Garden Design

New blog posts

2011-06-12T05:57:00.000-07:00

All new blog posts will now be on the main site.

Piet oudolf's latest book reviewed: Landscapes in Landscapes.

http://www.peterwardgardendesign.com/?p=1022

Allotment bits..

2011-06-02T12:07:00.000-07:00

Harvesting lots from the allotment already, potatoes, garlic, blackcurrants even some early strawberries. The dry start to the year doesn't seem to have hurt anything as of yet, i hardly ever water.

Laburnum archway

2011-05-15T09:42:00.000-07:00

Tucked away in a corner of the local park is this laburnum archway, I'm not really a big fan of laburnums as singular specimens but planted together like this it looks pretty impressive.

Current work

2011-05-06T09:40:00.000-07:00

I'll be updating the site Saturday with plans of the current garden i'm working on. Photos to follow hopefully by end of summer. The garden is attached to a period property in a small village here in Cheshire, so its a sympathetic design very much in keeping with the house and the surrounding area.

Blackthorn spotting

2011-04-13T06:49:00.000-07:00

Now is the best time of year to make note on the whereabouts of any blackthorn bushes for harvesting sloes later in the year.

They can sometimes be hard to spot in a mixed hedgerow come autumn, but they are very easy to spot right now!

Original image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/pobk/138570953/

New site

2011-04-09T09:14:00.000-07:00

Halfway through site revamp, still a bit minimal but i like it. This blog will eventually transport over fully, but for now i'm staying put!

The English Flower Garden, book review

2011-03-27T12:08:00.000-07:00

By William Robinson, published by Bloomsbury 1998

First published 1883

I should really buy another copy and put this one on readitswapit but I don’t think the recipient would be too happy with a book held together by sellotape and covered in coffee rings. It’s been used and read more than any other book in my shelf, even more than G. Eckbo’s The Art of Home Landscaping and that’s a lot!

Meadows, orchards, herbaceous borders, bog gardens, seasonal planting and even a small chapter or two on hard landscaping (nothing to detailed though) pretty much everything relating to the planting of an arts and crafts style garden is here.

The book also contains collected lists of native and naturalised plant material (hardy plants only need apply) for most situations. Predominately much larger spaces to be honest, but you can gleam some useful info from the book if you inhabit a small space like me. (If i ever win the euromillions though i will be buying Gravetye Manor)

I sometimes talk about planting legacy in the UK in a fairly negative way not so when it comes to the thoughts and practices of Robinson and his contemporaries. (You can probably tell I’m a fan with all the wikipedia links and everything) They tried and succeeded in a lot of ways to readdress the balance and move back to nature and away from Victorian practices and ideology.

Don’t get me wrong it’s great that we have still have so many Victorian gardens (they did do wonderful things for fruit and vegetable growing) but the alien gaudiness of bedding displays and specimen planting has never sat right with me, and I don’t suppose it ever will.

The book should be required reading on all garden design courses in the UK if only to help ground students and make them aware of the richness of their surroundings. If they then want to go and make fools of themselves with tree ferns and cordylines well let them, but at least we tried.

The question of the books relevance in relation to modern gardens may be raised as the climate in the UK continues to change, albeit slowly. And obviously the majority of people do not have space for grand wildflower meadows and large herbaceous borders. Still, the rational thinking prevalent throughout the book regards working with nature rather than against it, and the core principle about planting what is right for the local environment you’re working in is relevant wherever you practice.

I would also recommend an earlier book by Robinson The Wild Garden which although not as detailed as some of his later work, is in essence the base on which The English Flower Garden and most of his future writing was built upon.

Spring time (planting mishap time) is here again!

2011-03-24T14:51:00.000-07:00

Joy! things have well and truly kicked into life again after a long miserable winter, shame that planting legacy here in the UK often means 'exotic' spring flowering trees and shrubs get lumped together when visually they shouldn't be with in a mile of each other.

