It has been a few weeks since I wrote. Whilst I always associate the winter months with slowing down, reflection and idle dark nights at home, I am always taken by surprise at how busy life suddenly gets.
December is when Christmas dominates, it always creeps up on me. I forget that nurseries close the week before and invariabley don’t open until new year. That contractors pretty much do the same as the nurseries. So two weeks of the month is spent idle, or at least I wish it was. I over compensate and strat trying to organise deliveries and plant lists for the new year. The last thing on peoples minds are plants. When they do arrive they are no more than a twig in dirt, little to get excited about. Telling people that they have invested several thousand pounds in the “potential” of two tones of soil, with a lot of free black pots is not really a motivating experience. December gets hijacked. I lost all free will and time in late September I think, time just gets booked up. Friends, meals, drinks, visits, family. I keep a paper diary, the Redstone press ones, if you are interested. Spiral bound and one week a page. I have a short row of years past on the shelf over my desk, probably ten or eleven years worth. The joy of these is being able to open them and review your lifes appointments, crossings out, stuck in theatre or cinema tickets. And reviewing past Decembers… little has changed, perhaps only my memory. I want to spend the time reading up on books I have bought during the year, photographing frost scenes or playing with some new software. I have had the intention of tagging all of my photos for years.. but I produce them faster than I can label them.. so finding useful plant associations, examples of the pergola I have proposed is getting harder. Speaking of which I became aware that Leica have released their new M9 camera. I tried to see one this weekend but all were sold out. I have a manual M6 (film) which I consider one of the best pieces of design ever created, and now there is a true digital version. Its so far beyond my budget as to forever remain a dream.. but I like the notion of it always being an ambition to own one.. and I would gladly not change my phone/ car/ pc for several years if that was the way to save.

It seems that our Chelsea garden for 2010 will now be postponed. Despite securing ¾ of the sponsorship needed the remainder just proved to elusive. A miracle may still happen, but I am resigned to not having a garden built in 2010. We had put in over 250hrs and whilst this is a lot of effort for no practical output, the design work is not wasted. I hope that it will be accepted, even if a little modified for 2011. Now I have started to think what I will do with May. I have not had a spring that was not devoted to getting a show garden ready for a few years. Perhaps it is a good time to start thinking of tagging those photographs.

Our Chelsea garden still being bumped around. It all started so well but whilst I have tried to keep some momentum to the project, not having the needed funding is paralising. We are nearly there as well which doesn’t seem to help!. Not having any funding would at least make me resign to the fact that the garden would not happen, but being over 2/3’s of the way there means that I am still working towards the show. When should I stop? The deadline for sponsorship is approaching and if we are still short by early December then it will be shelved. It is quite hard to let something that is quite personal go. However I would hope to revive it in some form and perhaps a year off Chelsea wouldn’t be a bad thing.
Books I’m reading: olives: superb pity it was 10yr old edition. I always wanted to know about these amazing trees..and this book has just about answered all of my questions and whetted my appetite to try and find oil from different sources. We stopped buying olive oil from supermarkets last year, instead we prefer to buy in a 5L can from Trujillo (one of my favourite places in Spain) .
I am also still working my way through the sketchup tutorials. I thought I knew how to model but this book has taught me loads of new techniques. Search Daniel Tal in the Google Warehouse to see some of the tutorial models.

I have been thinking about a new PC…mine (a HP Pavillion) is 4 yrs old and is creaking. Slow, noisey and sometimes frustrating I cleaned it out and archived everything 6mnths ago but it is still not behaving. I work on dual screens (I like space to wander around in and am rarely satisfied with only one programme open at once) and use several types of CAD (Computer Aided Design) packages. Initial research seems to tell me that upgrading is not going to achieve everything I want. New graphics card, memory and screens would probably cost half the price of a new “kit”, but I suspect that I need more processing power..which would mean a new motherboard….this is as much jargon to me as it is to you.. I can drive but don’t really know or care what’s under the bonnet..type. So it seems reasonable to invest in something new.. I have looked at new Pc’s , custom made, Dell and HP all seem suitable and easily reach £1000. I am not a laptop type of person, there is something to petite and fragile about them..and I prefer to leave the work on my desk rather than even have the possibility of it being able to follow me. I saw the new Imac last week. I didn’t even consider it a contender.. to pricey, wont run my current programmes, not an equivalent spec. Wrong. I am sure I am wading into the Mac vs Pc battle, the eternal struggle of good vs evil, but I was impressed. It does what I want. I can have my software reissued as Mac licenses, I can run windows programmes and it is not that much more expensive. It is also a beautiful machine and the number of cables is at least halved as everything is in the “monitor”. But perhaps the most attractive bit.. is the actual screen. It is virtually 3D in its definition it is stunning and vivid and everything I want a screen to be.. did I mention it is also big..29”. All of this is by way of an introduction to the saga that will slowly play out as I balance what is most suitable for me. I’ll keep you updated.

