Steps are a wonderful way to add variety and interest to any landscaping design.  As a landscaper and lawn care expert you will probably end up creating steps in several gardens for clients over time, depending on what they want to achieve.  There is no doubt they can provide a focal point and a point of interest as well, and they are ideal for breaking the garden up into different areas and sections.

It is vital to take a look at the whole layout of the garden as it exists at the moment before doing anything else.  You’ll notice that you can sometimes see where the steps should naturally be without even having to focus in on them to any real extent.  For instance not all gardens are naturally flat as a pancake, so where a difference in levels occurs you could choose this as a prime spot for some steps to be installed.

Remember too that when we say steps, it doesn’t necessarily have to be plural.  You could happily install just one step if it works to do so in the area you are landscaping.

One thing to bear in mind for starters is that when you are creating a set of outdoor steps, each one is a lot more generous than stairs you would have indoors.  Instead of having a flight of stairs, steps move back from you at a slower pace, with the depth of each one being more than it would be indoors.  Always make sure you keep this point in mind before you tackle a design for garden steps – you will likely need more room than you think you will.

You also have to add a slight tilt to the steps as well.  Imagine if it rains – the last thing you want is water collecting on every single step as it does so.  Regardless of the type of surface you use you should construct the steps so the water can run off and down them.

Design is difficult because it can vary so much depending on the rest of the garden.  Don’t be afraid to mix your materials though – steps edged with timber and packed down with soil and gravel look stunning, as do those which mix timber and slate for instance.  Think about how the rest of the garden will be put together and go from there.

Steps are useful in many situations, either to add interest or to provide a break from one area to another.  They are perfect in gardens which have a natural slope to contend with though, and indeed they can totally transform areas like this by allowing you to create terraces instead of coping with that slope.

In short make sure you consider steps in every garden landscaping design you come up with.  Even though you won’t always use them, you cannot doubt the attractiveness and practical nature of them when you do.  Could your next landscaping job have steps included as part of the design?

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