Lush Landscape & Garden Design

The C-word

Anna — Sun, 05 Sep 2010 18:02:15 +0000

Now that the nights are drawing in and any hope of an Indian summer has long since departed, I thought I’d share with you a tale from our early years. So gather round, but bear in mind that in order to do this I cannot avoid using the C-word. Brace yourselves.

Here we go… I’m sorry to bring this up, but did you know there are only 110 days to go until Christmas?

There, I said it! But unlike a lot of self-employed business folk, to me Christmas means some time to ease off the throttle a bit. And after the year we’ve had I can’t wait!

It wasn’t always like this. During my first year of self-employed garden designer status, Christmas came as a bit of a surprise. It dawned upon me one day in October that if I didn’t act, and act sharpish, there would be nothing to put on the festive dinner table, let alone under the tree.

Thinking laterally has always been one of our strong points, so it was not long before one of us hit upon the merry idea of branching out into the Christmas Wreath business. But not the cheap plastic tat you see in the shops – ours were to be a much better class of wreath altogether. We broke open a new spreadsheet, rang around for prices, and before long we had ordered vast quantities of wholesale ribbon, tinsel, dried fruit and assorted glittery bric a brac, as well as an equally vast selection of fake and fresh wreaths. We even went to the lengths of purchasing festive paper bags to pack them in, and to sell our creations we booked a last minute slot at the prestigious Shugborough Christmas Candlelit Evenings, at Shugborough Hall in Staffordshire.

October turned into November, and the office of Lush Landscape and Garden Design were transformed into a wreath-making sweat shop. In a flurry of hot glue guns and wire we created a multitude of wreaths, swags and holiday garlands. We gave the produce a trial run at a local village Christmas Fayre, and after three long hours took about £50. Not a great return on our investment. But we knew that with Shugborough just around the corner it was only a matter of time before we made some real money.

I don’t know if you have ever been to the Shugborough Christmas Candlelit Evenings. We certainly hadn’t, having only moved into this area in the August. According to the brochure, “the estate is transformed into a magical winter wonderland as the Mansion House and Servants quarters are candlelit and decorated with real flowers, holly and traditional trimmings. Costumed characters will tell the story of Christmases past, plus there will be brass bands, carol singers, snow showers, entertainers and a large gift and food marquee.” Just the kind of place to sell our better class of decoration.

When we arrived, late due to some dodgy directions, we were pointed towards the marquee in the gardens alongside the Hall itself. The ground was sodden underfoot, and parking near the marquee was non-existent due to our late arrival. But we weren’t going to let that stop us – between us we have many years experience ranging from setting up international trade exhibitions stands to running dozens of craft fairs, so we had our pitch built and stocked in half an hour flat. To say that the genteel ladies selling doilies and crochet toilet-roll covers were taken aback would be understating it a great deal. With a few minutes to spare we paused for breath and waited for the masses to pour in.

And in they duly poured, gawping with glazed eyes at the products on offer, before shuffling off in the direction of the hot food stands outside. There were plenty of people, but no-one was buying. It wasn’t just us who felt like we’d wasted our time – a lot of the other stall holders complained that the troupes of coach parties from as far afield as Manchester and Milton Keynes were treating the whole thing as if we were part of the candlelit stately home – look, but don’t touch, let alone buy.

The worst part of the evening was the realisation what we had to do the same thing all over again the following day.

I’ll spare you the gory details – thankfully we did take some money, just enough to pay for the pitch, and we sold a whole heap more on Ebay afterwards, but the whole episode put an end to our festive entrepreneurial tendencies. We’re very happy to leave that madness to proper shop owners.

And if you know of anyone looking for a better class of Christmas wreath, we might be able to lay our hands on one or two…

Guest Blog: The Feminisation of The Garden Shed

Anna — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 22:34:15 +0000

Today’s guest blogger is Jimmy from Tiger Sheds, online supplier of garden sheds, log cabins and summerhouses.

Lush Landscape and Garden Design does not necessarily endorse any of the views expressed by guest bloggers, nor their company, products or services.

The Feminisation of The Garden Shed

The image of the garden shed as a sanctuary for men may no longer be an accurate representation of its role in modern home life. Until recently, the general consensus was that a shed is a testosterone fuelled environment, a place where men can escape to without distractions. Consumer trends show that the days when men were free to retreat to the garden shed and potter about as they pleased are numbered. No more will beer cans and cigars be found in abundance at the back of the garden hut. No more will a shed be an exclusive zone where men can refine their carpentry skills on a job that probably isn’t worth the invested time and effort. Why? The women are moving in.

