Share
5 August 2026
Limestone Paving Garden Design: Big beds. Lots of plants. No skinny borders.
Garden designer Amelia Hepworth on two very different gardens, featuring limestone paving garden design, and why the plants always come first.
The Designer - From picture books to planting plans
Amelia Hepworth spent years in children's book publishing before maternity leave gave her room to think. She realised it was time to say goodbye to the books and follow her passion for gardens instead and hasn't looked back since. Her style, in her own words, is big beds and lots of plants - she is not a fan of a skinny border. Beyond that, she says, everything is bespoke: to the client, and to the garden it's growing in. Most of her clients are families working out what their garden needs to become next - room for grandchildren, a trampoline tucked out of sight, or once the kids turn teenage, a firepit far enough from the dining table to count as its own room. "It's amazing what you can squeeze into a very small garden," she says.
Project One
Herongate Road, Aldersbrook
"The brief for this project was to lose the lawn and break up the space with lots of planting. The client was having a garden room installed at the end so we needed to integrate that and help settle it comfortably within the garden."
The Site
The original garden had a featureless lawn, a concrete path down one side, a deck slowly decaying at the far end. One thing did stand out - a huge wall of ivy taking over the side of the garden. Amelia and her client both loved it. They
"bit the bullet and cut it right back. It looked awful for a while but a year later it looks green and glorious, and we’ll keep it in check this time!"
The client was also having a garden room installed at the far end, which needed to feel settled within the space rather than bolted on.
Why Lamb House limestone
The original plan was large-format concrete-effect garden paving, chosen to echo the porcelain floors inside the house, with composite decking to tie in with the new garden room. Then the client added natural stone cladding to that garden room, late in the project - and the whole material palette changed.
"We chose Lamb House limestone because it complemented the cladding beautifully while bringing warmth and character to the space," Amelia says. "It perfectly captures the balance we were trying to achieve throughout the garden - contemporary yet natural, with materials that sit comfortably alongside the soft, immersive planting."
She'd specified it once before and remembered how well it held its looks. "Some paving seems to show every speck of dirt and have you reaching for the jet washer every weekend. Lamb House is much more forgiving. Its natural colour and texture disguise the inevitable signs of daily life, so it continues to look beautiful with very little fuss.
That combination of practicality and timeless elegance made it the standout choice for this garden."
Project Two
Queen's Avenue, Woodford Green
The site
Heavy clay, falling in two directions - that was the problem. The old patio drained to a single low point, and the clients could set their watch by the winter flooding. Redesigning the space to manage water properly, without disturbing the mature planting or the garden's established character, was the real brief here.
A permanent path now links the new terrace to the rest of the garden, and self-binding gravel runs through pockets of the paving - softening the ground plane and giving the water somewhere to go.
Why Lamb House limestone
"I was particularly drawn to Lamb House limestone because its warm, natural tones sit beautifully alongside the soft red brick of the house," Amelia says. The matching cobbles gave her a second material to work with - different formats and textures across the patio, without losing a cohesive design. "That variation adds interest at ground level, and reflects the way different paving materials and details have been used elsewhere in the garden - helping the new terrace feel completely at home in its surroundings."
Did she look at anything else? Not really. "It was one of those occasions when I knew it was the right stone for the project, and the clients agreed as soon as they saw it. Sometimes you just know."
On site
The landscaper had opinions too. "They actually commented on how much they liked working with it, compared with some other limestones which can be prone to chipping or breaking during installation."
The one hitch: the mixed-size pack Amelia wanted, for a random coursed pattern, wasn't available at the time of ordering. She adapted - a single-size format laid in a ¾ stretcher bond, with areas of random-coursed cobbles worked in to keep the traditional feel. "In the end, I think the combination worked beautifully, giving the terrace a subtle sense of order while still echoing the relaxed, timeless character of the garden."
Results & Reaction
At Herongate Road, the garden room finally feels like it belongs - folded into the planting rather than parked at the end of a lawn.
At Queen's Avenue, the clients - keen gardeners, both of them - got a garden built around their plants rather than despite them. A multi-stem Amelanchier now anchors the patio, throwing dappled shade across the stone paving. "Most importantly, they now have a welcoming outdoor space where they can entertain friends or simply relax, choosing either sun or shade depending on the time of day."
"I absolutely would use it again, although I'm not sure I'd recommend it to other designers - I don't want everyone's gardens to look the same. For me, it strikes the ideal balance between durability, affordability and timeless aesthetic appeal. It's equally at home in traditional and contemporary schemes, making it an incredibly versatile material to design with."
Amelia Hepworth Design
Bespoke residential garden design across East London and Essex. Big beds. Lots of plants. Never a skinny border.
Get the look
Lamb House Limestone adds warmth and charm with its golden glow and honey hues, suiting contemporary townhouse gardens and traditional properties alike. Garden designer Amelia Hepworth calls it "the ideal balance between durability, affordability and timeless aesthetic appeal." Ethically sourced and expertly finished to enhance its natural surface texture, it's a stone that earns its keep
About the Author
Sian McHugh
'Sian has been working with us at Westminster Stone for over 7 years and has developed expertise in garden design and landscaping. Her passion for nature extends to tending her own garden, teaching yoga and hiking during her free time.'
