Landscapers in Norwich
Patios, driveways, fencing, lawns and garden design for Norwich homes, from our base at Long Stratton.
Landscaping in Norwich
Hilton & Green Landscaping is a family-run landscaping firm based at Long Stratton, about ten miles south of Norwich on the A140, and Norwich is where most of our week is spent. Ben and Ed do the work themselves, with more than twenty years of hard and soft landscaping between them.
Norwich work covers every kind of garden the city has: narrow, walled plots behind Victorian and Edwardian terraces, longer back gardens in the suburbs, bigger plots in the ring of villages, and new-build gardens on the estates at the edge of the city that need setting up from scratch. Each one asks for a different approach, and the rest of this page sets out what that means in practice.
Neighbourhoods and villages we cover
In the city we work across the inner suburbs and out through the ring of villages that surrounds Norwich. If your street is not listed here, ask: it almost certainly is within reach.
- Thorpe Hamlet
- Golden Triangle
- Eaton
- Heigham
- Mile Cross
- Catton
- Hellesdon
- Drayton
- Taverham
- Costessey
- Cringleford
- Hethersett
- Sprowston
- Rackheath
- Poringland
- Framingham Earl
- Brundall
- Blofield
What Norwich gardens are like
Gardens in the city tend to be narrow, walled or fenced, and often overlooked. In streets like those in the Golden Triangle and Heigham, older properties bring level changes, brick boundary walls and mature trees that need thinking about before any design work starts. Space is tight, so layout and material choices matter more than in a big garden: a patio that is a metre too big or a step in the wrong place is felt every day.
Access is often the hardest part of a city job. Many terraced gardens can only be reached through a side gate, a shared passage or the house itself, and that decides how soil, slabs and turf get in and out. We plan the job around what can actually be carried, and if a machine cannot get in or materials have to be barrowed a long way, we say so at the quote because it changes the method and the timescale.
Further out, the interwar and post-war suburbs have longer back gardens with more lawn, more boundary fencing and more room for a full redesign. The newer estates around the city bring their own problem: thin topsoil over subsoil compacted by the build, which needs proper preparation before turf or planting will do anything worthwhile.
Our services in Norwich
Every service we offer, for homes in and around Norwich
The ground under Norwich
Norfolk is not one soil type, and around Norwich you can see that within a few miles. North and west of the city, through Hellesdon, Drayton, Taverham and Costessey along the Wensum valley, the ground is often light, sandy and quick to drain; Mousehold Heath, on the city’s north-east edge, is heathland on sand and gravel. South of the city, towards Poringland and Framingham Earl, it turns to heavier clay that holds water all winter and cracks in a dry summer.
That changes the job. On clay, drainage has to be planned rather than assumed: a patio or driveway needs a properly dug and compacted sub-base with the right depth of stone, because laying straight onto clay is how you end up with movement, ponding and lifted slabs a couple of winters later, and borders usually need the ground breaking up and improving first. On sandy ground the base is easier but the soil dries out fast, so new turf needs watering through its first summer and planting is chosen for free-draining conditions.
In the city itself, shade from buildings and mature trees is often a bigger factor than soil. We look at all of this on site rather than guessing from a photo.
Planning, trees and permits in Norwich
Inside the city boundary the planning authority is Norwich City Council; much of the ring of villages falls under Broadland or South Norfolk councils. Most garden work needs no permission at all, but a few rules catch people out, and Norwich has more conservation areas and protected trees than most places.
In a conservation area you must give the council six weeks’ notice before cutting back or felling most trees (any with a trunk more than 75mm across, measured 1.5 metres up). A tree with a Tree Preservation Order needs the council’s consent first. The council can tell you whether a tree at your address is protected.
Fences, walls and gates up to 2 metres high normally need no planning permission. Beside a road used by vehicles, or the footpath of one, the limit is 1 metre, which is why a tall front boundary often needs an application. Some conservation areas also carry Article 4 directions that take these allowances away, so a front wall or fence there may need permission whatever its height.
Paving over more than 5 square metres of a front garden needs planning permission unless the surface is permeable, such as gravel, permeable block paving or resin-bound stone, or the water runs off onto a lawn or border. A new or widened dropped kerb needs approval from Norfolk County Council as the highway authority, whatever the driveway is made of.
On a street job, a skip on the road needs a permit from Norfolk County Council, which the skip firm normally arranges, and parking zones and narrow streets need sorting before work starts rather than on the morning of day one. We talk all of this through at the quote stage.
Questions from Norwich customers
Have a question not answered here? Get in touch and we will be happy to help.
Do you cover the whole of Norwich?
Yes. Norwich is our most common area for work, and we cover the city, its suburbs and the ring of villages around it from our base at Long Stratton.
Can you work on a terraced garden with no side access?
Yes. Many Norwich gardens can only be reached through the house or a shared passage, so we plan the job around what can be carried in and out and talk through access and protection at the quote.
Does the ground in Norwich change how a patio is built?
It does. On the clay south of the city a patio needs a properly dug and compacted sub-base with the right depth of stone, or it will move and pond. On the sandier ground to the north and west the base is easier, but it still needs compacting properly.
Do I need permission to prune a tree in Norwich?
If the tree is in a conservation area you must give Norwich City Council six weeks’ notice for most work, and a tree with a Tree Preservation Order needs consent first. Norwich has plenty of both, so it is worth checking before any significant work.
Can you sort out a new-build garden in Norwich?
Yes. New-build plots usually have thin topsoil over ground compacted by the build, so we prepare it properly before laying turf or planting.
How do I get a quote in Norwich?
Call or WhatsApp 07721 696 554, email hello@hiltonandgreenlandscaping.co.uk, or send the form on our contact page. Quotes are free and carry no obligation anywhere in Norfolk and Suffolk.
In our customers' words
Genuine reviews from clients across Norfolk and Suffolk
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★★★★★
Ben and Ed at Hilton & Green have done amazing and difficult landscaping jobs for me in the past few years, from erecting a fence close to the house in a challenging setting, to a transformational soft landscaping project at the rear of the sloping garden. The guys are very professional and the results are stunning. I highly recommend Hilton & Green for your landscaping requirements.
George Smithon Google
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★★★★★
Hilton and Green Landscaping have done wonders to our driveway and fencing. Their work is competent and professional. They are both very friendly and knowledgeable in how to make your ideas practical.
Scott Leamonon Google
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★★★★★
We are so pleased we found Ben and Edd to put in our new patio. They have done an awesome job. They are two of the nicest people we have met and their work is exemplary. From start to finish the guys were brilliant at their work and the end result is awesome. Would highly recommend Hilton and Green to everyone. Two thumbs up for excellent work!
Su Eyleson Google
Other places we work
Beyond Norwich, we work regularly in Long Stratton, Diss and Wymondham, and across Norfolk and Suffolk from the North Norfolk coast to the Suffolk border.
Planning work on a garden in Norwich?
Free, no-obligation quotes. Tell us about your garden and we will talk it through.