landscaping

Does it take a carrot or a stick to produce a great garden?

Someone kindly (?) referred to this website as “porn for garden lovers.” As much as l laughed at that, it has made me think; are people just ogling and not actually doing? I want this to be a useful resource where you can come and get the tuition you need (move on from the porn analogy, if you haven’t already).

I thought if I did this website, offered free advice, people would get ideas and they would go off and make their garden* great. But it doesn’t seem like that’s happening.

Why Aren’t More People Designing Their Gardens?

Blog post tutorials are just too passive. As much as people are reporting they are loving this site and all the information provided, they are not going off and putting pencil to paper. The exception are the ones doing the online garden design course.

What’s The Key To Helping People Create Their Dream Garden?

There needs to be a big motivator. I’ve had an idea that could help provide this motivation. It came to me a couple of weeks ago, after I interviewed Anne Wareham for a new feature on inspirational gardens. She has created an amazing garden and isn’t a professional landscaper. So, if she and people like her have created great gardens by studying garden design, it shows what can be achieved when someone puts their mind to it. Trouble is, most people don’t do that.

Where Do You Start With Landscaping Your Garden?

One of the main reasons people don’t do anything with their garden is because they don’t know where to start and get overwhelmed. They don’t know if they should do it themselves or hire a designer. If they do it themselves, they might muck it up. But if they hire a designer, what happens if they don’t like what the designer comes up with? Either option could be an expensive mistake. So maybe a few plants get put in, or the garden just gets left, with a vow to do something one day.

A Perfect Solution?

I think having a ‘roadmap’ to follow would be a big help. One that shows you how to either work with a landscape professional successfully or point you in the right direction on what you need to know to be able to design the garden yourself. But that’s not all. So I’ve set up a course that will guide people through the process and they can show their finished results if they wish. See The Great Garden Formula Home Study Course page for more details.

What’s Your Excuse?

Whatever the reasons are for not having done something great with your garden, tell me what they are. I have a few ideas on what the roadblocks are, but I don’t know what your blocks are. Even if the blocks are something outside of what would be considered a garden problem; tell me.

FREE Guide On How To Landscape Your Garden

Get your copy here: http://www.successfulgardendesign.com/freeguide/

Filed Under: Garden Design Tagged With: Garden Design, landscape design, landscape plan, landscaped gardens, landscaping

Why You Can Create a Better Garden Than a Designer

By Rachel Mathews 11 Comments

I admit that is a statement I was never expecting to make. I’ve been designing gardens professionally for the last eighteen years. It’s how I earn my living. I charge people a fee to convert their ideas and lifestyle aspirations into a beautiful garden. So, why after so many years in the business have I come to the conclusion you’d be better off doing it yourself?

Well, we are going to have to go back in time by the measure of two whole weeks to answer that question.

Two weeks ago I interviewed Anne Wareham to kick start a new monthly feature on Inspirational Gardens and the people behind them. I knew very little about Anne before the interview; turns out she’s not a trained garden designer. She’s self-taught from books and studying gardens intensely. That’s quite something when you look at what she’s achieved in her garden.

Are Garden Designers Really The Best Option?

Whilst researching for my interview with Anne, I came across an article by Tim Richardson, who writes for the Society of Garden Designers. He wrote a while back, that most of the iconic or outstanding contemporary gardens have not been created by professional garden designers. He commented that if he was a garden designer he would be somewhat miffed by that fact.

Upsetting News for Garden Designers?

No, I don’t see it that way. For me, it’s not a true comparison. It is like comparing a book to a film. No matter how good the film is, it is an abbreviated version. A filmmaker simply cannot fit every detail and nuance into a movie. Also, there is less room for your own interpretation. It’s all been laid out for you; the intimate co-creation that occurs between author and the reader is very hard, if not impossible to recreate in a film.