Life as a garden designer can be lonely. Working in a larger/ shared office or business unit can help but its not a luxury that many can extend to and I certainly cant. So a converted room it is and despite the hundreds of friendly, unsolicited calls I get everyday it is still essentially a job that involves a silent conversation between my head and a piece of paper, whether on the drawing board or in the PC. Getting out to the local Society of Garden Designers group meeting used to be a way to share at least some experiences. I am not a big fan of week day meetings for such things, as they invariably distract from my work and always seem to coincide with some work that can’t be delayed and whilst professional development is important, time out, unpaid, is a luxury. I prefer occasional weekend workshops and I have seen several on the Society of Garden Designers schedule. I was at one this Saturday. The first for a while and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The chance to meet other designers is always a pleasure. A friend from a different profession once told me that he measures the success of a profession by how much individuals are willing to share with each other. I agree with him. It is pointless holding onto knowledge and very satisfying when burdened with a problem to have lots of support and suggestions. Robin Templar Williams was a motivating speaker. He frequently was distracted away from his subject (impossible sloping sites) by questions on other aspects of his projects or attitudes to design. All of which demonstrated the depth of his knowledge and made for a very rich day’s discussion.
Once you have attained membership of the Society of Garden Designers, you are there for life, if you behave of course. Whilst being a member is something that I am proud of and forever grateful to have achieved, I find that I want more knowledge and to improve myself and how I work. Time, money and distance prevent me and I should guess, many others from becoming a workshop-oholic. I do regret not being able to do more. Looking at other professions, I wonder if there is not something we, as garden and landscape designers cannot learn or adopt. Without dwelling on the details nor without trying to consider all circumstances, I would like to see a requirement for CPD (continuous professional development), based possibly on attending workshops..5 workshops over a 2 year period for instance; or reassessment every few years
It would be an incentive and perhaps make us learn, when, speaking for myself I know I can be a bit lazy and find excuses not to do things.

The Chelsea Show GArden from earlier this year is featured again in this month's Garden Deisgn Journal. Its not a large article and whilst it claimed to "get under the skin of Chelsea designers" it really failed to deliver. So if you were looking for some insight as to how the concrete features and design eveolved, then you wont find it here. Shame really as if the author had given me a call I would have been more than happy to supply information. However it has given me the motivation to write on technical matters and I am pleased to say that my first articles will be for the Garden Design Journal. They wont be published until spring next year and of corse rely on me actually writing them; but I am commited.

Something else that was new this last week was that I took up my role on the Society of Garden Designers Adjudication Committee. I recall the effort and heartache of preparing for my own membership and then day of the adjudication in front of a panel of three was awful. I sympathised with those we saw. It was fascinating to see other people's progress and approach and whilst I joined the panel to try to bring some presence for membership in the Society back to the North West Region of the UK, I realise that I will learn a lot and it can only make my own work better.

It has been a while since I last posted, so I need to catch up with just about everything. It has been fairly quiet, with only a few new enquiries. I think that I have a panic around this time every year. The new year seems to appear like a cliff to which we are driving. I wonder what we will do in the, what happens when the current work is completed and if the phone will ever ring again. In truth, I like to think I should be so busy that I neither know what day it is nor have time to worry about anything other than getting drawings completed and suppliers hounded. We had eight projects on last month and some will continue over and demand time for the rest of the year. It was to many and for the past few weekends it has been bliss to close the office door and stop answering the phone at 5pm on a Friday, not even looking at emails until the following Monday. There is a balance between panic and productivity and getting a few schemes finalised by the end of the year is better than chasing a dozen continually round in circles.
Our Chelsea Show garden has hit the rocks. We have a sponsor eager and waiting, however they are only able to provide half of the amount we need to put on the garden. I have lost count of the letters, calls and conversations we have made and so far, to no avail. Last year things went to the wire, having decided to withdraw from the show, I delayed contacting the RHS until after we’d had a weekend away. It was whilst in a down pour in a muddy garden in Granada in late January, that a sponsor called and the deal was done. We are optimistic.
The number of followers of this blog have recently doubled! So thank you to you both! I am hoping to start adding some more content and links to some of the resources and sites I use frequently.
WWW.shedworking.co.uk is somewhere I recently stumbled on whilst looking for inspiration for a custom shed for a client. Well worth a look if only for the effort and dedication people put into their sheds.. but somehow I think these are sheds in name only….

I grew up with Lego. It is an endearing and familiar part of my childhood, multicolour castles and space ships longer than my bed. Through the children I have been able to relive my childhood joy of building; on wet days last Christmas we played Lego Olympics; who could build a set in the quickest time, who made the best space ship from the spares box (it’s a big box, created by the need to constantly replace bits that mysteriously disappeared). I resort to Lego sometimes to build bits for gardens. Despite the efficiency of 3D cad and the speed with which I can model a space to the closest millimetre, there is something more essential in a model, of seeing the space for real (even if it’s in miniature). I have just noticed that Lego have started to make architectural models..The one that attracted me is “Falling water” a model of the Frank Lloyd Wright house. It’s not available in the UK yet but I am sure it will be. It’s a thinly veiled way to get enthusiastic about a toy.

Before leaving for our summer holiday, I submitted my design for next year’s Chelsea Flower Show- urban garden. (That is the middle sized 7x5m gardens). We have just been informed that the design has been accepted (it will appear on the website this week, promise!). The contractor has been working on costings and plant lists have been issued. It’s a huge relief to get the thumbs up from the RHS, however the elation lasted about 30 secs as the realisation then hits that it will never be realised unless we get sponsorship. So now we are calling, writing, and selling the design , to get the funding in place. Last year we were scrambling around in late January for funds ( its was a very "tight" year), so whilst it should feel more relaxed this year, the truth is that knowing what is coming makes it even more of a priority to get it sorted as soon as possible.

