North West Gardens to Visit for Autumn Colour
0 comments Posted by David Andersen at Tuesday, February 12, 2013
1) Bodnant: www.bodnantgarden.co.uk
Bodnant Garden is easily one of the most beautiful gardens in the UK, spanning some 80 acres situated above the River Conwy in North Wales on ground sloping towards the west and looking across the valley towards the Snowdonia range.
The Garden has two parts. The upper garden which is quite formal around Bodnant Hall consists of the terraced gardens and informal lawns shaded by trees. And the lower area, known as the "Dell" formed by the valley of the River Hiraethlyn which contains the Wild garden.
There are tree and shrubs here which originally came from China, North America, Europe and Japan, but which are suited to the Welsh climate and soil. The planting has been done sympathetically with care taken and dramatic plant associations.
Image above: Autumn colour at Bodnant, photograph by Gillian Dromey
Autumn Colour at Bodnant
I know, it’s been a bit wet of late, but a glimpse of sunlight shining through russet leaves is just the thing to lift the heart. The garden is well and truly being transformed by the colours of autumn now; there are still flowers to be enjoyed but it is foliage, berries and fruit which catch the eye and when the clouds clear away the mountain backdrop provides some breathtaking panoramas.
The wild garden is in its full full glory, with rowan, prunus and many other deciduous trees, native and exotic. Exotics which will stand out include the pink-leaved Katsura Tree, Cercidiphyllum japonicum, with its heart shaped leaves which smell of burnt sugar, the flame red oak Quercus coccinea, a Prunus cerasifera ‘Pissardii’ (Purple Leaved Plum), the acer like Sweet Gum, Liquidambar styraciflua, and Hamamelis x intermedia ‘Ruby Glow’. Berries with wow factor include the Sorbus hupehensis ‘Pink Pagoda’, the pale green Styrax japonica (Japanese Snowbell), the aptly named Sapphire Berry Symplocos paniculata and a red fruiting Viburnum lobophyllum.
As herbaceous plants wane, the eye is drawn upwards again to the towering evergreen conifers including firs, cedars, hemlock and the redwoods.
2) Ness Gardens: www.nessgardens.org.uk
This incredible garden set on the Wirral peninsula has extensive herbaceous borders and a victorian style potager. It also has the UK’s largest collection of sorbus (Rowans) and a beautiful and impressive collection of magnolias, rhododendrons and camellias.
Plants of interest in Autumn:
colchicum (naked ladies/ Autumn crocus/ Meadow Saffron)
potentilla dahurica ‘Bright Ness’ (cinquefoil)
parrotia persica (persian Ironwood)
euonymus phellomanus (winged spindle / cork tree)
humulus lupulus ‘Aureus’ (golden hop)
heptacodium miconoides (Seven son flower tree)eupatorium maculatum (spotted Joe pyeweed)crocosmia ‘lucifer’ (montbretia)rudbeckia fulgida var.sullvantii ‘Goldsturm’
3) Arley Hall: www.arleyhallandgardens.com
Situated near Northwich in Cheshire, these lovely gardens are famous for their outstanding herbaceous borders. A visit at this time of the year reminds any gardener of the design value of seed heads and twig and stem interest, elements which can all play an important (yet often forgotten) part in the garden designers palette.
In addition the woodland walk reveals many fine views as the trees display their incredible autumn hues of reds, golds and purples.
Image above: Echinacea purpurea, featured on the Rhone Street Gardens blog
"A plant is only worth growing if it looks good when it is dead”
-Piet Oudolf, Dutch garden designer
Autumn is a time when it's important to understand the true
nature of how plants work. Although we perceive that it is the time of the year when
mother nature is slowing down, nevertheless this is a good time to plant.
Here are a few good reasons why:
- The temperature is not too hot, that often causes stress to the plants and stress to the gardener when there is often not enough time to get around and water new plants.
- It’s not too cold yet to stop root growth, for although apparent growth of plants seems halted (no further leaf or flowers produced) this is a good time for root systems to become consolidated, and to become strengthened.