I feel the same is true between the difference someone can create in their own garden, with the necessary studying and time on their side, and calling in a garden designer. I’m not trying to do myself out of a job or knock my profession. It’s simply a case of time and practicality. A professional designer will see a client and garden they’ve never met before, for one or maybe two hours. In that time they have to assess the personality of both client and garden.

In that one brief experience, that single moment in time defines the designer’s entire experience of that garden. The designer will not have seen the transitions of the seasons. They are unlikely to have witnessed the play of light around the garden from dawn to dusk. They won’t have ‘lived’ that garden in the one or two hours they were there.

For me, designers offer a translation service for those who can’t and don’t want to speak the language of their garden. Considering the short amount of time we see the client and garden, I think designers do an amazing job. It’s no easy task to get inside another person’s mind and dig out their dream garden. Very few people are able to articulate exactly what they want. It takes a truly skilled designer to create a garden that not only ticks all the boxes for the client but delivers more than they ever thought possible.

BUT…

I notice the difference between the book and the film. I feel that professional designs can have a somewhat precise and almost clinical nature to them. A flatness, if you will. They miss that spark of true magic that is created by someone that lives and breathes their garden. And add to the fact that gardens are not static objects; they mature and change over time. Try as a designer may, you can’t think of everything that might happen in a garden for the entirety of its existence with one plan, the garden needs to evolve over time.

Not Really Something Professional Garden Designers Want to Admit To

So, if the best gardens haven’t been done by designers, then my belief that homeowners are more than capable of doing their own garden, with the right training, is not only justified, if anything, I’ve underestimated what can be done by non-professionals. Think about the exciting possibilities that exist if people put their mind to consciously creating their gardens…

Should You Employ A Garden Designer?

Not everyone wishes to employ a garden designer, which is fine, but so few people actually do anything with their garden. And fewer still take the time to learn the principles of design to do it well. Why is that?

I have a few thoughts on why, and I think I have come up with a plan to help address the situation. After my interview with Anne Wareham, an idea sparked, one that will hopefully involve lots of other garden designers, landscapers and, I hope, you too. In case you are wondering, no, it won’t cost you anything to take part. I will tell you all the details in the next blog post which will introduce you to a free landscaping guide I’ve put together…

In the meantime, if you would like learn more about how to avoid BIG mistakes in your garden, enter your email address in the box below. You’ll never miss a blog post and I’ll send you a free report on what to avoid doing with your garden.

Filed Under: Garden Design Tagged With: designing your own garden, employing a landscape designer, Garden Design, landscaping

How to build a courtyard garden [part 4]

By Rachel Mathews 3 Comments

In this video you will see the courtyard garden (design shown in how to design a courtyard garden video) being built.

This is the first stage of the garden construction.

The paving slabs will be laid in a couple of months time, so you will have to use your imagination a little bit! The rendered wall planters are built, so you will still get a good idea of the design layout.

The earth moves!

Since this part of Spain is subject to a lot of ground movement, the concrete is reinforced with metal to help prevent cracking. A plastic mesh is also worked into the wall rendering for the same reason.

The paving slabs will bring the ground level up approx 10cm (4″) higher, which will make the wall planters a look lower. The garden should be completed at Easter time. I will do a follow up video when the garden is finished. The paving, water feature and plants will make an enormous difference to the finished garden, I can’t wait to see it done!

Time to plan your own garden?

As now is a really good time to be planning your garden, the next 3 blog posts will be galleries of completed gardens. These will hopefully give you plenty of good ideas to put into your own garden (not to mention giving me some time off blog writing to devote to the first group of online garden design students)!

Your last chance to bag a bargain!

Talking of the very lovely people that have signed up to do the Beginner’s Garden Design Course – there are only 2 places left on the course. The price will double next year, so if you want to learn how to make your garden something special, now would be a very good time to sign up!

Once the course sells out it won’t be available for new enrollments until March 2010, so what are you waiting for?! Get your place on the course now – before the price goes up on Saturday 2nd January!