We never plant between July and September. Nursery stock is in full growth, plants are easily damaged and transport costs go up as stock is naturally at its largest. The weather is unpredictable and a dry spell will annihilate plants struggling to come to terms with their new home. This July however we were forced to plant two gardens. Circumstances meant that the stock was ready and both clients promised they would accept the risks and be able to water their gardens daily. That hardly seems to have been necessary in hindsight, but I can happily report that both gardens are lush and full of vigour. I think that there has been only one fatality, and the effect is that the gardens look like I might have expected them to, next year. I still don’t intend to make a habit of planting midsummer but whilst it’s been a season for us to tdream of hot Valencian gardens, the plants there would wish they were here.

Alton
As reward for a day being dragged around plants and parks, the family “fee” was for me to be dragged around roller coasters. The day after Trentham we travelled sideways a bit and parked up at Alton Towers. I get more enjoyment from watching roller coasters and seeing how they are built than from riding them and I personally don’t relish long queues for 15 secs of thrill. Alistair shot off whilst Jane and I meandered across the park. We found ourselves in the “derelict” house (that is slowly being renovated) it is huge and the chapel has a ceiling that was very unexpected. There is a formal lawn with clipped “bells” and it seems a quiet haven from the park, barely a few metres away. The integration of the ‘coasters into the landscape is very good, although moving about the park can be frustrating as signage and directions are “loose” The highlight, for me at least was the valley garden and in particular the old glass house. I don’t think that I have ever come across a more photogenic structure. The lantern glass is missing and falling out, the paint is peeling off frames, the interior stonework stained in rust and soil, the colours are muted and earthly and you could probably spend all day peering in at windows. Around this structure (and I hope that any restoration is subtle rather than a full reconditioning) is a series of terraces and lawned areas set into the valley side. The planting is only noteworthy for the clipped arches, almost Alice in wonderland-esque. What was impressive was the stone work. The steps, walls and transitions from vertical to horizontal. It is intricate and engineered. The masons did not resort to cumbersome blocks but carved their own pieces for the Lego set that was used to construct the beds. The stone work is understated and sublime and probably mostly overlooked. If you are there, take time and admire workmanship that we are very unlikely to see or afford again.

I have been pencilling a visit to Trentham for a few years, but being a few hours away for us it’s always fallen off the calendar in favour of days out with less petrol. I have tried to avoid creating any expectations, I hate superfluous reviews and being influenced by someone else’s agenda, so knowing that I was going and how to get there was about as much research as we did. The entrance is well disguised amongst the mini shopping village. Big, much bigger than I expected and the plants were impressive. I saw virtually my whole plant portfolio assembled before me and not just used singularly but how they should be planted, en masse. Stipa gigantea were back lit by the sun and created golden explosions in the Italian garden. It was a stunning effect. The garden, at least the planted areas, is divided into two main areas, the Italian, geometric beds and the “flower maze” of irregular beds. This area worked better for me. The planting was on a more human scale and the perennials more varied. There were great combinations and rhythms of colour (there were also very jarring arrangements of colour/ form, or are they intentional juxtapositions?) Definitely the right time to visit, I would like to return in winter and on an overcast day, the strong sunlight did not help my pictures.

Just south of Madrid is a small town, Aranjuez. Built around a royal palace and of course its gardens. It was astonishing to wander through and encounter less than 10 other tourists. The principle gardens are large but monotonous, comprising of long avenues punctuated with fountains, most of which were switched off. In their prime they would have been stunning, but the box hedging now looks tired and the overhead canopy is so dense that whilst it gives welcome shade the falling leaves and shadow are killing the effect below. (The effect as it was probably attended is better seen in Valencia, at Jardines de Real (Viveros) - lots of arty hedge clipping. The approach to the entrance of the palace is through a vast square. Some attempt at a contemporary border has been made at one end but sadly it has been neglected and looks beyond repair, however, opposite this is a gateway through into a large courtyard and if you like lavender it is worth the diversion. I have seen it when in flower as well as later in the summer, and when in flower it is stunning. Huge beds of chest high plants radiate from the square’s simple centre, a simple but striking use of repetition and rhythm.

Within Valencia itself there are numerous small gardens. The botanic gardens are worthy of a stop for an hour or so. 5 mins walk from the river bed gardens, and budget busting €1 entry. They are easy to miss as the entrance is through a lobby that actually houses the gardens researchers. Most botanic gardens in Spain are weary, parched, neglected, devoid of plants and inspiration. Stray cats stalk you and you quickly realise that you came at the wrong time to see anything alive. Like many the botanic garden in Valencia is divided into section (water plants/ grasses etc) but the difference here is that virtually everything was lush, beds were full, plants recognisable and the whole space a pleasure to be in. The boundary walls of bamboo were superb, the cactus and agave area was excellent and obviously a work of passion. A well spent €1 (tip, at the entrance lobby.. look up!)
www.jardibotanic.org