- It's a good time for plants to become established, ready for a showy spurt of growth when spring comes along.
Trees
It’s good to bear in mind if you have any space for tree
planting (or hedge planting for that matter) it's good to plant them during
autumn for many reasons:
- They get established better than in summer with no associated watering problems. ( "What watering problems?” I here you ask!)
- It is much cheaper to buy bare-rooted stock during this ‘bare root’ season from October to March (dependent on the species of tree).
- As mentioned above the soil is still relatively warm, giving the tree a good start in its new position.
It’s an excellent time to plant shrubs and you may find that
some bare-rooted shrubs are inexpensive, especially many wildlife varieties:
hollies, yew, lonicera (the climbing one), as well as many buxus if you are planning
a box hedge.
Vegetables
Quite a variety of things can be sown in your vegetable plot
at this time: Beetroot, chard, kohlrabi, oriental greens, calabrese, turnips,
spinach, spring cabbage, endive, carrots (if fast growing varieties). You could
also put in strawberry plants.
Bulbs
Recommended bulb plantings include: grape hyacinths,
hyacinths, daffodils, jonquils, ixia, freesia, ranunculus, sparaxis.
Image on the right: Acer palmatum atropurpureum just
starting to turn to it's magnificent autumn shades.
Garden Landscaping Video of the Survey, Design & Build
0 comments Posted by David Andersen at Thursday, October 18, 2012Here you can see the stages of surveying a steeply sloping back garden, creating a terraced design to brake up the space into outside rooms and then the process of building the new garden.
The original garden was quite small, but even so had a differential of over three metres from house to back boundary. We created dramatic levels using rendered walling (and the upper wall was actually created using timber sleepers stacked and bolted together, since the upper part of the garden was made of freshly added ground and therefore could not be constructed on with mortar).
Traditional Cheshire Garden Made Modern
1 comments Posted by David Andersen at Friday, August 03, 2012
As promised in our last post here are images and a short video
from one of our latest finished garden makeovers.
At the beginning of this video you can see an original view showing where the hedge and lamppost had to be
removed for access to the proposed driveway. The footage then takes you through the demolition phase and on the finished product!
On the left are the
stunning new gates, both practical and good-looking. The soft grey/green
paintwork and the smooth vacuum treated timber create a welcome alternative to
dull traditional gate.
Below is the new entrance and drive under construction shown from another angle. In order to create a level parking area the ground had to be reduced by about 80cms (This can be seen as a wall of soil on the right hand side. This problem was addressed by constructing a dwarf, brick retaining wall.)
On the right is the finished garden shown from the same vantage point as above.
Below shows the original garden ...in need of some refurbishment. The clients requested a fresher more contemporary feel.
The completed scheme (on the left) as viewed from the driveway area.....is both
simple and elegant. The crushed Cotswold chippings have been detailed with Indian Stone paving, and the rest of the garden has been simplified giving a more contemporary feel.
Another view (this time
looking away from the house) The parking area has been defined within the
Cotswold chippings driveway and helps break up what would have been a very
large area of just one material.
It’s been several weeks since my last update a Snapshot of our Garden Transformations in Progress and our projects have come a long
way! On the left you can see this traditional Cheshire garden (before)
has now been stripped, reshaped (below) and is being given a more
modern look.
The renovations need to be completed on the house before we can put down the ipe hardwood deck.
On the same site the new driveway is coming together; here you can see the
natural stone border, which surrounds beautiful buff coloured Cotswold stone
chippings.
It may not look like much yet, but this terraced
garden in northwest Lancashire is taking shape. The top tier will provide a
deck with views, the bottom will have a natural stone patio seating area and
the middle will bring in colour with lawn and plantings. Below you can
see the before image and on the right is the work in progress.
Check back soon to see photos of the finished
gardens . . .
Getting Your Garden Design to the Build Stage
0 comments Posted by David Andersen at Wednesday, June 20, 2012So you've finally got your garden design!
Now comes the really tricky part: getting it built!
