Caerphilly is a town of two kinds of garden. Around the older streets you find interwar and post-war semis with long, established plots that have been added to by several owners. On the newer estates around the town you find young gardens that were turfed quickly at handover and have never quite settled. We work on both, and the jobs are surprisingly different.
A lot of people here commute to Cardiff and want a garden that works in the evenings and at weekends without eating into them. That usually means a patio that catches the late sun, a lawn that drains, a solid fence and borders that look after themselves. Tony and the team give free quotes and free advice, so ask us to come and look before you decide what the garden needs.
From the long back garden of a 1930s semi to a bare new-build plot on the edge of town, here is how each service tends to play out in Caerphilly.
Low brick walls, raised planters and neat edges give an open-plan Caerphilly front garden some structure. On older semis we also rebuild tired boundary walls and steps. More on our brickwork and garden walls page.
Established semis around the town often have a conifer row or a big tree that has outgrown the plot. We prune, crown lift, fell where it is right to, and trim hedges. Read about tree surgery and hedge care.
Before a Caerphilly makeover we clear old sheds, broken slabs, overgrowth and the odd pile of builders' leftovers, and take the green waste away. See our garden clearance page.
Many Caerphilly semis have gardens that grew in stages: a shed here, a path there, a patch of lawn nobody loves. We draw it together into one layout that suits how you live now. See our landscaping and garden design page for the full picture.
On Caerphilly estates, a patio off the back doors and a wider drive for a second car are two of the jobs people ask about most. We lay slabs, block paving and paths on a properly dug and compacted base. More on our patio and paving page.
Decking suits the newer Caerphilly gardens that slope away from the house or sit on awkward, lumpy ground. A deck can give you a flat, dry seating area without the digging a patio would need. Read about garden decking.
Builders often hand over new homes with thin panels and short posts, and after a few winters they start to lean. We replace them with sturdier posts and panels, closeboard or gates to match. Visit our fencing and gates page.
New-build lawns in Caerphilly often fail because the turf went down on compacted subsoil. We strip it, loosen and improve the ground, add topsoil where it is thin and lay fresh rolls. See turf laying and lawns.
If your Caerphilly lawn stays soggy all winter, goes bald in summer and never seems to thicken up, the problem is usually a few inches down. On many new developments the ground is driven over by diggers and dumpers for months, then a thin skin of topsoil is spread over it and turf rolled out on top in time for the keys to change hands.
When we lift a failing new-build lawn, these are the things we most often find:
None of this means the builder did anything unusual; it is simply how a lot of new gardens start life. The fix is to strip the turf, break up the compacted layer, pick out the debris, bring in good topsoil and relay. Where water still sits, a simple drain can help. Our advice piece What Lies Under a New-Build Garden in Caerphilly goes into more detail, and Laying Turf in a New-Build Caerphilly Garden covers the relaying itself.
The interwar and post-war semis around Caerphilly tend to have longer gardens than you would expect, often with a side path, an old concrete patio and a lawn that runs to a fence at the back. They make good family gardens, but many have been patched rather than planned.
A good first step is to split the garden into zones: a paved area close to the house, a lawn in the middle and something useful at the far end, such as raised beds, a shed base or a quiet seat under a tree. Our Garden Landscaping Ideas for Caerphilly Semis has more on this.
If you cannot decide between slabs and boards for the seating area, read Patio or Decking for a Caerphilly Garden? before we visit, and we can talk it through on site.
Plain advice, tidy work and a clear plan before anything is dug.
On new-build plots we check what is under the turf before we plan the work, so the job deals with compaction, clay or rubble rather than hiding them under fresh turf.
We walk the garden with you, talk through the options and send a clear quote. If a smaller job would solve the problem, we will say so.
Customers rate us 4.8 out of 5 on Google and 10 out of 10 on Checkatrade. You can read what they say on our reviews page.
Clearance, groundwork, paving, fencing, turf and planting are all done by Tony and the team, so the work runs in the right order.
If you leave early and get back late, the garden has to earn its keep in short bursts. We plan for that from the start with fewer fiddly edges, borders mulched with bark to keep weeds down, and hard surfaces that drain rather than turn green.
Things that tend to work well for busy Caerphilly households:
For the front of the house, Driveway and Path Paving in Caerphilly covers widths, falls and edging. Check with Caerphilly County Borough Council before you pave a front garden, as surface water and dropped kerbs can need permission.
On a lot of estates the boundaries went in fast, and the same panels run down every garden in the road. After a few years of wind and wet the posts rock, the gravel boards rot and the panels bow. Replacing a whole run at once is often the tidiest answer, and neighbours sometimes share the job.
We usually set new posts deeper and in concrete, and fit panels and gravel boards that suit the exposure of the plot. Our article Fence Replacement on Caerphilly Estates explains the choices. Some newer developments have rules in the deeds about front boundaries and fence heights, so it is worth checking yours before you change them.
Real reviews from homeowners across Caerphilly — rated 4.8 out of 5 on Google from 69 reviews and 10/10 on Checkatrade.
“Had my patio done by the company and could not be happier. Top quality work done and quickly too.”
“I was pleased to find Tony and his lads were absolutely great! Tony responded quickly & was very polite.”
“We were delighted with the work and materials, which were of very high quality. Tony and team helped us.”
Short guides on the questions we hear most from Caerphilly homeowners, from new-build lawns to fences on the estates.
Caerphilly is one of the towns we visit regularly. We also work across the valleys, Torfaen, Monmouthshire and the coast.
T J Landscapes South Wales
24 Conway Road, Pontypool
Torfaen, NP4 6HL
We cover homes right across South Wales, from Cardiff and the coast up to the valleys and the Brecon Beacons.
Usually because the subsoil under it was compacted during the build and there is not much topsoil on top. Water has nowhere to go. Loosening the ground, adding topsoil and sometimes a drain normally sorts it. Have a look at our guide on how to stop a garden waterlogging.
We would not recommend it on a new-build plot. If the ground underneath is the problem, fresh turf on top will struggle in the same way. It is better to strip it and fix the soil first.
The main things are the size of the garden, how easy it is to get materials and machinery in, what the ground is like, the materials you choose, any change in levels, and how much waste has to go. We explain all of this in a free quote after we have seen it.
For most back garden fences of a normal height, no, but rules on height and on boundaries next to a road do apply, and some estates have covenants. Check with the council, and your deeds, if you are unsure. We can tell you what we usually see.
Yes. We dig out, lay a proper sub-base and finish in block paving or slabs, with falls and drainage planned in. If you need a dropped kerb, that goes through the council.
It depends on the time of year and the size of the job. Get in touch through the form below and we will arrange a visit and give you a realistic start date.
Tell us a little about your garden, send a photo if you can, and Tony will get back to you to arrange a visit.