I love driving in Spain. Despite most “motorways” only having two lanes they are much more relaxed and courteous. But it’s not the roads that enchant me it’s the scenery. Whether intimate verges full of plants we can only dream of growing, fields of weeds like fennel, hills full of sun flowers or whole days of only driving through olive trees. (How do they harvest so many trees?) One year we drove for over 100kms and saw only olives, estimating a spacing of 10-15m apart.. that was a lot of trees!
We had never been to the East coast of Spain, so having spent a few days on the outskirts of Madrid, drove over to Valencia. The greenness of the area is striking. The olive gives way to the orange (and lemon) the soil is like copper and it’s hot. Family protests meant my time indulging in wandering through anything that looked green was limited (I’m not the kind of guy to abandon them to pursue a pleasure). But we saw a lot and they slept well after. Through the centre of Valencia runs a strip of greenery, the turia river bed gardens. It’s actually more than a river bed, as the soil level seems to have been raised considerably in order to build it, but it is approx 400m wide and 9km long. Comprising of a series of set pieces, open colonnades with fountains, tennis courts, open lawns, rows of palms and innumerable water features (all of which were working) it is a breath taking achievement and very well constructed. The plants looked great and well watered, there was no vandalism that we saw, and it was patrolled by mounted police and exuded a feeling of pleasure and security. I could have spent all day there. We probably only walked 1/3 of the length, from the old town to the science park. At the harbour end of Turia are several buildings that immediately place you on a different world. They are huge, dwarfing and immaculate. Surrounded by water and very novel planters, Cypress grow in donuts within the ponds, pennisetum grasses spill from planters, an elevated walkway has palms and shrubs, all in lawned and green landscaping. The whiteness of the structures hurts the eyes and the scale boggles. The Turia must rank as one of the world’s greatest parks.

You may have seen the work of Su Blackwell as it's been featured in a few newspapers recently. Its beautiful and I love the underlying rule that what comes off the page has to have been there to start with, no paper is added. What drew me to this piece was that I have just finished making a scale model of our submission for Chelsea 2010 and had to make two trees. I used straws, and they were pathetic. However I had seen my model as something to help me work with and resolve the design and it has evolved a bit during and since I made it. I like the idea of it being almost a piece of sculpture, but I won't be remaking mine and I will just look in awe at how good a paper tree can look.

The submission for Chelsea went off today. Comprising 5 sheets of drawings outlining what the design is about and 4 sets of forms. The RHS are very methodical and all design work has to have an accompanying brief, costing information, statement of ecological consideration and of course a general application form.

To try and demystify the process of show gardens and dissolve the impression that they seemingly appear every May on a field in Chelsea, I will describe the process of putting a show garden together.

Of the forms mentioned, the trickiest (for me at least) is the one that asks for the brief behind the submitted garden. What this means is that in the absence of a "real" client, you are required to pretend that the garden has been designed for someone/ some organisation and therefore write down what is in it and why. You might think that a blank canvas is a godsend however in practice what it does is give you an unlimited amount of rope to hang yourself, or at least your design with. The design submitted is judged not only on its aesthetic value but on what is described in the brief. These forms are dusted off next May, when the garden is judged and a critical team appraise the built garden against what you said you would do and what you thought it might look like. There is scope for modification between now and next year but not to much. Changing materials, minor plants is fine, so long as you keep the RHS team informed. Last year when I had to substitute a tree for a shrub, for budget reasons, it was considered to change to the horticultural merit of the garden and meant several emails and calls to reach a compromise. One form asks for the garden to be costed, difficult at this stage as most of the design of water features etc is still a little vague. So "ball-park" figures are given. The design has already had the input of contractors and labour and general building materials have been estimated. The contractor is provisionally booked for the Show. All this is before the RHS actually announce the designs that have been accepted. There is a lot of commitment and effort and in a few months, we might be told that it has all been in vain. For those of you that like to measure things, I have just past the 100hrs mark for time put into this design.

Listening to visitors to Chelsea and other shows, there is a perception that "this year plant schemes should be white and green" or that one plant is in fashion because its seen on several garden ,so more than two occurrences = a trend. Firstly there is no collusion between designers and so any plants that are seen are the individual decisions of those designers. As you now know, those decisions , for me at least and I know that several of the large gardens have also been designed, have already been made. I know what my plant list is (it will appear on the website when I am back from holiday). Coincidence and probability will ensure that some of my decisions are the same as somebody else's, but my decisions are not quite as straightforward as what is best for the garden. Plants for shows, and in particular for the Show Gardens at Chelsea are supplied by a rather small group of very professional and expert nurseries and growers. Having received plant list they will advise on what they can obtain and nurture for the show. If lots of gardens want aquiligeas, they may obtain a limited selection in great quantities and then play with batches of them , holding some back, leaving some outside, hothousing others to ensure enough are in bloom for the show. Despite a specific request we may all only get Ruby Port for instance, which is what seems to have happened this year. It wasn't a trend just market forces. As designers we also tend to bias our selections to plants that we think will be reliably in bloom for the show, which again limits palates. despite what others are doing, my palate for 2010 is moving towards mauves and whites with some deep blues. I wanted a "warm garden for a warming climate" however, having just been prevented from leaving the office due to torrential hail (in July!!) I am doubting if such a scheme is ever going to see the weather to realise its potential.

The work of landscape artist Andres Amador, San Fransisco. I immediately want to convert this into a plant plan. Its almost like reptile skin. His website has lots more: www.andresamador.net

This is a stunning combination. Stipa Gigantea and digitalis ferruginea, that have grown absolutely straight, almost looking like foxtail lillies, below them is sanguisorba tanna and cirsium riv. (cut down now)These digitalis were planted as 1L plants 13 months ago. This is a combination that I will be using in my Chelsea garden for the rear wall.

