caliwag

The great architectural critic Ian Nairn coined the memorably ugly, but useful, expression SLOAP (Space Left-Over After Planning)

 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/art/architecture/9589588/A-fast-track-to-cities-in-full-bloom.html

 

googled like a pro  

Sloap - A lazy, slovenly, tawdry person.

 

Probably the person who couldn't be bothered to fill the space left over.

After building a house, that's most folk isn't it ?!? ??

Aye, thanks CC for the link and mention of the excellent Ian Nairn...wish I'd kept my copy of Outrage...fetching over £100 on ABEbooks these days I see. Interestingly Nairn and Pevsner died in the same week!

SLOAP to me at least = a lawn, or what most people want from a garden, a flat space to do stuff.  i don't see the point in a garden so planted up there is no space to actually do anything.

 

Or have I got the wrong end of what "space" you are referring to?

Haha...no I don't mean lawn...there is no point in a front lawn. You've got to cut it 20+ times year, and it seems, lavish all yer spare cash on chemicals and ever fancier mowers etc etc. I mean space, just as the space your plot was before building, so, as mentioned in my book (see Facebook...the last thing you need is an architect) always consider the garden (space) at the same time as planning your house and entrances etc...you don't have to carry it out (unless it's a planning condition, and then VAT refundable) but at least you have near a grand plan...and potential planting schemes, sitting spaces, herb and veg plot, sunny spots, views, fragrant area, play area, BBQ area and all other activites...The repose of your house/garden.

In the last house, SWMBO tried planting things, fruit bushes, little flower beds surrounded by stones. they were all just a damned nuisance to get the mower round, weeding them to keep them looking nice took way more time than mowing a lawn ever did. They ended up neglected and tatty.

 

I could not be without a front lawn. the garage is alongside the house, so no front lawn would mean the garage opening straight onto the road with nowhere to park in front of it. I would not want that, I doubt the planners would allow it.

 

In a rural plot where you have to install your own drainage, a lot of land is taken up providing for that. most of it ends up covered in soil and you would never know what lurks below, so you can't even build a rural house on a tiny plot with no garden.

 

I did consider garden space when planning. But mainly from a point of view where am I going to park 3 cars, a caravan, a boat on it's trailer, and a small general purpose trailer, where they won't look silly or too ugly, and where they won't block the view from the house. Then there are sheds, at least 3, a general purpose garden tools shed, a wood shed and a bike shed.  Oh and not to mention the static caravan that is currently our home but later will become a workshop and studio.

Ah...that's quite a collection...they must be the starting point for a future garden scheme however: the must haves. I wasn't assuming that no front garden implied direct access to the street, more 'why have a lawn' (default mode based on Victorian thinking) when there are many planting possibilities. I suggest that you wouldn't desire to sunbathe in the direct public view, so a front garden is entirely for show, so develop a display that changes with the seasons...that could be the brief to a plantsman/woman..an everchanging display of colour or fragrances or just change of colour of bark/leaf...there will be plant experts out there who would love the challenge, or there are many very specific books. I especially admire John Brookes work and some of the latest garden designers like Piet Oodorf who produce wonderful seasonal colour/textural changes just using long uncut grasses...perhaps flymow a path through or create a bird-feed spot...some of the continental garden designers work with three dimesional statements just with one type of 'strong' plant. I guess you could keep costs to a minimum by planting yourself to a planting scheme. Take a look at the 'National Garden Scheme' open gardens in your area...all proceeds to charity. 

24 minutes ago, caliwag said:

Take a look at the 'National Garden Scheme' open gardens in your area...all proceeds to charity. 

One of the most Interesting garden we visited had nothing but a tarmac parking area, with a few neglected tubs at the front of the house. However, the back garden was a joy, a nice sunny patio at the top and different spaces/gardens as it tumbled down the hill to a stream at the bottom.

Edited September 12, 2017 by Triassic

Haha...interesting thanks for that observation...hope the front didn't put you off!