Thanks to the inspiration of interior designers and home improvement programmes, women have adopted the notion that garden sheds can be useful spaces for their amusements too; tool kits, sports memorabilia and mini beer fridges are being replaced by designer sofas, romantic novels and scatter cushions. Concordantly, surveys have shown that the number of women employing ‘shed space’ (as either an extension to their homes, or as an outdoor haven) has risen to 40%, and will continue to rise further.

Indeed, it would appear that the secret of the precious, extra breathing space so graciously provided by the garden shed has been revealed to all, and in so doing has exposed the versatility that the space can potentially provide. In-law evasion could be coming to an end as the deafening sound of the wood saw is silenced, and no longer drowns out the exasperated call of a distant wife. Nor will a man be able to stay home and finish ‘that last bit of painting,’ forcing his partner to fly solo at the salsa class they ‘both’ signed up for. A whole new breed of excuses is required. Undeniably, the situation looks grave for the shed men of today.

Sheds For Women

More and more sheds are turning into artist studios, lean-to bars, miniature spas, relaxation rooms and offices. Sally Coulthard, author of ‘Shed Chic’ states that “sheds are no longer neglected outbuildings or decorative afterthoughts at the bottom of the garden,” “they are equally successful as spaces in which to indulge creative pursuits or to make a well-considered home-from-home.” This change in perception of the shed and the additional uses it brings, may seem beneficial to an entire household; however sales of Shed Chic have so far been dominated by women, showing that men may not be as eager to let go of their idea of what the role of a shed should be.

‘Ideal Home Magazine’ gives some basic steps that some might take when transforming a shed into the home-from-home that Coulthard describes:

Paint it mint green and sky blue, then, add some classic wicker furniture for the ultimate retreat at the end of your garden.

Give it a homely feel with cushions in retro floral prints and a pretty painting.

Add a rug for extra comfort, and hang a voile curtain across the door so you can shelter from the sun but still enjoy the breeze.

Put up a shelf to store all your favourite books, along with some lanterns for evening reading.

These changes in style seem far from the previous ideas and uses for a shed described by Gareth Jones in his 2004 book, ‘Shed Men.’ Contrastingly from Shed Chic, Shed Men “examines the quirky phenomenon of sheds and sheddism, arguing that a bloke’s shed begins where a boy’s room leaves off, providing a home to the prized objects and boyish dreams there is seldom room for inside the house.” How times have changed.

However, to all men who are mourning the loss of their trusty haven, you should take a moment to consider those less fortunate than yourselves. While the western world has until now regarded the garden shed as a primarily male dominated environment, in other cultures it would seem that this sacred right of men has always been absent. In India for example, you may stumble across a rather more alternative (if not a little disturbing) use of the garden shed.

Buried in the Pudukottai region of India is a village named Narikudi, consisting of no more than 102 families. Here in this remote community you will encounter a collection of sheds, constructed entirely with one purpose in mind; to accommodate the women. So how did they get so lucky? Well, hold on a second. It seems these carefully constructed allotments exist solely to house women of the village during a ‘particular few’ days of the month. Now, whilst at first this may seem reasonable, upon further thought, using a shed to shut a woman away for five days may be extending its versatility a little too far. However in this same village it would not be considered unusual for a woman to go through all the traumas of labour with nothing but the humble comforts of these rudimentary shacks. Nonetheless, this tradition, locally known as Poyyalamman, is a highly cherished and respected part of life; here the women voluntarily enter into this form of confinement with the firm beliefs that they are partaking in a prestigious ritual. According to Mamanga, a mother of seven children, “… Poyyalamman protects us all”. It would seem that here, the infiltration of women into the world of the garden shed has been taken to an entirely different level.

Sheila Sheds

Similarly, deep down under on the Australian coast, an equally alarming concept had been born: the Sheila Shed. These sheds are designed specifically for the past times and delights of women. In the town of Kempsey ‘Sheilas’ congregate regularly in large sheds to teach each other the best ways one can create a chopping board, or a bread bin, with the assistance power tools. The idea was born to create a women’s equivalent of the “Men Shed” society which had previously existed in Kempsey in isolation: according to Jocelyn Strutt there were some women who felt they had “… been there done that with the knitting, crocheting and patch working skills and just want[ed] to do something different.”

While this way of life is unlikely to catch on everywhere, it’s clear that a definite shift in the world of the garden shed has taken place. The media has introduced home improvement as an activity for both sexes and that, along with an economic downturn, has encouraged a change in attitude toward that little bit of extra space sitting at the bottom of the garden. Jan Heffernan of Kempsey, Australia sums it up, “I go to shops and look at power tools now instead of knitting needles.”

