LJN Blog Posts

Rammed Earth by Kerry Jackson

Talented multi RHS award winner, garden designer, Gaynor Witchard writes a weekly garden design column for the Western Mail every Saturday, here's what Gaynor has to say about my rammed earth garden structures in Saturdays edition, 12/03/2011.

" A designer in any trade, be it in fashion, home interiors or in the garden means keeping up with new innovations, materials and trends. I have come across one lately in garden design, and you may of heard about it or even seen it before - but in the garden?

We're all familiar with recycling, but there's a designer and landscaper who has taken it a step further by designing and building garden structures using one of the oldest building materials known to man - earth.

Multi regional and national award winning Kerry Jackson, of Jackson's Landscape Design in Devon specialises in creating and installing contemporary rammed earth garden structures.

Green and eco-friendly garden structures built to last ...no bricks, no blocks, no timber or mortar.

From the technical aspect, the structures are simple to construct, fired rated, thermally massive, incredibly strong and durable. The process is clean, cost effective and environmentally friendly and all rammed earth structures typically have a low embodied energy, which generates very little waste or carbon emissions.

By recycling the waste sub-soils in rammed earth garden design and construction, it has minimal environmental impact, which makes rammed earth highly affordable, soundproof, non-toxic, biodegradable, fire proof and viable for all who require environmentally friendly garden structures.

The construction using rammed earth involves a process of compressing the correctly tested mixture of damp earth that has suitable proportions of clay, sand, gravel and a very small amount of cement as the stabiliser into an externally supported frame, called shutters or form work.

From the garden design aspect, these structures couldn replace traditional fencing and wall boundaries, and also be a contemporary piece of artwork. Dyes can be added to colour the soil, and materials such as glass can be added to the mix to create a truly individual and unique structure. Raised impressions of favourite flowers, plants or animals add another unusual dimension.

Although rammed earth structures are really well suited to a modern , contemporary garden, that can also have a place in a more traditional setting too. Clever use of colour here will blend a wall into its surroundings for a more natural look, and rammed earth benches and tables are an interesting option to the usual patio set. These are permanent structures though, so if you feel like a change it's not just a case of throwing them out!

Larger garden projects that last a lifetime ( literally) also offer imaginative solutions - a shed, summerhouse  or home office that wont require any treatment or preservatives, or an interesting and unusual arch as an entrance to the garden."

Gaynor Witchard.

For all enquires regarding Rammed earth within your designs or gardens contact Kerry Jackson

info@JacksonsLandscapeDesign.com