After a cleanup and a bit of rain, the small garden we have been working on is just about complete. Just a few small details to finish but you'd not notice unless told. The fence panels will hopefully get replaced this autumn. For your information this is a 60m sq garden and 30 msq is given over to the deck/ patio and paths.

The poor weather and some tricky detailing on the staircase we are building at home kept us away from the RHS Flower Show at Tatton. However the time at home was well spent and here at last is the Chelsea garden entry for next year. I have computer modelled it; however I thought it needed something more. The computer doesn’t really do plants justice and they take up so much memory that it gets very frustrating. So I built a scale model (1:25) of the garden. It was originally white but the family voted in favour of adding the necessary textures, taken off the computer model. But how to do plants. I had been relying on the local toy shop to have some train type trees and things that enthusiasts use to create mini landscapes. They didn’t and I was stuck, until I found a box of unused straws. Needs must and on a wet Sunday afternoon I took a sharp knife to the straws and the tips of my fingers…its passable, in a Blue Peter sort of way but was very therapeutic. Of greatest benefit was the time I had to spend thinking about how to cut card and build features. I realised some things need altering and the design has evolved a little. Despite promising the website is still not updated and I don’t think that it will be now until late August. We are off on holiday later this week, absolutely definitely as the expired passport was sorted out by an emergency dash to Liverpool Passport Office where there was a queue of similarly stressed families. I will post some observations on Valencian gardens when I get back.

Hedgerows and verges are suddenly spectacular. I must stop the car at least once a day to look at, identify and photograph a verge, island or hedgerow. I love grasses and umblifiers and would happily develop a planting scheme based on some of these “native” collections, however where I see native, clients might see “weeds” and I sympathise with having a planting scheme that looks not to dissimilar to what is on the side of the road. That said there is something dramatic about huge blocks of grasses, achillea, acres of oxe-eye daisies and even the humble dandelion when planted en masse. Some schemes are man made, annually. A pair of roundabouts on the edge of town are stripped and resown every year. Early mornings with a low sun, make them a stunning spectacle. This year (so far) it is a predominantly red poppy scheme. Most roundabouts are wild with a mown perimeter, so such colourful daubs are all the more effective and unexpected.

Tatton Flower Show is on this week. I have been asked so many times if we have a garden there, no, sorry. We did Chelsea in May and one show a year is enough, really! I recorded the time spent getting this year's garden together for Chelsea and it was over 250hrs, without actually being at the show. That equates to approx 7 weeks of work. That is a lot of late nights and time away from other things. I don't think I'd remain married if I did two show gardens. So one is enough. As the Chelsea deadline is looming I am not going to be able to get to Tatton even as a visitor unfortunately. We are on holiday at the end of next week and (fortunately?) found out that one of the passports had expired.. so the only solution is to spend Saturday down at the passport office in Liverpool.. maybe SSunday????

So where do garden designers go on holiday, isn’t most of their work a holiday anyway? Well yes I do love what I do, and it does take me to some unexpected and beautiful places, but almost always the places I visit are part of the duty of care and responsibility I give to my projects. Whether researching a planting scheme, visiting a nursery or discussing the supply/ source of materials. Choosing where to go for please is trickier. Trying to balance family desires, budget and of course a constant curiosity for how they do things in other places. Visiting Spain last year I embarrassed my wife by suddenly pulling off a road and parking suddenly, jumping out and photographing a verge side. It was astonishing, tall grasses, fennel, white alliums in profusion, and all in a dusty strip next to an awful smelling gutter. I had of course parked across the entrance a seemingly abandoned field whose owner chose that very moment to return. Despite knowing less than 5 words of Spanish, I managed to make out “loco”. By the way I’m not revealing where this verge was... I hope to use it in a planting scheme! You don’t always have to go to nature for inspiration... sometimes it comes to you. So it will be the same again this year. We are back to Spain, Valencia.. Oh and coincidentally it does seem to have some gardens that look interesting...well whilst there it would be a shame not to…

It happened over the weekend. I have been jotting down notes and ideas, schemes and doodles for a design for next year’s Chelsea Flower Show, since... oh the day after this year’s. I had decided to start drawing them up. My process was to simply take an idea, randomly “mate” it to another idea and see if I could make a garden that “functioned”, however well or bad the result. This is done on paper. The computer whilst allowing a 3D form to be quickly built imposes too much limitation on geometry and has no “soul” it is this elusive emotion that I was searching for. I think I developed twelve schemes, non complete and some rather simplistic. Design shouldn’t be a reclusive occupation and I wanted some friends and the family to have a say and who better than to shoot you down nicely... better now than in a year’s time!

Having developed the sketch ideas I then spent the better part of a very rainy Sunday modelling them in the computer. I find that presenting concepts as sketches can lead to some bias, the scheme is judged not on its merits but on which is the better sketch. The computer also allows for multiple angles of views so ideas can be explained. I dutifully printed off the first 6 and stuck them onto the drawing board…talked my audience through them...my teenage son kept proceedings short, stopping me half way through my explanation of a concrete reinforced arch..”I like no 4” and that was it. I imagined a little bit more of a ceremony but by consensus no4 it is. I should also say that preferred the same design.

