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.