A compromise I thnk ..using a landscape gardener for the heavy stuff, own design and work at it over the seasons.
Over ten years my garden has eveolved as it has grown with me and family needs...from more veg and lawn with small pond to more pond/water feature, terracing for sitting out, extended lawn and now as much vertical planting as the three fences will hold, includung raspberries which 'creep' about!
Love it...researching plants, digging in the wet, visiting open gardens, lifting flagstones ...GW....talking to you all... sigh... what is this life if ...oops..got carried away there
I wanted a garden with plants and that eveolved to suit my available time, budget and changing family needs so no designer fo me.
I do love the look of some designed gardens but they mostly have too much hard landscaping and too few plants and are more oudoor rooms than places for plants and wildlife to thrive. I love seeing the show gardens at Chelsea but I'm interested in the plants used rather than the hard stuff so am often disappointed by the big ones - except Chris Beardshaw who always has mostly plants, Cleve West who does sublime plants and Diarmuid Gavin does wonderful planting schemes too if you can see past the whacky, distraction of his design.
Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
"The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
My garden has evolved over the years and although I can see things I now wish were different I am glad it is the result of my wife's and myideas and efforts, A designed garden can look a little sterile and too perfect for me. I did get some help remaking my vegetable garden but it was to my plan. The contractor supplied the hard work and did an excellent job, and I would use him again or recommend him. I think gardening is a blend of creativity and physical work. Both of these satisfy a need, but are essentially different. Where else would many of us give vent to our creative needs. I can't paint or write a book, but I can think through a garden idea and achieve a satisfactory end result, which pleases me and others. The hard work keeps me fitter and healthier than I might otherwise be. Who and what would I be without gardening???
I think its interesting that you say that a well designed garden need not rely on expensive paving yet in your garden design images on your website they seem to be mostly expensive paving and less about the plants.
Leaving the possible touting for business aside, I don't think I'd be interested in having a garden designed for me. I've been in this house and garden for nearly 20 years now, and during that time it has changed so much. I always find it odd when people ask if the garden's "finished yet" - I try and explain that it's not like decoating a room.
If I had money to spare I'd like to employ someone, but mainly to do the catch- up tasks that I never seem to catch up with!
Why the flaming? It seems a fair and reasonable question to me, irrelevant of the OP career choice. Also from looking at his website, I can't imagine that he would need to come on here and tout for work.
Before changing career some 20 odd years ago, I worked professionally as a contractor for several different well known and not so well known landscape designers, and sadly one theme was common amongst all of them, repetition of design. The one designer that has always inspired me though, is Diamuid Gavin. He is not afraid to think outside of the box, and I love his use of concrete, which is in itself a very underrated and under used product in landscape design.
Many people have absolutely no vision of what they want in respect of garden design and do need guidance, which is where the services of a designer should be engaged, but sadly more often than not, the designer does not listen to the clients needs. The majority of garden designers are also absolutely clueless about scale. Anything can be put down on paper, but taking it from the paper stage and into 3D reality is more often than not just a joke.
One other aspect about designers is that many are good at certain elements, but fall short on other elements. One may be good at hard landscaping schemes but will not be good at soft landscaping schemes, lighting etc. It is quite rare to find a designer that is good at all aspects. The sad thing about this is that the designer is always too blinkered to see/accept it.
Personally I wouldn't dream of paying someone to design a garden for me, but that is simply because I can do my own without issue, and find both design and construction easy.
We drew our garden design over 20 years ago and I have developed it since and made more beds. We had professionals to pave the terrace as the house is on a slope lengthways and the garden in on 3 levels. So I drew the design, the stone masons did the heavy stuff and a garden firm did the lawn, as it had been a farmyard and needed 2 lorryloads of earth added. We did all the digging of beds and planting. The garden is quite big, over an acre in all.
I'm afraid I'm not that keen on the contemporary, rather hard and stark style of the designer who started this thread.
Dordogne and Norfolk. Clay in Dordogne, sandy in Norfolk.
I personally think that spending money on gaden decoration is such a waste. Where is the fun in creating a garden, if you let some unknown guys to do the job? There are many ways to design your garden. For example, one of my recent works - Zen Garden. It is a quick and easy DIY project. Just some extra imagination will do the job.