So what next?
Well you are probably curious to see what project code-name-no-4 actually looks like. I am updating the website this coming weekend and last year’s Chelsea details will come down and make way for next year’s. We haven’t got there yet though. The submission deadline is two weeks away. The RHS panel have to select the gardens to be built from the hundreds submitted, so we may not even get selected… and then there is the sponsorship. We need to start looking and asking and selling the garden. Probably the hardest part of the whole venture and it doesn’t get any easier. I will record the work we are undertaking to move the garden along. You’ll hear me shout for joy and curse. Bringing a garden to fruition is, however a joy, working with skilled contractors and crafts people, to realise the dream that emerged out of my head this weekend is quite humbling. That such a few scribbles on a page in a rather small note book can initiate so much effort and commitment….I am very lucky to be able to do this.

I have been full of good intensions, to get out and see more gardens. I had listed places and dates, researched when particular places might be at their best. But like any well intentioned expedition into the British summer, the weather has made the excuses for me. The National Garden scheme is in full flow, I weekly regret those that I miss and will have to wait another year to see. There has been a lot of work on recently and little chance to escape for a few hours of personal indulgence. The summer holiday is quickly approaching and it acts like a barrier, work is being squeezed up against it and hopefully delayed and outstanding work can be cleared before we go to sunnier places. If I am honest, there is a paradox in visiting gardens; I don’t get much out of seeing other outdoor spaces. I don’t want to be influenced by how someone else has solved a problem, plant combinations are influenced by a location and don’t relocate well and I want to give my client’s a unique solution not an ensemble of other people’s work. Yet I still love the experience, the peace and calmness, the ambience and sense of escape. I won’t stop going, I will have favourites and ones that I dislike and I will talk about them here, just don’t expect too many! I play in other people’s garden all week, even at weekends sometimes. Doing the same for pleasure sometimes pushes the family to distraction.
In less than 2 weeks the designs for 2010’s Chelsea Flower Show have to be in. I am still perusing potential sponsors and at this time of the year not many seem to be interested in something that is almost a year away. Currently I have 12 designs on the drawing board…well actually they are printouts, taped to the drawing board. Choosing which one to develop further will be a task that will require some additional opinion, so I might do a bit of a straw poll amongst friends. Something I have recently bought is Adobe Acrobat 9- extended. It has an amazing feature called 3d-PDF, which allows a 3D computer file to be placed into a STD PDF file. When the file is opened the Computer model can be rotated and zoomed, but without any additional software or viewers. I have sent simple files to clients who are getting used to it, but for collaborative things like show gardens where I need opinions from widely distributed people it is a god send.. I am still working out how to get it working on the website.. So look back once in a while.

I like geometry. I like things to be aligned and in rows, proportioned and accurate. Sometimes this can lead to detailing that is redundant but nevertheless it is still satisying to appreciate well considered lines either in a completed project or in someone else's work. Our first trip to the Alhambra General Life gardens in Granada was little more than a blur. I had heard about even researched a little, but the reality is astonishing. I never tire of seeing it and we try to see it as often as we can. The Moorish and Islamic geometry around which these garden are constructed is deceptively simple and very serene. My brother and I grew up, entertaining ourselves on Saturday afternoons above the shop in which our parents worked, colouring in huge line drawings of intricate patterns. These I now realise were my first experience of lattice work and from which I derived great satisfaction with my felt pens. I had wanted to try and create my own and have a few texts explaining the geometry and principles of construction. Don't bother. I came across this website and a far more patient and talented mind than mine has saved me the trouble and produced something that I wish I could. An Arabic geometric lattice creator. Its worth the effort to download. Its even more satisfying to see the tiles in situ around one of the greatest gardens in the world; word of advise, if you do go..book your tickets online before you leave as entry is restricted and you are unlikely to be able to turn up and get in.

http://www.cgl.uwaterloo.ca/~csk/washington//taprats/.

The weather was intermittant this weekend but held off enough for us to finally finish the decking on the small garden. Notice the glass panels are now in between the oak uprights. This has the effect of making the space seem bigger than before it was installed. Is it because it gives the eye something to stop at, or is it that phenomena that still suprises me: when a house/ garden plan is laid out on the ground it appears small, sometimes unrealistic and always underwhelming. yet as soon as the verticals, the walls or hedges are added the space increases and we can relate to it. We didn't get it tidy enough to have a celebration BBQ..perhaps next weekend. Four weekends, start to finish, quite a result I think.

Its been a bit of a worry, however the olive tree in our garden has finally broken bud and is looking lush. We went to a lot of trouble to select this tree and had feared that being so far north it might be to wet and get a battering. So despite a rather late start its reassuring to know that it is happy; also being the only plant in our courtyard,reassuring to know we won' be looking at an expensive bundle of twigs.

The Leica D-lux4 is a beautiful little camera. I love the understated design. The case is exquisiteand the LCD screen as good as an iphone's.. oh and it takes superb pictures

It usually happens at this time of the year. The publicity fromChelsea starts appearing and with comes a steady flow of applications. There seem to have been more than usual this year. Perhaps the down turn has meant there are less jobs available for those seeking, perhaps we have a slightly higher profile. Firstly I would like to thank all those who have applied, the interest and effort given is flattering, especially when some of those writing for a potential position are doing so from the USA, Japan, Spain as well as closer to home. I would love to be able to meet with every person who contacts us but the reality of our business is that whilst there are some great months when we are working all hours there are others when things have a more casual flow, and whilst additional staff could easily be busy it would be work that is difficult to charge for. We protect our cash flow and it is unfortunate that this means that we must keep our overheads low and at present that must mean that we cannot have the luxury of more designers. I frequently wonder how it would be to share projects. I work to quite a strict routine on projects; would another head make it more efficient, would we compliment or antagonise each other, how could I make room in my office now that I have learnt to spread everywhere.