Let’s look at the two main ways that you can go
about this and some of the advantages and pitfalls of each:
Do it Yourself
The
main advantage here is that (providing you have some technical expertise and
muscle power!) there will be a great sense of achievement, a feeling that the
garden is very much 'yours'.
Of course it may be cheaper, that is as long as you have a
good ability to interpret the design properly and avoid making the many
mistakes that even experienced landscapers make.
Most landscape schemes are very multidisciplinary, and you
would have to be the proverbial 'jack of all trades' to do everything, but
using skilled sub-contractors for say brickwork may work well.
You would also need to be aware of health and safety
requirements, particularly with regard to hiring in diggers and all things electrical.
Using a Landscaper
Perhaps the obvious choice. Make sure you use a reputable
contractor, preferably one who has been recommended. A list can be obtained
from BALI (The British Association of Landscape Industries). It’s always a good
idea to get competitive quotations from up to three different firms, your
designer should be able to prepared tender documents (There would normally be a
charge for this).
Be aware that using a contractor your designer
recommends is OK, but there maybe some financial arrangement
between them. (The designer getting a 'sales commission' that is.) This
may be seen as a controversial
arrangement, however if the various parties tell the client about this, it is
often seen as 'above board' otherwise it maybe seen as non-competitive.
Be aware that cheapest is not necessarily best. A few years
ago, when times were hard (wait a minute times are hard now!) I remember
quoting to build a medium sized garden (£10,000 I recall), I had gone in very
competitively since it was January, I had not much else on. Two weeks later I
was informed that a competitor had been awarded the contract for around £5,000.
Given that I had worked out that materials were £5,500 (trade price) I was a
bit mystified. Some weeks later I had a phone call from the tearful wife saying the landscaper had been desperate for that deposit cheque and had gone in at
under cost price just to keep himself afloat and soon abandoned the garden.
Also with landscapers make sure that they have proper terms
and conditions, proper, well laid out terms of payment, public liability
insurance and written guarantees.
To put the landscapers side for a moment it would be most
unfair to expect them to do things not in the contract. Time and time
again, I get client’s saying (usually on the first day) "Oh while you're here
could you just……..prune that tree". It
can be really unfair, especially as you are trying to create a good
atmosphere within your working relationship.
The most common 'extra' to emerge usually quite early on in
the contract is to do with a badly drained or waterlogged site. When I first
started in business over 20 years ago I was struggling to landscape a really
wet garden, using a lot of my own money to put in land drains. I then realised
that another landscape firm were doing a similar garden next door. After two
days I saw them packing up "What’s up?" I asked "Well" replied the boss, "that garden is too waterlogged to landscape. I asked my clients before I
started to get it sorted and so I am pulling off until they do so!" My lesson was learned.
I hope this helps. Happy landscaping!
First off: to save money
"What?" I hear you say.
Well it goes like this: you spend a bit on a well-detailed, well-conceived garden design (well most garden designers charge between £400 -£1,200
pounds for a design. If you are lucky or talented enough designer to have won a
few Gold Medals at Chelsea or had you own TV show you probably charge upwards of
£1,200 per day for your time).
The thing is, if you have invested money in a good design, you are most
likely going to end up loving he scheme when it is finished and it will give you
years of pleasure. If it is not well thought out in a masterplan then you could
spend far more than the design fee on putting the mistakes right (or even
re-doing the schem altogether).
The other things is this: last year I had a young couple come to me for a
garden design. They proudly showed me a huge stack of slabs that they had bought
in, in readiness with the phrase "we knew they were good cos they were
really really EXPENSIVE! ". Well ...NO! Expensive does not equal GOOD! I have
some news: CREATIVITY is relatively cheap, compared to acres of the wrong
type of slabbing (thats 'flagging' to you if you live north of
Birmingham).
You would never try building a house without using a good architect, so why
try and build an expensive garden without the garden designer.
Secondly: An Integrated Design
One of the biggest mistakes that people who devise
their own gardens is that they over-compartmentalise everything.
