Gardens and driveways for Croydon’s Victorian roads, terraces and interwar semis: a patio you’ll actually use, a lawn that copes with the weather, and a drive that makes coming home easier.
Croydon is a railway town. The London and Croydon Railway opened in 1839, and over the nineteenth century the population grew around twenty-three times over.
The suburbs went up in layers. Addiscombe’s roads were laid out in the 1860s on the site of the East India Company’s old military seminary, South Norwood grew fast from a hamlet after 1848, and Selsdon Garden Village was built on farmland from 1926.
That makes for a borough of very different gardens, on very different ground, and each one deserves to be planned for the house it belongs to.
Established gardens with mature trees. A terrace for eating outside, a lawn that stays green, and materials that suit the age of the house.
Breaking a long plot into rooms: a patio by the back door, lawn in the middle, a quiet seat or studio at the end.
Front gardens ready to become driveways, side returns to open up, and back gardens with room for a proper family layout.
Upper and South Norwood sit on the London Clay of the Norwood Ridge, which holds water in winter and shrinks in a dry summer. Further south the borough rises onto the chalk of the North Downs, and around Addington Hills the ground is gravel and pebble beds.
Croydon falls under the London Borough of Croydon. We check every design against the rules before we quote, and manage any applications for you.
Complete makeovers planned as one project: somewhere to eat, somewhere to play, and planting that suits your soil.
Patios built on the right base for your ground, whether that’s Norwood clay or chalk further south.
Driveways that make coming home easier, with Croydon crossover applications handled.
Privacy for terraced and semi gardens, built within the height limits.
The places that shape how Croydon looks, and often inspire the gardens we build here.
Heather and gorse heathland on a plateau of Blackheath Pebbles, with a viewing platform built in 1963 for Croydon’s Millenary.
Opened in 1989 on the site of a former sewage works, now open meadow, wetland and paths.
Built as a reservoir for the short-lived Croydon Canal, now used by a sailing club and anglers.
A ridge of London Clay that rises to its highest point near Church Road in Upper Norwood.
Plank-format light paving wrapping a modern house, with steps from the doors, raised edges and a generous open terrace.
Pale paving and dark edging framing a rectangular lawn and a dark raised planter outside a modern home.
A light-grey porcelain driveway with a charcoal block-paved centre panel and contrasting bands, in front of a bungalow.
“My husband and I are very pleased with the job that was done on the landscaping in front of our new home. I recommend this company without hesitation. The guys were always friendly and communicated everything with us as they went along. It is beautiful to see when we pull into our driveway everyday. Thank you so much and keep up the good work.”
“Guaranteed Great Gardens built the concrete walls around our house. They did the job with great care and precision. Their professionalism and quality were evident at every step. I am truly pleased with their work. I will definitely choose them again if I have to do a similar job in the future.”
Usually not for the drive itself, if it’s permeable or drains into the garden. The dropped kerb is separate: any crossover onto a public road needs Croydon Council’s approval, and on a classified road or in a conservation area it needs planning permission too. We check which applies before we quote.
It depends where you are. The Norwood side of the borough is London Clay; further south the ground turns to chalk. We look at your soil on the design visit and build the base, drainage and planting to suit it.
Parts of Upper and South Norwood are conservation areas. Work on most trees needs six weeks’ notice to the council, and a new crossover there needs planning permission. We’ll flag anything that needs consent before we quote.
Yes. We protect floors and hallways and plan deliveries carefully.
Book a free design visit. We’ll talk about how you want to use your garden or drive, and what the ground and the rules mean for it.
Your enquiry is with our design team. We’ll be in touch within one working day to book your free visit.