There was a time, long before the talent shows took over, when Garden Design & Ground Force-style make-over programmes dominated prime-time tv but, as with everything on the small screen, what you see is not always what you get and so I’m not sure if it ever did the real world of garden design too many favours.
As a trained garden designer, I definitely get the impression we are sometimes something of a misunderstood species because not everyone understands exactly what a garden designer can do or even the difference between, say, a landscaper and a garden designer.
There are lots of excellent landscapers out there, I know because I often work alongside them, and while they can build you the patio of your dreams, what they won’t do, unless they have a serious design background, is to look at the project as a whole in more depth.
When I turn up to a new clients house for our first meeting I take their brief; what kind of garden are they dreaming of, how will they and their family use their outdoor space and how much do they have to spend to realise this dream and all the while, I am looking at the architecture of the house, the surrounding landscape, even the neighbour’s gardens and thinking about a design that will, first and foremost, integrate the garden with its environment whilst relating closely back to the client, their needs and how they plan to use that designed space, whether it will be simply relaxing, gardening or entertaining.
This approach is the Golden Rule of good garden design and not something you are born knowing. Even if you have an aptitude for design, it’s still something you need to be trained in and this is, if you like, the unique selling point (USP) of a properly-trained garden designer as opposed to someone who’s good at gardening and kind of fallen into the field.
If, as was the case recently, the client lives in a charming Grade II listed brick and flint cottage in the Chilterns, surrounded by beech woods and heath land, I am not going to be designing a massive steel pergola to provide shade to their entertaining patio but I might, if they are asking for a contemporary twist, be thinking about designing with copper which will reflect back the surroundings when they are at their most glorious in that location - in the Autumn season.
And since we are in the throes of one of the worst global recessions most of us can recall, then I am also aware that whatever they say, my clients want value for money. Again, a good garden designer can work to not only enhance the value of the property with a great design but save the client costs on contracting and materials for any hard landscaping requirements and planting schemes.
For the most part, garden design works best for serious clients with serious budgets. Although the cost of many materials and the cost of labour have come down as a result of the credit crunch, it will still cost in the region of £4000 to build a 20m2 patio in Old York stone and so you can see why I am using the word “serious.”
As a trained garden designer, I definitely get the impression we are sometimes something of a misunderstood species because not everyone understands exactly what a garden designer can do or even the difference between, say, a landscaper and a garden designer.
There are lots of excellent landscapers out there, I know because I often work alongside them, and while they can build you the patio of your dreams, what they won’t do, unless they have a serious design background, is to look at the project as a whole in more depth.
When I turn up to a new clients house for our first meeting I take their brief; what kind of garden are they dreaming of, how will they and their family use their outdoor space and how much do they have to spend to realise this dream and all the while, I am looking at the architecture of the house, the surrounding landscape, even the neighbour’s gardens and thinking about a design that will, first and foremost, integrate the garden with its environment whilst relating closely back to the client, their needs and how they plan to use that designed space, whether it will be simply relaxing, gardening or entertaining.
This approach is the Golden Rule of good garden design and not something you are born knowing. Even if you have an aptitude for design, it’s still something you need to be trained in and this is, if you like, the unique selling point (USP) of a properly-trained garden designer as opposed to someone who’s good at gardening and kind of fallen into the field.
If, as was the case recently, the client lives in a charming Grade II listed brick and flint cottage in the Chilterns, surrounded by beech woods and heath land, I am not going to be designing a massive steel pergola to provide shade to their entertaining patio but I might, if they are asking for a contemporary twist, be thinking about designing with copper which will reflect back the surroundings when they are at their most glorious in that location - in the Autumn season.
And since we are in the throes of one of the worst global recessions most of us can recall, then I am also aware that whatever they say, my clients want value for money. Again, a good garden designer can work to not only enhance the value of the property with a great design but save the client costs on contracting and materials for any hard landscaping requirements and planting schemes.
For the most part, garden design works best for serious clients with serious budgets. Although the cost of many materials and the cost of labour have come down as a result of the credit crunch, it will still cost in the region of £4000 to build a 20m2 patio in Old York stone and so you can see why I am using the word “serious.”
If you would like to talk about your own garden, check out some of my current projects or find out more about the garden design process and the services we offer, then visit my website www.christopherjames.eu