Example: as a designer I never design a garden with say a lawn over here, a
deck over here, some planting over here, etc, etc. I always make sure there is what I
call an "Integrated Whole", so that the scheme flows together, it's not always
a logical process but one that needs a bit of inspiration.
Time and time again I see the wrong proportion of hardlandscaping vs
planting. (OK, a masculine priority vs a feminine one ). If the husband has his
way: lots of walling, paving, etc. If the the wife has her way, lots of
planting. Getting the balance right is the challenge. Planting is a great
'harmoniser' and will always work best when given a strong structure to work
with.
Thirdly: Let's Get Bold
As a designer, I do love raising eyebrows and hearing the question
"What?!" when I suggest, for example clearing out some ageing, overmature
lavender. Sometimes people get attached to things simply because they have been
there for ages, when a good clear out helps create 'an artists empty canvas' and
becomes the basis for real creativity.
I love the sharp intake of breath when I suggest, say water in garden or a
well thought out, dramatic lighting scheme. I enjoy the process of getting people
to 'loosen up' about the idea of change.
It's always a wonderful moment when we have finished a scheme and the
client's (or even client's children) start to use their new outside space. I
believe that a good well thought out garden can be a great asset to be enjoyed by
all.
A Snapshot of our Garden Transformations in Progress
1 comments Posted by David Andersen at Tuesday, May 15, 2012There has been a hurricane of activity at Garden Magic this
spring. We have garden design projects currently covering the entire Northwest:
Lancashire, Cheshire, Liverpool, Manchester and even Yorkshire!It is always fun to see the transformations in progress,
so here are a few pictures of gardens before and during construction . . . and
soon we will share the finished spaces!
More updates coming soon . . .
After the long, but thankfully not too cold winter, the prospect of warm sunny days fills us with anticipation. We have been busy through the fall and winter preparing gardens for spring. And now that we are enjoying a taste of the warm days to come things are getting into high gear as our clients all want to have the perfect garden for relaxing and entertaining this summer.
This time of year, with mild temperatures and moist soil, is the ideal time to put plans for your summer garden in place. Planting and preparation done now will reward you many times over when the sun shines and you want the garden to look its best.
Before and After Images of Our Favorite Designs
1 comments Posted by David Andersen at Wednesday, March 28, 2012Here you can see the dramatic transformations created with these before and after images of a few of our past garden design and build projects.
One project has a series of spectacular canals and waterfalls in a minimalist setting, another an elemental garden and fish pond, there is a contemporary deck with a beautiful bright green water feature back drop, an Edwardian courtyard made modern and a large family garden that is both stunning and functional.
New Contemporary Garden - Just Completed!
0 comments Posted by David Andersen at Friday, March 23, 2012Check out this recently finished garden complete with waterfeature, garden lighting, topiary, decking and fine cream coloured contemporary sandstone slabs.
The semi-circular deck has been designed using specially machined, tapered hardwood deckboards. This smaller deck is positioned to catch the morning sun...perfect as a breakfast terrace!
The individual topiary standards (photinia 'Red Robin') make an excellent strong statement....each has a stainless steel spike spot uplighter....helping to create drama and atmosphere.
(Planting is complete but needs time to mature)
Sedum is a wonderful option for a green roof being a fairly tough plant that virtually looks after itself.Some properties of a green (sedum) roof:
a) Helps alleviate flooding by delaying the process of rainwater runoff and so puts less pressure on sewerage systems.
b) Thermal Insulation simply helps create an extra layer and so the room beneath is warmer in winter and kept cooler in summer.
c) Natural habitat for birds insects and animals…they all benefit from a green roof.
d) Aesthetics: it looks good! The only alternative with this scheme was gravel…which intime would have become discoloured with algae. The colours of the sedum roof will change throughout the year providing a truly living roof.
Antony Gormley "Another Place" Crosby Beach November 13, 2011
0 comments Posted by David Andersen at Monday, November 21, 2011
I was helped enormously by mother nature here. The movement of the sun across the sky on a late November afternoon and the moon doing her job by organising the tide to be way out.
