Gardens and driveways for Forest Hill’s Victorian villas, terraced streets and interwar estate homes: a patio for long evenings, a lawn that drains, and a drive that’s easy to come home to.
Forest Hill takes its name from “The Forest”, a surviving part of the Great North Wood, and stayed thinly settled until the railway opened along the line of the old Croydon Canal in 1839.
Merchants and professional men built substantial houses within reach of the station. After the Crystal Palace moved to Sydenham Hill, the west side of Forest Hill saw grander building, while east of the railway the streets filled with more modest houses.
The result is a hilly, leafy place with every size of garden, from long villa plots to compact terraced ones, and each needs a different plan.
Big, often sloping plots with mature trees. A terrace for summer lunches, steps that handle the levels, and planting that suits the house.
Compact or long and narrow gardens. Clever layouts, good drainage and privacy that make the space feel bigger.
Built by the London County Council from the mid-1920s. Front gardens ready to become driveways and back gardens with room for a family layout.
Forest Hill sits on London Clay, with sandier Claygate beds forming the ridge to its west. Clay holds water through winter, then shrinks and cracks in a dry summer, and on Forest Hill’s slopes that means water running across gardens and patios that move if the base is thin.
Forest Hill falls under the London Borough of Lewisham. We check every design against the rules before we quote, and manage any applications for you.
Complete makeovers for Forest Hill’s villa and terrace gardens, with levels, drainage and planting planned as one project.
Patios for long evenings, built on a deep base for Forest Hill clay.
Driveways that make coming home easier, planned around Lewisham’s crossover rules.
Privacy for terraced and estate gardens, built within Lewisham’s height limits.
The places that shape how Forest Hill looks, and often inspire the gardens we build here.
Sixteen acres given to the public by Frederick Horniman in 1901, with an 1894 conservatory, a 1912 bandstand and views across London. The gardens are Grade II registered.
Its ponds are about the only physical trace left of the Croydon Canal, which opened in 1809.
Forest Hill’s name comes from “The Forest”, part of the ancient wood that once covered these hills.
Cream stone-effect paving with curved cuts, a sweeping gravel border, curved flower beds and a large central lawn.
A grey patio connected to a raised lawn by broad steps, with white rendered planters and boundary fencing.
Red and brindle herringbone block paving with a cream inset line, a charcoal border and a patterned entrance band.
“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.”
Not usually, if it’s permeable or drains into the garden. More than 5m² of non-permeable surface in a front garden needs planning permission, and a new or widened dropped kerb needs Lewisham Council’s approval, with the council’s contractor building it. We design to avoid the first and help with the second.
Yes, if it’s built for it. We dig deeper, use a thicker compacted base, and plan falls and drainage from the start, so water runs away from the house and the patio doesn’t move.
Work on most trees needs six weeks’ notice to Lewisham Council, and front-garden changes should respect the character of the street. We’ll flag anything that needs consent before we quote.
Yes. Many Forest Hill terraces are like this. 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.