Armchair gardening

Anna — Sun, 15 Aug 2010 14:18:53 +0000

In a change to the scheduled feature, today’s piece is written by Keith, Anna’s partner in crime.

I’ve taken over the blog for the day. Why, you might ask – surely there are plenty of jobs about the place which need doing? And you’d be right, but unfortunately I can’t do any of them. For after a brief spell in hospital this week for some routine surgery I’m confined to an armchair for a little while, so sitting with a cup of tea and the laptop while bashing out a few lines is about the most I can manage.

My research into the surgical procedure led me to the false assumption that my op would involve about as much disruption as having a tooth out, or maybe a leg waxing. When the surgeon explained to me in layman’s terms what was about to happen, with what I thought was a bit too much relish than was strictly necessary, I realised I’d underestimated the situation, to the tune of two weeks off work with minimal moving about, no lifting, no driving – not ideal.

And so, here I am, almost a week later, bored stupid. Having grown weary rather quickly of my daughter’s choice in music and television (Jason Derülo and Project Runway – aaarrrggghhh!!) and hemmed in by poor weather and the inability to get about anywhere very quickly, I haven’t been able to venture into the garden at all. Until today. So of course I took the opportunity of directing Anna and the offspring in a bit of tending the vegetable patch on my behalf.

Whilst I can claim no credit for the success of the garden design business (with the possible exception of the website) our vegetable garden is almost all my own work. True, Anna’s a bit more lively when it comes to weeding and watering, but in general ownership terms the vegetable plots are mine, while the flowery half belongs to her.

So as I shuffled around the garden this morning I was able to marshall the family into a bit of lifting here, a spot of watering there, some routing out of caterpillars over there, and so on, in the manner of an old army general pushing his forces about with a long stick on a giant map. Armchair gardening, rather like fantasy football, is something I could start to enjoy!

My bit of the garden in all its glory

This year is our second full season of growing our own – the first year was chronicled in some depth on this blog as well as within the pages of Village Life magazine which, despite what people might say, had little to do with its closure the following winter.

This year we added a forth raised bed and, after a lot of searching, a second hand greenhouse. This we won on Ebay, arranging to dismantle and take away from a couple in Burton. The tale of how we eventually got the greenhouse into small enough pieces to fit in the van is one for another day (maybe tomorrow if I can’t find something else to do!), but I wouldn’t recommend the experience to anyone. Indeed putting the thing back together is a process we still haven’t completed, and it’s now joining the redecoration of the spare room, carpeting the landing and putting laminate floor in our bedroom on the long list of things we started but haven’t finished.

But back to the veg. This year we’ve been very lucky – almost everything we’ve planted has come good. We had an excellent crop of Nadine second early potatoes, which we’re still getting through, and we’re close to harvesting a large crop of maincrop spuds, whose name I can’t remember. We started the season with overwintered spinach and spring onions, and we’re harvesting white and red onions and shallots right now. We still can’t get carrots right – I planted four rows of Early Nantes and managed to harvest about six carrots. This is still an impressive 600% increase in yield from last year, so I might use those stats to apply for a European farming subsidy!

Green tomato chutney, anyone?

New for us this year have been cauliflower, broccoli and tomatoes. Our brocolli is so popular with the local Cabbage White butterfly population that next year I’m going to use it to keep them off the cabbages. The real success story is our eight tomato plants, which have, in horticultural parlance, gone mental. I’m really hoping we see a return of the sunshine we had in June/July, or we’ll be eating green tomato chutney until next year.

Today's harvest

I’ll leave you with a shot of today’s harvest – that’s 50% of our entire carrot crop there, plus a load of blackberries from next-door’s hedge. All picked or dug up at my say so. Oh, the power!!

How much do we really recycle?

Anna — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 16:18:24 +0000

On the face of it garden design is a pretty green activity. Working with the land, dealing with natural materials, it’s easy to forget how much stuff we all waste.

I came across this amazing infographic today which highlights how much more we could be doing. Click on the graphic for a much larger version. And pass it on.

Infographic by Recycle – Don’t bin it, recycle it

Make the One Pot Pledge

Anna — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 12:00:45 +0000

As our reader will know, we have been growing our own fruit and vegetables for a couple of years, and we’ve written a line or too about our successes and failures. There is a growing band of people who, like we did a couple of years ago, want to have a go at growing their own food for the first time.

Luckily for them, help is at hand from the charity Garden Organic, who this year launched the One Pot Pledge, which aims to help gardening newcomers to grow an edible crop by using simple steps and clear advice to encourage and enthuse them.

