Garden Landscaping in Hook
Richard Pack Landscaping works across Hook and the villages around it, on anything from a single new patio to a full garden rebuild. We are based nearby in Tadley, every quote is free and clearly written, and every project is managed directly from start to finish.
Hook is a large village rather than a town. It sits just north of junction 5 of the M3, a few miles east of Basingstoke. In the early 1960s it was planned as a London new town, but the plan was dropped and Basingstoke was expanded instead. Hook kept growing all the same, and a good share of its homes now sit on estates built from the 1960s onward, with newer developments added since. Those gardens are the starting point for most of the advice on this page.
Porcelain Patios & Patio Laying in Hook
A porcelain patio is a good fit for a busy family garden. The slabs are fired at very high temperatures, so they take in almost no water. Spilt drinks, barbecue fat and muddy footprints sit on the surface and wipe away, and moss and algae find it much harder to take hold than they do on sandstone or concrete.
The colour runs through the slab and stands up well to sunlight, so the patio keeps its look summer after summer. Outdoor porcelain is usually 20mm thick and comes in large, even slabs with a textured finish for grip in the wet. Larger slabs mean fewer joints, and fewer joints mean fewer places for weeds to settle.
You can read more about slab sizes and finishes on our porcelain paving page.
The base and the falls
What sits under a patio matters as much as the slabs on top. Much of the ground in and around Hook is clay, which holds water through the winter and shrinks back in a dry summer. A patio here needs a firm, well compacted sub base dug down to solid ground, so it does not sink or shift as the clay moves.
Because porcelain absorbs so little, ordinary mortar will not grip it on its own. It needs a full bed of mortar and a bonding primer on the back of each slab, which leaves no hollow spots that could crack or rock underfoot.
The patio also needs a gentle fall so rain runs off instead of sitting in puddles. Water is sent away from the house towards a lawn, a border or a drainage channel, and the finished surface is kept at least 150mm below the damp proof course so rain cannot splash up into the brickwork.
Matching a patio to a newer house
On a house built in recent decades, porcelain often sits better than weathered stone. Light greys and soft buff tones pick up modern brick and render, while darker slabs work well alongside grey window frames. Where a patio meets wide sliding or folding doors, it can be brought up close to the door level with a slot drain in front, so water still has somewhere to go.
If the garden has steps, a path to the shed or a lawn edge, the same slabs can carry through so the whole space looks planned as one. If you prefer natural stone, our patios page covers patio laying in other materials.
For patios already in place, we also offer patio cleaning & resealing and patio re-pointing.
Pond Builder & Pond Installation in Hook
There is plenty of water and wildlife close to Hook. Just south across the M3, the Basingstoke Canal runs through North Warnborough, past the ruin of Odiham Castle and on into the Greywell Tunnel, which is protected as a Site of Special Scientific Interest for its bat colony. With that on the doorstep, a garden pond here can soon draw in frogs, newts, dragonflies and birds.
As pond builders, we build decorative ponds and eco system ponds. An eco system pond uses planting and natural filtration to keep the water clear and give wildlife a home. A pond like this does best with one shallow, gently sloping edge so creatures can climb in and out, deeper water towards the middle and plenty of planting around the margins.
For families with young children, a pond safety grid system can be fitted so the pond can be enjoyed with much more peace of mind.
Pond installation covers the digging, the liner, the edging, pumps and filtration, and the planting that ties the pond into the rest of the garden. Our ponds and water features page has more detail, including water features for smaller spaces.
Garden Irrigation & Outdoor Lighting Installation in Hook
Clay ground is hard on plants in a dry summer. The top bakes and cracks while roots go short of water, then the same ground stays wet all winter. A garden irrigation system does the watering for you. Drip lines feed borders and pots at the roots, and a timer runs them early in the morning or in the evening, when less water is lost to the sun. Pipes sit under mulch or in shallow trenches, out of sight.
Outdoor lighting installation lets you use the patio after dark and makes steps and paths safer to walk. Near the canal, and anywhere bats feed, warm white lights set low and pointed downwards are kinder to wildlife than bright floodlights, and they give a softer look too. Our garden irrigation and lighting page explains both services in more depth.
New Driveway Installation in Hook
A new driveway can make room for a second car or turn a worn front lawn into something more useful. We lay block paving, porcelain and permeable surfaces, including resin driveways. You can read more about each option on our new driveway installation page.
Drainage comes first. In England, paving more than five square metres of front garden with a hard surface that sheds water onto the road needs planning permission, unless the water is sent to a lawn, border or soakaway within your own boundary. Permeable block paving and resin bound surfaces let rain soak through, which helps on clay where water drains away slowly.
Under any surface sits a dug out and compacted sub base, with firm edges so the blocks do not spread over time. If you need a new or wider dropped kerb, that has to be approved by the county council, and the driveway layout can be planned around it.
Landscapers and Landscaping Company in Hook
Many gardens need more than one job, and it usually works out better to plan them together. A new patio, a pond and outdoor lighting can share the same groundwork and cable runs, and irrigation pipes can go in before the planting instead of being dug in afterwards.
As a landscaping company in Hook, we take on full landscaping projects as well as single jobs, bringing patios, lawns, planting areas, ponds and lighting together into one layout that suits the way you use the garden.
Richard trained in Fishery Management at Sparsholt College. He then worked for landscaping firms as a contractor and as an employee, leading teams as a foreman, before returning to work directly with clients.
Why Choose Richard Pack Landscaping in Hook?
- Local landscaper based nearby in Tadley
- Clear quotations and free quotes
- Minimum five year guarantee on workmanship
- Every project managed directly from start to finish
Common Landscaping Questions in Hook
Should I choose porcelain or natural stone for my patio?
Both work well. Porcelain is the easier one to live with, as it resists stains and moss and needs little more than a sweep and a wash. Natural stone such as sandstone has more variation in colour and texture and suits older or more traditional houses, but it needs more regular cleaning and sealing. It helps to see samples of both against your house walls before you decide.
Can I light my garden without disturbing the bats near the canal?
Yes. Choose warm white lights, keep them low and point them down at paths and planting, not up into trees or out across water. Timers or motion sensors mean the lights are off for most of the night, which also saves electricity.
Which villages around Hook do you cover?
As well as Hook itself, we cover North Warnborough, Hartley Wintney, Rotherwick, Odiham, Greywell and the surrounding villages. If you are not sure whether we cover your address, just ask when you get in touch.