STEPPING OUT

Navigate a change in height easily with carefully considered garden steps that create a feature of slopes and terraces

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Faced with a sloping plot, an outside space much lower or higher than your back door, or a change in level from house to patio, chances are that steps play a part in your garden. Steps can be a real feature,' says designer Eliza Gray. "They can either lead the eye to a focal point at the top or bottom of the flight, or else screen different vistas and encourage movement and discovery."

'Steps are a great way to pull you out into the garden, suggesting somewhere to explore,' says designer Helen Elks-Smith. But a badly considered flight of steps can be a deterrent if navigating them feels too onerous."

GET THE ESSENTIALS RIGHT

Indoors, stairs normally have treads (the surface you step on) and risers (the vertical part of the step) of about 200mm each, but the guidance is different for gardens. In our studio, we like a 150mm-high riser and a 400mm-deep tread for garden steps,' says landscape architect Marcus Barnett. It's more comfortable, and you don't have to look at the stairs when you're using them.'

If you have more than 11 steps in a row, you'll also need a landing. This is a safety feature, preventing falls down longer runs of steps, but from an aesthetic angle, it can create an unusual viewpoint of the garden in among the plants at eye level,' says Eliza. 'And it can be a fantastic design device, providing an opportunity for a change of direction in the garden.'