Posts
I think that you have some" NECK" most if not all the people on this Forum are amateurs have full
time day jobsor are retired
Derek
A compromise I thnk ..using a landscape gardener for the heavy stuff, own design and work at it over the seasons.
Over ten years my garden has eveolved as it has grown with me and family needs...from more veg and lawn with small pond to more pond/water feature, terracing for sitting out, extended lawn and now as much vertical planting as the three fences will hold, includung raspberries which 'creep' about!
Love it...researching plants, digging in the wet, visiting open gardens, lifting flagstones ...GW....talking to you all...
sigh... what is this life if ...oops..got carried away there
abreak in the clouds...time for fresh air.
geoff (if I may) also checked David's profile - requesting market research and interesting to have the responses.
clogger...understand you concern...Please dont turn this thread into a rant....
...we all learn from the responses...
I wanted a garden with plants and that eveolved to suit my available time, budget and changing family needs so no designer fo me.
I do love the look of some designed gardens but they mostly have too much hard landscaping and too few plants and are more oudoor rooms than places for plants and wildlife to thrive. I love seeing the show gardens at Chelsea but I'm interested in the plants used rather than the hard stuff so am often disappointed by the big ones - except Chris Beardshaw who always has mostly plants, Cleve West who does sublime plants and Diarmuid Gavin does wonderful planting schemes too if you can see past the whacky, distraction of his design.
My garden has evolved over the years and although I can see things I now wish were different I am glad it is the result of my wife's and myideas and efforts, A designed garden can look a little sterile and too perfect for me. I did get some help remaking my vegetable garden but it was to my plan. The contractor supplied the hard work and did an excellent job, and I would use him again or recommend him. I think gardening is a blend of creativity and physical work. Both of these satisfy a need, but are essentially different. Where else would many of us give vent to our creative needs. I can't paint or write a book, but I can think through a garden idea and achieve a satisfactory end result, which pleases me and others. The hard work keeps me fitter and healthier than I might otherwise be. Who and what would I be without gardening???
I think its interesting that you say that a well designed garden need not rely on expensive paving yet in your garden design images on your website they seem to be mostly expensive paving and less about the plants.
http://www.davidandersen.co.uk/
I also think that trying to get a bit of free advertising isnt always a bad thing but just be upfront and honest about what your doing.
If I had money to spare I'd like to employ someone, but mainly to do the catch- up tasks that I never seem to catch up with!
Why the flaming? It seems a fair and reasonable question to me, irrelevant of the OP career choice. Also from looking at his website, I can't imagine that he would need to come on here and tout for work.
Before changing career some 20 odd years ago, I worked professionally as a contractor for several different well known and not so well known landscape designers, and sadly one theme was common amongst all of them, repetition of design. The one designer that has always inspired me though, is Diamuid Gavin. He is not afraid to think outside of the box, and I love his use of concrete, which is in itself a very underrated and under used product in landscape design.
Many people have absolutely no vision of what they want in respect of garden design and do need guidance, which is where the services of a designer should be engaged, but sadly more often than not, the designer does not listen to the clients needs. The majority of garden designers are also absolutely clueless about scale. Anything can be put down on paper, but taking it from the paper stage and into 3D reality is more often than not just a joke.
One other aspect about designers is that many are good at certain elements, but fall short on other elements. One may be good at hard landscaping schemes but will not be good at soft landscaping schemes, lighting etc. It is quite rare to find a designer that is good at all aspects. The sad thing about this is that the designer is always too blinkered to see/accept it.
Personally I wouldn't dream of paying someone to design a garden for me, but that is simply because I can do my own without issue, and find both design and construction easy.
We drew our garden design over 20 years ago and I have developed it since and made more beds. We had professionals to pave the terrace as the house is on a slope lengthways and the garden in on 3 levels. So I drew the design, the stone masons did the heavy stuff and a garden firm did the lawn, as it had been a farmyard and needed 2 lorryloads of earth added. We did all the digging of beds and planting. The garden is quite big, over an acre in all.
I'm afraid I'm not that keen on the contemporary, rather hard and stark style of the designer who started this thread.
I personally think that spending money on gaden decoration is such a waste. Where is the fun in creating a garden, if you let some unknown guys to do the job? There are many ways to design your garden. For example, one of my recent works - Zen Garden. It is a quick and easy DIY project. Just some extra imagination will do the job.