Despite the surge in interest in ‘grow your own’ many newcomers, although keen to have a go, still don’t know where to start when it comes to food growing. Many are put off because they think they don’t have space to garden, or because they don’t have the time or knowledge. By encouraging people to start small with just one pot, the One Pot Pledge campaign aims to combat this, promising to make growing easy and successful.

The campaign hopes to encourage 30,000 people to make the One Pot Pledge and sow, grow and harvest their own food for the very first time. So far they are nearly halfway to meeting this target.

If you want to give it a grow, visit the One Plot Pledge website for more information.

It was 20 years ago today…

Anna — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 08:38:43 +0000

… on a swelteringly hot Saturday afternoon in a modern church in Langley, Berkshire, that I married Keith, the current Mr Barker.

I ought to point out, before you read any further, that this has absolutely nothing to do with gardens of any sort. If gardens are what you’re after, I’d bail out now if I were you.

Because this is all about is My Wedding Day.

So read on, dear reader, as your screen goes all wobbly and fades to reveal a glorious summer’s day in less than glorious Slough…

Sweeping magestically over the scalding tarmac of the church car park, past my husband to be’s Austin Allegro, I arrived, fashionably late. I was joined by two bridesmaids: my sister and my sister-in-law, their perms and home-made dresses gleaming brightly in the August sunshine. Inside waited the groom, in a cheap suit and narrow tie, alongside the best man, whose perm was soon to put the bridesmaids’ to shame.

The priest took the opportunity presented by the combination of a full house and 90º temperatures to wheel out his sermon on Death and Destruction. Realising, perhaps, that 45 minutes on the poor residents of Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboim might not grip a modern, family audience, he skillfully weaved in a humorous subplot involving a chap who’d been run over and killed by a bus outside the church the week before.

It was not all bad. My Dad pulled out all the stops and provided a beautiful Rolls Royce to escort me to the church. He was clearly delighted to discover the chauffeur was a clay pigeon shooting enthusiast who just happened to have his equipment in the boot. How we laughed when Dad insisted the wedding photographer took a picture of me and Keith with my Dad, beaming at the irony of it all, brandishing a shotgun.

There are too many tales to tell – the best man’s speech which involved the now infamous Potato Joke; my husband’s eventful morning during which he crashed the car and locked himself out of his house; the drive from the church to the reception where our chauffeur mistakenly lead us and our convoy of guests down the westbound sliproad of the M4. And I especially won’t mention the venue for the wedding night, except to say that Keith knows he owes me a second honeymoon for that one!

But it was a happy, innocent day! It was before the advent of Wedding Fayres, Quirky Venues and Online Gift Lists. I doubt the whole day cost more than £3,000, and that fed 125 people plus another 50 in the evening. The rings were from Ratners, the wine Le Piat d’Or. My uncle filmed the wedding video, I made the dresses, our friend played the organ and my husband designed the stationery. All our families were there and we had a great time. And who’d have thought that 20 years later we’d still be going strong. Certainly not one unnamed relative who gave us “2 years, tops”. Cow!

So given that our wedding day was beset by so many “issues” of one kind or another, maybe you’re thinking we’ve planned some kind of special anniversary event, carefully designed to be the perfect celebration of 20 happy years.

Not exactly. Keith’s off work recovering from a painful operation, and I’m returning for the third time to fix a client’s recalcitrant pond which won’t stop leaking. Happy Anniversary Darling! Maybe we’ll do something for our 25th…

We’re all going on a…

Anna — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 19:22:23 +0000

…summer holiday!

Yes, we’ve dug out the Travel Scrabble and packed the wellies, for tomorrow we board our charabanc to the seaside.

While we’re sampling such local delicacies as winkles, rude postcards and donkey rides, we will be unable to tend to the needs of you, our Reader. But don’t worry yourself too much, because we will be back, refreshed and skint, on 3rd August.

If you fancy a laugh while we’re gone, you could have a listen to the terrible answer phone message my dear husband left on the business line.

Until then… here’s a list of the top 20 stupid complaints made by British holiday makers.

Guest blog: Why choose hardwood decking?

Anna — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 20:26:57 +0000

Today’s guest blogger is Michelle Strassburg. Michelle is managing director of Wood and Beyond, suppliers of interior and exterior hardwood decking.

Lush Landscape and Garden Design does not necessarily endorse any of the views expressed by guest bloggers, nor their company, products or services.

Why choose hardwood decking?

Garden hardwood decking is perfect for adding class to your garden by transforming your outdoor sanctuary into a lovely place to eat, drink and unwind. Decking is also a great way to make practical use of slopes in the garden by creating different levels and steps while not giving up on that natural look. Decking could very easily be part of your garden design by covering up unwanted surfaces, making it a very practical choice for dealing with garden imperfections.

