Landscaping 101 – hoggin

Roads, pavements, plazas and other hard surfaces compose so much of urban environments that minimising them in the domestic garden is always a welcome prospect. But what could replace this matrix of concrete, bitumen, stone, brick and wood paths, driveways, terraces and decks blighting the garden? Even shingle has an intractable and sometimes wearying inflexibility.

Popular in British National Trust gardens, and more especially those in the south of England, is hoggin. The word is solidly

British, with a northern ring, up there with parkin, goblins and butties but the e ect is decidedly sunnier.

This compactable, environmentally friendly and permeable groundcover is usually composed of clay, fine limestone chip and sand; the blending of all three results in a firm yet soft bu -coloured surface with an easy-going vibe. Think French petanque courts, remote Italian village squares high in the Mediterranean Alps, or grassy, tree-lined country lanes in Kent.

In a domestic garden, hoggin makes an excellent setting for a casual courtyard or dining area, under a grapevine-festooned pergola, lavender growing up through it here and there. Heavenly.

It can also be used in a more formal manner, as is often done in the English National Trust gardens, where the paths are commonly bordered with brick or wood. However, it comes into its own when its edges are softened with plants spilling over them and the definition between the garden bed and path is blurred.

Unfortunately, hoggin is only suitable for driveways if used in conjunction with a hard surface. And a smidgeon or so of dust can stick to certain soles, and be tracked inside. Only a problem, if you have a household that doesn’t remove shoes on entering, and one easily solved by placing stepping stones, or an apron of hard surface immediately adjacent to doors.