The weekend garden I have been helping on is close to completion. However the final detailing is taking longer because I am a perfectionist and measure everything three times and cogitate far to much over large mugs of tea or Pimms.

We are at the decking stage. The plants are in and looking perkier than when they were in pots..its not a good time to transplant but I thought it was worth liberating them as they would get better care in the ground. The delivered wood was (of course) supplied in totally different lengths than that ordered, which took a whole evening and several mugs to work out the new cuts & the adjustments to the subdeck structure. But it once it started to go down the whole character of the garden changed. The final scheme will feature on the website when its finsihed but for now here are a few transitional shots.

The weather has been kind and this last weekend saw our "big push" to get the majority of the work done on a garden being built for some friends. I do not normally get involved in the construction of the schemes that I design, I invariably get in the way, have far to many opinions and quickly get frustrated that it isn't happening the way I had foreseen. I am better resolving the details and getting on with the next piece of work. However, this garden has an ulterior motive, I'll get to use it. designed in an afternoon over a beer and built on the following three weekends; it has been a social occasion as much as a labour of friendship. Wives children and dogs helped to move 7 tons of soil, plant over 200 plants and consume two jugs of Pimms. Backs and shoulders are throbbing today but almost expressed as old war wounds might be , with a sense of pride and hopefully the trigger to reveal a starring role.

Three new enquiries this week, all are going to be planting biased projects I think. Interestingly all spoke about potentially moving within the next few years but still have the desire to make the most of their gardens between now and then. I think for the first time people are willing to wait. Current project commitments mean I cant start any new work until late August/ Sept but everybody has found this seems to fit in with their own plans. Its hard not to think about projects when I have seen them and been commissioned, so I do keep a sketch book going to jot down notes and ideas as they occur. I also quite like a long lead in to the start of a design, the preparation, the consideration of what sources and references I might use, researching, obtaining materials and probably most importantly planning the work so that it gets completed as anticipated.

I mentioned that I would start to tell you about the things that I like, as disparate and unconnected as they might appear to gardens. They are where I get my inspiration from, or are simply my enthusisms for the products of someone else's thinking

I read RJ Ellory's "A Quiet Belief in Angels" recently. Not a subject I would typically be attracted to but a crafted and very well told story. His blog is also worth reading.

Senz "Storm" umbrella. An elegant and striking design. The science behind it is impressive but what is most impressive for me is the redesign of something so common place.

The smell of oak, cutting it (or rather attempting to cut it, because its not easy) reminded me of how "homely" oak smells, almost yeasty, bread like. But then there are several smells that can drag me back in time; creosote (school sports day), cocoa butter (instructing on Camp America), 2-stroke engine oil (my father stripping motorbike engines on the dining room table)........

Technology defeated me. Whilst at Chelsea I thought that the updates and "tweets" from my mobile would be published on this Blog; however they never appeared and it seemed like to much effort to add the information retrospectively. So, we'll start again. Our work for Chelsea 2010 has already started so I will drop in the occassional note about progress. In May I was featured in Home and Garden, for a Steel pergola I designed, oh about 3 yrs ago. Its really strange that something that I thought a decent idea has come back again and is only now getting some attention. This month, the Chelsea Show garden is featured on the cover of the Garden design Journal. Not a particularly popular rag, but the Journal of the Society of Garden Designers. Sometimes you dont know what your ambitions are until you achieve them! I have put a link to the Society of Garden Designers on my front page, although the Journal is only mentioned in passing on their site (click on the SGD Logo).
Concept design work has just about finished on two small gardens and subject to final approval from the clients, I hope to start work on the detail design this week. I will add pictures as work progresses.
Three new clients visited over the last few days. It is difficult at this time of year to manage expectations. The weather, Chelsea, thoughts of holidays seem to incline people towards their gardens. Its the best time to be out in it, but it is not the best time to want to change it. We get many calls from people who must have their garden ready for the end of July or August at the latest. It is difficult to apply common sense when their desire is so strong. That the design can take several weeks, that identifying and getting a contractor to visit and cost even longer. The dream of a new garden in time for the next slot of prolonged sunshine suddenly starts heading to the horizon and the enthusiasm is replaced by resentment for daring to crush their dream. Which is not what we are about, garden designers are "dream makers" we try to make real what people want and what they didn't know they wanted. But we have to be realistic. Decisions made in haste make waste.
I came across the work of Angela Palmer (sculptor) yesterday. She uses layered glass with "slices" of images to create almost 3D sketches of her subjects. I really like the layering of materials, its a very theatrical technique and probably the one I use most in my work. Thomas Heatherwick uses it brilliantly in things like the Longchamp store entrance and his beach cafe. It also reminds me of architectural models where contours are achieved with slices of materials.
I will start to record my influences, inspirations and generally just the things I like; whether design work, literature, film, food or web. And I will post several times a week.