Which wood species are suitable for decking and what to look out for:

Ipe Decking – Ipe (pronounced e-pay) originates from South America and is a very popular choice for decking on a budget without compromising on the look. Considered be the one of the hardest woods in the world (strength is three times harder than oak) it is recommended for all types of gardens and extremely popular for decks. Dark brownish, olive to dark olive in appearance, Ipe is popular as a decking material due to its insect resistance, durability and natural fire resistance.

Strong points: Ipe wood is extremely strong, making it a popular choice for areas which receive heavy foot traffic.

Teak Decking – Teak originates from Indonesia and is golden in color with dark markings and a straight grain. Teak wood contains natural oils so there is no need for preservatives and sealants. It is especially recommended for gardens and outdoor pools. Over time it will take on a natural silver-gray patina which truly adds class to any garden project and will lend an startling exotic look.

Strong points: Teak wood contains natural oils and therefore requires no additional chemical treatment.

Iroko Decking – Iroko, also know as African Teak, originates from Africa and is an exotic stylish hardwood. Iroko is extremely durable and rich in color and appearance. Although initially yellow in colour, it naturally weathers to a beautiful, chocolate brown colour which will give your garden a special exotic Zen-like feel. Recommended for all types of gardens and outdoor uses, it is also used in the boat building industry, which vouches for its quality and durability.

Strong points: Iroko is very affordable which makes the wood suitable for garden design on a tighter budget.

Cumaru Decking – Also known as Brazilian Teak, Cumaru is native to South America and starts life as a deep red/yellow wood before developing a classic silver-gray patina. Cumaru Decking is an exceptionally strong material and it boasts a fire rating of Class A (the same as concrete or steel) which, together with its anti-decay and anti-insect damage characteristics, makes it ideal for decking.

Strong points: Cumaru wood has anti-decay properties ensuring superb longevity.

Environmental Concerns
Buying tropical hardwood decking needs to be done responsibly. Look for sellers which source their wood from sustainable forests, thereby preventing the destruction of forest habitat. Deck boards which are sourced via unsustainable logging are responsible for the loss of important tree species. The species which are mentioned in this article do not appear in the Red List of threatened species, which is maintained by The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™, and are all available from sustainable forests.

Hardwood decking is the perfect choice for longevity, beauty, and overall performance, and is ideal for linking interior design schemes with your garden design.

A guide by Michelle Strassburg of Wood and Beyond, sellers of hardwood decking and wood flooring since 2005.

Guest bloggers wanted

Anna — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 20:03:13 +0000

Here at Lush Landscape & Garden Design we’re nothing if not busy. If we’re not drawing plans, ordering supplies or getting stuck in to some planting, we’ve got 101 other jobs to do. So when someone comes along and asks if they can do something for you for nothing, we don’t need asking twice.

And someone did just that, by offering to write an article for us as a Guest Blogger.

While I’ve been aware of the concept of guest blogging for a while, I’d never really considered it for us because, well, I thought that’s what “proper” blogs did. But after a quick play about with search engines the other day I realised that this blog sits pretty well up the Google rankings. So I thought, “why not?”. And then Michelle Strassburg came along. Michelle’s guest blog will follow shortly.

So I’m throwing the invitation open to anyone else who feels they might like to contribute. If it’s vaguely on-topic (ie. related to garden design) and not just a poorly disguised advertisement then I’ll consider using it. The main judging criterion will be “Is It Any Good?”

Here comes the legal bit. Whatever we publish by way of guest blogs, please remember that Lush Landscape and Garden Design does not necessarily endorse any of the views expressed by guest bloggers, nor their company, products or services.

Terraced sloping garden

Anna — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 22:56:37 +0000

Our brief for this steeply sloping garden in Ashbourne was to tame the 1.8m drop in order to create a family garden which allowed for seating, lawn and plenty of planting space.

The finished garden showing multiple level changes. Shame about the weather!

The 'before' shot, showing the 1.8m climb to the rear of the garden.

From the start we worked very closely with the clients, and after agreeing the layout plans we produced 3d drawings to assist the client understand the complex level changes required to create the scheme.

The initial plan.

The 3d visual.

The scheme involved a lot of soil removal – an estimated 60 tonnes. The retaining walls are built from inverted wooden sleepers, and the patios and steps are Indian sandstone. All fences were replaced, a new lawn laid, and a small water fountain was included using a reclaimed mill stone.

Here is a final before and after shot from an upstairs window, which hopefully gives a good idea of the transformation.

The 'after' garden.

The 'before' shot.