardens for east Coventry homes, designed properly
Binley homes often need two gardens designed, not one. The back garden is where you live in summer; the front is where you park, arrive and are seen from the street. Both are worth doing well, and the front comes with rules the back does not.
Terraces and decking in nearby Coventry gardens
What we design and build in Binley
Front and back designed together, with 3D views before any price is fixed.
Block, resin-ready bases and gravel, laid to shed water the right way.
Porcelain, sandstone and block for back terraces and front paths.
Replacing tired estate fencing with something that lasts and looks intended.
Low front walls, retaining edges and steps where the ground changes level.
Composite platforms where the back garden steps down from the house.
Real lawns on prepared ground, or synthetic for shaded or heavily used plots.
Estate gardens that hold water and receive run-off from next door.
A postwar estate with two gardens to every house
Most of Binley was built as estate housing in the decades after the war: semi-detached and short terraced homes with a front garden to the road and a longer rectangle behind. The layout has aged well in one respect — plots are reasonably sized for the city — and badly in another. Almost nobody arrived with a car on that scale in mind.
So the front garden has often become a compromise: part hardstanding, part lawn, a low wall with a gap knocked in it, and a surface that sheds water onto the path. At the back, the original concrete path and a shed on a slab are still frequently there, sitting on clay that has never been properly improved.
Designing both at once is worth doing because they share the same budget, the same materials and often the same access. The paving that runs through the side gate to the back terrace can be the paving at the front door.
Starting with how you actually arrive and leave
The design conversation for a Binley home usually begins at the kerb. How many cars need to park, where the bins live, which way you walk to the door, how much planting you want to keep between the house and the road. Then it moves through the side gate to the back: where you sit, what you look at, what the children or the dog need.
From that we produce a layout and 3D views of front and back together, with materials chosen, and go through it with you until it fits the way you live. The price follows the design, not the other way round.
Approaches, paths and arrival
Parking in the front garden: what needs permission
Turning part of a front garden into parking is a common aim on estate streets like these, and it involves two separate permissions that are easily confused.
The general position
- Crossing the pavement needs the highway authority. Driving over a footway to reach a front garden requires a dropped kerb, and that is an application to the highway authority — for addresses within the city, Coventry City Council. It is separate from anything to do with the garden itself, and it has to be in place before the parking is used.
- The surface has its own rule. A new or replacement hard surface in a front garden larger than five square metres needs to be permeable, or to drain to a lawn or border within the property, or it needs planning permission.
- The kerb decision can shape the design. Where the dropped kerb can go depends on street furniture, trees and junctions, so it is worth knowing before the layout is fixed.
- Keep something green. A front garden that is entirely paved looks harder, runs off more water and does nothing for the house. Most layouts can park a car and keep planting.
We build front gardens and driveways rather than process highway applications, so take this as an outline rather than a view on your particular street. We will tell you at design stage whether the layout depends on a dropped kerb, so the application can go in early.
What moves the price on a Binley garden
- Breaking out. Old concrete paths, slabs and front-garden hardstanding take time and machinery to remove.
- Front or back or both. Designing and building both together saves on mobilisation and lets materials be ordered once.
- Driveway construction. A surface that will carry a car needs a deeper sub-base than a patio.
- Access to the back. A side gate a small machine will pass through makes the rear garden far quicker to build.
- Finish. Porcelain, natural stone, block and gravel all have very different costs per square metre.
Front and back are priced together from the design, labour to skips, and that figure does not grow.
Why people in Binley choose us
Coventry is our home city, and estate gardens like these are a large part of what we do.
Front and back as one design
Shared materials and one programme, so the house looks considered from the street as well as the patio.
We flag the permissions early
If a layout depends on a dropped kerb, you know before the drawing is signed off, not after.
Built to carry a car
Driveway construction is deeper than patio construction, and we build it that way.
Local and insured
Working across Coventry since 2015 with £1M public liability and over 40 years of combined experience.
Other areas we cover
Frequently asked questions
Do you work in Binley and the rest of east Coventry?
Yes. Coventry is our home city and we work across Binley, Wyken, Willenhall, Stoke Aldermoor and Walsgrave, and out to Ryton-on-Dunsmore and Brandon.
Do I need permission to park in my front garden?
Usually two things are involved. Crossing the pavement needs a dropped kerb, which is an application to the highway authority, Coventry City Council for addresses in the city. Separately, a new hard surface over five square metres in a front garden needs to be permeable or drain to a lawn or border within the property, or it needs planning permission.