Massive expanse of beach in all directions gives a timeless quality to this dramatic installation.
Ihe individual fugures felt as though they had been here for centuries looking out to the Irish see...waiting waiting.
As a big fan of modern art set in the landscape I feel this has to be one of the best.
Massive expanse of beach in all directions gives a timeless quality to this dramatic installation.
Ihe individual fugures felt as though they had been here for centuries looking out to the Irish see...waiting waiting.
As a big fan of modern art set in the landscape I feel this has to be one of the best.
One of our recently finished schemes was for one of the cottages within the Tabley House estate near Knutsford.
The brief here was for a " low maintenance, contemporary, outdoor space for eating, relaxing and entertaining".
The beautiful yellow balau hardwood timber decking (from a sustainable source) creates a welcoming effect in this small courtyard-type area.
The stunning stainless steel waterfeature acts as a perfect focal point and has been offset using the 2m high rendered wall as a backdrop.
Planting is minimal with the cordyline australis creating a dramatic, fairly tropical feel. (After the last two winters, the clients have been left with strict intructions to cover them over when cold temperatures are forecast.)
Putting the finishing touches on the garden. The Indian paving contrast well with the raised sleeper beds. The gravel beds within the paved areas are great for grasses and herbs and the client has introduced his own chimera for keeping warm on chilly evenings!
The planting includes three varigated phormium as well as three small trees (to help create privacy): acer 'Bloodgood', cotoneaster cornubia and a small rowan. These tree provide beautiful autumn colour as well as berries for the birds.
In this small inner-city Manchester garden the yard is taking shape.
Here we can see the natural stone paving (Indian Stone) is going down.
Several large planting pockets are being left within the paved areas, mainly for herbs and small grasses. The original mature bamboo is being left to create some privacy for the small dinging area behind.
All in all we should be finished next week.... we start installing the lighting and plants on Monday/Tuesday.
This has to be one of the smallest gardens we have built for a while.........in sunny inner-city Manchester
The garden ('backyard' rather) measures a mere 4m x 6m with access via a small cobbled service road at the back of the row of terraced house
Our client wants to create a semi private, relaxing oasis in the midst of a bustling city..a place to unwind and entertain.
First task is to move the bike shed and this means making a new concrete base. The shed has to be moved because our client has identified the spot it currently occupies as catching late afternoon/ early evening sun.
Second task is to build some timber sleeper retaining walls to help define the plant areas. This will allow the soil level to be built up....allowing new root systems to be well drained.
The next job is to re-build the leaning (and slightly dangerous) brick wall with the new gate aperture moved across to allow for a new, hardwood 'L-shaped' bench to be built for eating out.
We are hoping to finish this smallish scheme within the next two weeks (weather permitting!) Keep checking in for progress.=
The Well Designed Deck (a new post after a rather long break!)
1 comments Posted by David Andersen at Sunday, May 15, 2011
It is often the way that homeowners tend to build the most basic of decks with little or no thought to design. The truth is, that a well designed deck need cost no more to realise than a basic square or rectangular shape.
The deck illustrated here has a circular theme. It is true that some time needs to be devoted to calculating the tapered deck boards, and the neat stone circle included to 'start off' the ccircular design, but the deck has so much more style and 'wow' factor than would otherwise be the case.
This deck has been constructed from treated softwood.(available from B&Q etc) with the grooved pattern on the underside. The treated softwood joists extend out concentrically form the centre at 50cm intervals and are constructed as octagonal shapes to support the timber deckboards.
The clever addition here (by the clients) of a circular table adds to the sense of style.Just a quick update on what's been going on since the last blog. With summer just beginning and warmer weather on its way (we hope!), we've been keeping busy with designing and building for lots of new clients. We’ve been working particularly hard on a garden design for a large ‘custom-built’ contemporary house. We’ve also done a little commercial work and several other large family gardens. An important consideration in family gardens is the incorporation of an area for the kids and an adult space for entertaining on a summer evening!
