Gardens and driveways for Orpington’s 1920s and 30s homes, Petts Wood’s garden-estate houses and the older roads by the station: a patio for long evenings, a lawn for the children, and a drive that’s easy to come home to.
Orpington is an old Kentish village with a medieval heart: the Priory, a hall house rebuilt in stone in 1290, still stands.
The station opened in 1868, and houses followed in Crofton and Broom Hill. Building took off again in the early 1900s and peaked in the 1920s and 30s, when Basil Scruby laid out the Petts Wood estate beside the woods the National Trust was given in 1927.
Many Orpington gardens date from that boom: family plots behind semis and detached houses, often on a slope, with the North Downs rising to the south.
Late-1920s houses on planned roads, several of them now conservation areas. Gardens that keep the look of the street and work for modern family life.
Front gardens ready to become driveways, side returns to open up, and back gardens with room for a terrace, a lawn and somewhere to store the bikes.
Bigger plots and established trees from Orpington’s first suburban years. Natural stone, brick and planting that suit the house.
Orpington sits on the lower slope of the North Downs, where the chalk is close to the surface and the soils are mostly loams. Towards Petts Wood the ground changes to pebbly sands and clay. Sloping gardens and mixed soils mean every plot gets looked at on its own terms.
Orpington falls under the London Borough of Bromley. We check every design against the rules before we quote, and manage any applications for you.
Complete makeovers for Orpington family gardens: somewhere to eat, somewhere to play, all planned as one project.
Level terraces for sloping plots, built on a deep, well-drained base.
Driveways for semis and detached houses, with the dropped-kerb application handled.
Privacy for back gardens, built within Bromley’s height limits.
The places that shape how Orpington looks, and often inspire the gardens we build here.
A medieval hall house rebuilt in stone in 1290 and extended in 1393 and 1471, with its own gardens, and a conservation area since 1985.
Woodland bought by public subscription and given to the National Trust in 1927, with a sundial to William Willett, who campaigned for daylight saving time.
Around 250 acres of farmland and woodland next to Petts Wood, given to the National Trust in 1957.
Orpington’s big sports park, home to rugby, football, tennis and cricket clubs.
A grey patio connected to a raised lawn by broad steps, with white rendered planters and boundary fencing.
A wide grey block-paved driveway laid in herringbone, with charcoal border courses across the front of the house.
Pale paving and dark edging framing a rectangular lawn and a dark raised planter outside a modern home.
“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 a separate crossover application to Bromley Council. We design to avoid the first and handle the second for you.
Several Petts Wood roads are conservation areas, including Station Square, The Chenies, Chislehurst Road, The Covert and The Thrifts. Work on most trees there needs six weeks’ notice to the council, and front-garden changes should respect the street. We’ll flag anything that needs consent before we quote.
Usually, yes. We build retaining walls, steps and level terraces so the garden works in stages. A raised deck or platform more than 30cm off the ground needs planning permission, so we design around that or apply for you.
Yes, with the right preparation. Chalky ground drains quickly and dries out in summer, so we improve the soil before turfing and choose grass and plants that suit it.
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.