Tuesday 17 November 2009


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.

Sunday 8 November 2009


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.