The idea of long summer evenings got us thinking about enjoying the garden after dark all year round (an important factor in contemporary garden design is that it can look just as stunning in summer or winter due to lighting placement and the architectural qualities of a contemporary design). So, when a client suggested that they might want a summerhouse from which to enjoy the garden on a cooler evening (let’s face it, without a firepit, heater or several blankets it’s not often warm enough to sit out all evening!) it got us started trawling the web for inspiration. One solution that came up was a high quality shed (don’t let the word shed put you off!). More affordable than an expensive new conservatory, yet they are still stylish and contemporary (we were impressed by a company called ‘Decorated Shed’).
If you don’t want to go as far a custom built shed, another option is a firepit. Firepits can either be free standing or built into the ground. Many of our designs incorporate firepits, with this one (with firepit built into the hardwood decking) being our favourite.
Anyway, hopefully the weather will stay warm for just a bit longer! It helps so much for the garden builds.
Gardens for Relaxation and Meditation
3 comments Posted by David Andersen at Tuesday, April 13, 2010
I find increasingly that my clients are requesting a garden ( or a space within the garden) to relax….de-stress…or even meditate.
If we go back to one of the main principles of Japanese garden design we find that one of the most important reasons for a garden to exist would to create a sense of calm, indeed for the user to be at one with his/her surroundings in a spiritual sense. (See Frantisek Staud's photos of the Zen gardens in Kyoto - http://www.phototravels.net/kyoto/zen-gardens-index.html)
The design principles contained in the ancient Indian philosophy of Sthapatya Veda (which predate both Chinese and Japanese doctrines) direct all architects and garden designers in the direction of working in tune with natural law. Very precise principles are laid down in terms of symmetry, orientation, the use of specific herbs and plants etc…..all with the aim of creating balance and calmness within the minds and body of the user. Indeed the ultimate aim of enlightenment or spiritual self-realisation seems at the basis of the design philosophies. (see Maharishi Mahesh Yogi’s interpretation of Stapathya Veda)
Q : So…how best can we use and indeed interpret some of these ideas in our own gardens ?
A : Usually I would suggest to a client wanting a meditative garden some of the following :
1 A simple interpretation of the space: this means, basically, few elements to the garden and used in a non ‘busy’ or over fussy way. For example, planting can be limited to a few species to create a calming effect.
2 Simple, clean lines: ……spaces divided up with good,strong geometry.
In the example to the right, we used a simple sleeper walkway meandering through a garden space. The walkway forms a perfect ‘S’ shape when viewed from above, but links the house, garden and summerhouse.
3 Use natural materials where necessary: This same garden was constructed with hardly any concrete or other unnatural materials. We used the simple elements of: timber, water and stone and chose plants carefully to help create a sense of harmony.
4 Use water: The use of water, whether still or moving, can have a very calming and therapeutic effect on the garden user. Both the sound of running water and the play of light on the reflective surface of a still pool can be calming.
5 Use of plants : using plants which are fragrant (some herbs and flowers have a soothing type of fragrance, for example lemon, lavender and mango - as illustrated by the widespread use of aromatherapy) Some plants are soothing because they move in the breeze (e.g. ornamental grasses such as miscanthus, bamboo etc) Some plants, of course, are reflective just because they look so awesome !
6 Sustainability: The very essence of sustainable gardening has of course been around since creation began (living in tune with our natural environment). The delights of birdsong or the mere presence of other living creatures can have an instant therapeutic effect.
I remember a few years ago trying to finish a garden off to a deadline, as the client’s were due back from holiday. The garden was in a rural setting and featured a new, large wildlife-type pond, I was finishing off the last of the planting down by the water’s edge and feeling (bizzarely) somewhat stressed! Suddenly, a stunning damselfly fluttered by and settled on the surface of the water. All at once I felt a sudden inner calm...as if nothing in the world mattered and that everything in the newly created scheme had been worthwhile! I felt instantly connected to everything that really was really important in the universe…something that is so easy to forget in the hurly-burly of everyday life.
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