Gardens in the Black Mountains: Planning for the Weather

Talgarth sits right at the foot of the Black Mountains, and the hills shape the weather in every garden in and around the town. Rain clouds pile up against the high ground, wind funnels down the slopes and through the gaps between them, and cold air settles in the low spots on still winter nights. None of it makes a good garden impossible, but it does change the order in which you should think about things.

This guide looks at each part of the weather in turn and what it means for design and building. It complements our landscaping and garden design service and the landscaping in Talgarth page.

Rain: follow the water before you design

Upland Powys is much wetter than the coast, and a Talgarth garden on a slope below open hillside can also collect water that falls well beyond its own boundary. The first job on any plan is to watch where water goes during and after heavy rain. Where does it run off the field above? Where does it pool on the lawn? Which path turns to mud first?

Once you know, the fixes are usually straightforward: a cut-off drain along the top boundary, a soakaway or French drain in a wet hollow, gravel strips beside walls and patios laid with a proper fall. Our guide on how to stop a garden waterlogging explains the main drainage options. Build them in at the start, because retrofitting drainage under a finished lawn or patio is far more disruptive.

Wind: filter it rather than block it

Many people's first instinct on a windy plot is a tall, solid fence. On exposed ground near the hills, a solid barrier can create swirling gusts on its sheltered side and takes a pounding itself. A hedge, a belt of trees or a slatted fence that lets some air through slows the wind more gently and over a longer distance.

• Native hedging such as hawthorn, hazel, holly and beech makes a tough, long-lived windbreak and does a great deal for wildlife.
• Slatted or hit-and-miss fencing gives instant shelter while a hedge grows up behind it.
• Low stone walls around a seating area keep the worst draughts off ankle height and hold the day's warmth in the evening.

Put your main seating area on the side of the house away from the prevailing wind, and add shelter around it rather than trying to calm the whole garden. For fence choices, see stock fencing and boundary fencing around Talgarth.

Frost pockets and cold corners

Cold air behaves a little like water. On clear, still nights it drains downhill and collects wherever it is trapped: the bottom of a slope, a hollow, or the uphill side of a solid wall or dense hedge that stops it flowing away. Those spots can be several degrees colder than the rest of the garden, and they are where blossom gets scorched and tender plants die.

When planning a Talgarth garden, notice where frost lingers longest on a winter morning. Keep fruit trees and early flowering plants out of those areas, and consider leaving a gap at the bottom of a hedge or fence so cold air can escape rather than pool. The frost pocket is a good place for tough shrubs, a woodland corner or a log store.

A shorter, later growing season

Spring tends to arrive a little later near the hills than in the lower valleys, and a late frost is always possible. That affects planting and lawn work as much as flowers. We time turf laying and planting for the windows when the soil is warm and moist, rather than rushing in during a cold snap. See when is the best time to lay turf in South Wales for the general picture.

Choose plants that are fully hardy and have a track record in upland gardens. Raised beds warm up earlier and drain faster, which gives vegetables a head start, and a sunny wall is the best place for anything that likes warmth.

Ice on paths, steps and drives

A path that is merely damp in a town can be treacherous on a Talgarth slope on a frosty morning. Hard surfaces need a textured finish and a fall that sheds water so it does not freeze in a sheet. Steps should have even risers, a slight slope on each tread and a handrail where they are steep.

On a long drive, gravel on a well-built sub-base often copes better with ice than smooth paving, and it can be gritted easily. Shaded stretches under trees stay icy longest, so crown lifting overhanging branches can let a little more winter sun reach the ground; our guide to managing big trees and hedgerows near Talgarth covers this.

Materials that stand up to the climate

Freeze and thaw is what breaks garden features up here. Water gets into porous stone, soft bricks, poorly filled joints and the end grain of timber, then freezes and expands. Over a few winters, the weak points show.

We choose frost-resistant paving and bricks, fill joints fully, put copings on walls to throw rain clear, lift timber off the ground on proper footings and leave airflow under decks. Fence posts are set firmly and, on the most exposed boundaries, concrete posts or heavier timber are worth considering. It is the same work we do everywhere, but it matters more at the foot of the mountains.

Plan the work around the seasons

The weather also decides when things can be built. Heavy machinery on waterlogged ground in winter leaves ruts and compacted soil, and laying paving or pointing walls is best avoided in hard frost. Late spring to early autumn is usually the most productive time for groundwork in Talgarth, with turf and planting following in their own best windows.

If you would like work done by a particular date, get in touch early so we can plan it in sensible stages. Our country garden design ideas for Talgarth homes article has more on putting the whole garden together.

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