The concrete sections have finally been installed. There was a problem with the logistics of loading and unloading which resulted in the lifting gear having to be returned to site for an additional half a day and therefore at additional expense. Hopefully the last unplanned for incident. The forms look good, however the moulding process has resulted in a colour variation that is not desired. It seems the preferred fabric used for the casting was used up half way through their build and an alternative, whilst appearing similar, has for some reason create a variation in the colour. It seems that we will have to paint the concrete in a special wash, designed for this very problem..so what I said about no more unforseen problems, lets hope tomorrow goes to plan.

The result of the delayed installation of the concrete is a day's delay to the living wall panels that fiit to the vertical walls between the concrete sections. They are expected tomorrow and should soften up the space

Chelsea Build day 1

Well it started today, apparently. I have been asked, kindly by Angus, the contractor to not bother turning up until the plants are due. Its quite a wrench to trust someone to build something that has developed a personality over the last 6 months; to give them the control over its delivery. But I do trust them, all. The plant suppliers at Aldingbourne, the concrete formers at the University of East London. They trust me to have designed something with integrity and communicated to them the necessary dimensions and drawings for parts to be built, now I hope that they all fit. Its a frustration to hear of progress from the other end of a phone, but even if I was there, and last year I was, there is actually little that I could do. Point a bit, shout, wave my hands and try to doodle my way out of a problem. Its best this way and there is so much new work coming in that I need to remember who the clients are and keep my promises.

A test cast from last week

Chelsea plants

This is a planted panel for the Chelsea Garden, these will be moved vertically in the next week There are five of these panels consisting of about 2000 plants, mostly grasses and a ferns. These have been grown at Aldingbourne Nurseries near Chichester and we had what was probably the last team meeting before the show. Steve McIntyre at the nursery assures us that the small plants will catch up and that the frame work will be invisible. I wish that we had photographed it being planted and been able to track its progress. All of the concrete sections have been cast and so far no accidents or problems. I have not seen them yet so its a little like waiting for Christmas, until the photos are released. After visiting Aldingbourne I was in need of a coffee and leg stretch, its a long way from Lancsashire. The choice at the Fontwell rounderbout, barely a mile away was..a Little Chef or Denmans Garden. I chose the garden, you knew I would. It was delightfully empty and has a great cafe. Even better was that whilst wandering John Brookes himself came past. I nervously introduced myself and he seemed glad of the breather from moving barrow-loads of lopped branches. Its a warm, sheltered site and things there are probably three weeks in advance of us at home. I did wonder what it is like there on Race Days?

Whilst visiting a potential new client earlier this week, I casually asked where they had heard of us...and was presented with a picture of our work in thsi month's House and Garden magazine (may 09). It's not a large item, a photo of a project I designed a few years ago and part of a larger article on pergolas and arches. But it thrilling to be featured and even more thrilling to have had an enquirey from it.

The warm weather continues and we have at last had the courage to open up our glass doors into the garden. The sun sets on the rear of our house and its almost a feeling of transportation to another climate when we can throw open the doors and move between the garden and house freely. As you can see the internal and external floor levels have been made the same. ours is a tiny space but we still manage to have a pair of loungers and I really like the fact that they have to be half in half out of the lounge itself. (forgive the black hose coming out of the wall - the water feature should have arrived by now.. but its taking a bit longer to manufacture than expected, I'll show a picture when its installed)

I was advised today hat the internal forms for the concrete sections in the show garden have been built at the University if East London. The forms themselves will be cast this week. so here's hoping that they work first time! Hope to have some pictures later in the week.
It must be the seasonal air, Chelsea on the horizon or just the seemingly perpetual sun (well almost)..but we have started to get a decent even steady flow of new enquiries. Whilst it has been quiet of late, it has actually been useful in getting some old work tidied up, files archived and a bit more experienced on some software. We are now almost confident on Sketchup, photoshop, vectorworks, piranesi. artlantis and Pro engineer, for those of you who might be curious. It is difficult tp become very proficient on all as some are really useful only some of the time. The drawing board is getting to be a little dusty. I love standing at it and creating plans, evolving patterns and interlacing lines, but it doesn't get the absue it should, but its still to emotive to surrende entirely to the computer.

There are less weeks than I care to count to the Chelsea Flower Show.
Our contractor (Scoatscape ltd) seems remarkabley sanguine about the task ahead and I trust him implicitly. I heard today that the internal frame work for the concrete wall/ floor sections have just about been finished at Edinburgh University and are due to be delivered to the University of East London on Monday, where thay will be cast into the concrete sections over te next week or so. I hope to have some pictures.
The plants are being supplied by Aldingbourne Nurseries in Chichester, and so far all sounds well there. We are meeting to inspect/ poke/ prod and otherwise tut over them next friday. It doesnt feel like I'm doing my job unless I have something to worry about.
We are struggling to find some suitable furniture to use on the garden. We did find one or two new suppliers today but the classic suppliers of chaise lounge(s) have all so far failed to respond.

the website has been updated to include a copy of the Show Garden Leaflet and it will remain there for about a month after the show. I have also added a link from the website to this blog.

Thanks for stopping by. This is our first blog site, and it has started as an addition to the new website. (paulhensey.com). My own name has started to become a little better known than that of the company's (Elysium) and so it was decided to rebrand the website under my own name. The name Elysium has also started to cause some fun. Whilst we have registered the name Elysium Design Ltd, it hasn't stopped others from trading as Elysium and suspiciously there have suddenly appeared a few Chinese companies with a desire to trade under the name, with what, we'll have to see.