Can you design the front and back garden together?
Yes, and it is usually the better approach. The two share materials, access and budget, and designing them together means the path through the side gate, the front approach and the back terrace can read as one garden rather than three separate jobs.
Is a driveway built differently from a patio?
Yes. A surface that carries a car needs a deeper, better compacted sub-base than one that carries feet and furniture, and the edges need restraining properly. Building a driveway to patio specification is the commonest reason for sunken ruts a few years later.
Do you do garden maintenance?
Only for our own clients. After a front and back garden is finished we can keep the paving clean and the planting in shape. We do not offer mowing rounds or maintenance for gardens we have not built.
How long would a front and back garden take?
Typically two to four weeks on site together, depending on how much has to be broken out, the size of the driveway and whether a machine can reach the back.
What does the price cover?
The whole job, front and back: the crew, the machinery, every material, the planting and the skips. Once the design is agreed, that figure is fixed.
Planning a garden in Binley?
Tell us about the front and the back and how you use them. We will design both with you, and only then talk about cost.
Let us provide landscaping services for your garden!
Call us at 0247 512 2714 or contact us for your free quote.
Customer Reviews on our Landscaping Services in Binley Woods and Surrounding areas
“We have hired Andy a couple of times now to carry out work on our Garden and his Landscaping skills are second to none.
Really helped us in designing what we wanted for the garden and the best way to get it looking exactly the way we wanted.
The work carried out is to a very high standard and communication along the way until the work is completed is fantastic.
Andy and his team are very hard working and deliver to the expected standard.
Would more than happy to use or recommend Andy and his team for any Landscaping Services in the future.”
Dave Jones
“We chose Andy Lyden and his team following a recommendation from a friend of ours. After meeting Andy and discussing our project, we had no hesitation in booking him for our job.
It was clear to us that Andy had a great deal of civil engineering and landscaping experience and really understood what we wanted. He gave us some great advice too – about material choices and about where and how to save some money on what was a large-scale block paving project.
Andy set out his costs and his project plan in a clear and understandable way and started our job exactly on time. He arrived on time every day and his team were courteous, tidy and respectful of our neighbours – all of which was important to us. He delivered our project exactly on time and at the cost that we had agreed – no hidden extra’s, no tricks of the trade, just a great job at a fair price.
And we couldn’t be happier with the finished job! It looks fabulous! Better than we could ever have hoped for! Thank you, Andy!
We wouldn’t hesitate in recommending Andy Lyden and his team of landscaping contractors at
DNA Landscapes.”
Nic Rae
“We decided to contact DNA Landscaping on Facebook as they had been recommended by our friends so we gave Andy a call as we wanted our garden doing for the summer and wanted a local tradesman. Andy came round the house and we went through what we wanted and he said no problem, actually beating other quotes that we had. Andy kept in constant communication throughout the work, checking in with us to make sure all the materials and layout was what we wanted. Everything was done to the highest quality, from removing the existing grass and tiles to laying down the foundations, artificial grass and porcelain tiles. Andy and his team were hardworking and made sure all the rubbish was removed at the end. I would definitely use DNA Landscapes again. Absolute 5 start job, thanks!!“
Kriss Williams
“We used Andy and his team last spring to totally revamp our garden.
We provided Andy with a plan and he was very thorough in his measuring and planning before the work began. Communicating clearly with us as required.
Andy and his team worked extremely hard, even in the snow; remained faithful to our plan and produced work to a high standard.
The work was competitively priced and we are really pleased with the end result. We have had lots of complements about our garden and definitely recommend Andy to others.”
Neil and Linda
“Andy and co did our driveway and back garden.
Our drive is huge and they did the most amazing job. Always turned up on time, more importantly kept excellent communication before, during and after. Very reliable, genuine and honest lads who were an absolute pleasure to work with. Very tidy workers too. It was worth the wait too. Cannot recommended this company enough.”
Joanna Jones
“During lockdown 2020, our garden was looking really tired and we thought about giving it a look over. We contacted Andy (D&A Landscape). He was very patient, visiting us several times to give us valuable ideas. He and his team started work in Feb 2021 and the work was fantastic. His team even adapted when we decided to add a gazebo to the garden. He coordinated work with our electrician so our garden can have the look and feel we wanted. Overall, we are well pleased with the work. All the members of the team are very nice and we never felt uncomfortable. I can fully recommend Andy and his landscaping team. In fact, we will be calling him when we have new work to be done.”
Arshad Jhumka
