What Is Decking?

Decking is fairly new to the UK but in America and other parts of the world it has been big for years. It is very contemporary and yet very natural because it is made of wood. It looks a bit like having a dance floor in your garden, wonderful for walking on barefoot but sudden death to stilettos because of the gaps. It is very adaptable and brilliant for a sloping garden, where you can make several timber terraces linked with steps but on level ground you can build up decking on two levels to make it look more interesting.

You can also cut bits out, plant through holes, build on stilts and do all sorts of things you cound not do with a couple of tons of paving slabs if you had chosen to have a patio instead. For the fashion follower, decking is the hottest must have garden ingredient and usually can be purchased at places like Homebase garden furniture if you cannot make it for yourself.

A brand new deck looks a bit stark and it wants a few touches to make it sit happily with the house and garden but don’t be tempted to start cluttering it up too much. Decks look much better with just a couple of things on them. For a totally maintenance free look I like to plant through a gap in the deck. That way the plants are growing in properly prepared soil and virtually look after themselves. Depending on the layout of your particular deck you could make a small sunken gardn packed with plants in the middle, or banks of evergreens set in beds round the table. But my first choice would be a single tree or shrub growing through a cut out square.