1 September 2020

When designing your garden, it’s imperative that you find the perfect balance between form and function. You want your garden to look fantastic, but it should be easy to maintain and long-lasting too.

One unsung hero of the landscaping world is something called “setts”, but unless you're a landscape gardener, you've probably never heard of them. What are setts, and why are they worth considering for your new garden?

What are setts?

Sometimes referred to as blocks, or cobbles, setts are small, square stones that are used on driveways, garden patios, or any kind of path. They can be made from any type of stone, and they can be laid in pretty much any area of the garden. You might have seen setts many times before without realising, as many people mistake them for cobbles, which are similar in function but different in shape. Both have been around for decades and were historically chosen in high traffic areas as they provided great grip for horse’s hooves.

Even though most people don’t have horses wandering around their back gardens, setts are still a fantastic choice for any modern garden design for several reasons.

Dividing your space

It’s great to have some variety in your garden, particularly if it’s a large space, so many people choose to divide up the areas with a mix of grass, plants, and some form of paving. Setts are a great choice as an edging for any type of paved area, as they elegantly divide your space in a minimal and attractive way.

You can also use them to define different shapes and themes within the garden. Many people maintain the edge of their lawn with a lawn edger tool, but this takes a lot of upkeep for your lawn to keep it's shape. Or perhaps you would like a lawn with square or circular edges. Because setts are smaller than other paving options you have a lot of flexibility in this regard – you can choose whatever shapes take your fancy! You’ll also have the added benefit that comes with a paved area like this – cutting the grass is much easier! Any lawn area adjacent to a paved area is easy to trim with a normal mower, eliminating the need for a strimmer or lawn edger.

Versatile and attractive

Aesthetically, you also have a lot of choice when it comes to setts or even cobbles. You can choose one specific colour to match other features in your garden, or you can mix and match several colours, utilising one colour as a border and another within the centre of the area. You could select a light sandstone and frame it with an ebony limestone, or any number of other combinations.

There’s no limit to where you can utilise this versatile feature either – it can be used for patios, paths, edging, driveways, courtyards, and anywhere else you can fathom. At FirstLight, we love the versatility of setts and we find them so practical that we use them as standard to frame every paving area we lay. Get in touch with us via our contact page if you’d like to know more.