Its pretty common here in Cheshire to see a forsythia and an ornamental cherry planted next to each other, i'm not convinced it works though.

Catching up..

2011-03-13T11:47:00.000-07:00

Spent some of today at the allotment, potatoes, onions, beetroot, parsnips and lettuce all in today. I've built a new strawberry bed and the garlic planted last autumn is doing especially well as is the white sprouting broccoli which was ready to harvest today, about time too at roughly a year in the making!

recently..

2011-02-18T10:42:00.000-08:00

Hi, no posts recently as i've been thankfully very busy, so busy i didn't even notice the snowdrops all around me in full bloom, i should really get out more.

£357 was paid recently for a single snowdrop bulb (Galanthus plicatus EA Bowles) on ebay, collectors will still pay any amount it would seem for a horticultural rarity. It reminds me of the tulip mania madness in Europe centuries ago, but not quite.

Here's a link to a wiki article showing just what people traded a single bulb for back then.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tulip_mania

Urban Landscape Design, Book review

2011-01-17T09:03:00.000-08:00

G.Eckbo 1964 McGraw-Hill

“The primary concern of this book is the quality of the physical landscape in which we all live” G.Eckbo

Opening with a quote from the first paragraph of the book maybe akin to beginning a wedding speech with a definition from Webster's dictionary, but it sums up the books intentions well nevertheless lol.

After reading/reviewing a copy of his previous book The Art of Home Landscaping, I developed a thing for out of print design books and began looking for more of his work finding this, a book much grander in scale on urban landscape design.

It contains work by the author and his contemporaries from all over the states and some selected work from Europe. Many actual plan drawings are present as well as numerous photos, elevation drawings and sketches. The graphical styles of the sketches in particular are very of the time and are really quite beautiful. Designers or anyone interested in retro graphics have a lot to pore over here as in his previous publication, Landscape for living.

The book begins with chapters on patios and rooms, and then expands through parks; playgrounds and eventually whole neighbourhoods are covered. Each chapter is prefaced with a page of writing on design theory and there are copious notes throughout the book which deliver some common sense solutions to potential site problems.

Some of the designs featured are vast, streets, schools, large parks and public spaces make up most of the book as you would expect from a book about landscape architecture. But delve a little deeper and you’ll also find examples of smaller projects such as a sunken garden for a restaurant and even a design for a courtyard garden at a funeral directors.

As a whole the book sits somewhere between the collection of essays that is Landscape for Living, and the how-to design manual for home owners that is The Art of Home Landscaping. And although written for a landscape architect it’s still a very good reference book for a garden designer to have, and can be found relatively cheaply on-line.

If you’re interested in Garrett Eckbo’s work like I am I highly recommend it, or for a book a little lighter in tone and more relevant to most you could try The Art of Home Landscaping.

5 trees/shrubs for Winter interest.

2011-01-02T07:58:00.000-08:00

Parottia persica (Persian ironwood) Yes it makes another appearance! It’s also a great winter specimen with grey flaky bark, and unusual crimson flowers in February.

Betula nigra (River birch) Not quite as showy as other birch trees but it’s bark still has great colour and texture, it’s also a tough old tree and is good for wetter soils.

Tilia cordata ‘Winter Orange’ (Small leaved lime) This selection is known for its bright orange new growth, as long as you don’t prune it off in autumn!

Salix x rubens 'Basfordiana' (Crack willow 'Basfordiana') A choice winter willow with muted yellow stems that should be coppiced every year in early spring to keep the colourful new growth coming.

Cornus sericea 'Flaviramea' (Golden twig dogwood) Along with willows, dogwoods are great at providing winter interest. This specimen has colourful yellow/green stems in winter.

Twitter!

2010-12-30T10:12:00.000-08:00

You can now follow me on twitter! @peterwardgd

5 small/medium trees for Autumn interest.

2010-11-15T14:41:00.000-08:00

Parottia persica (Persian ironwood) H8m S10m A multi seasonal tree which bears small flowers in winter, and crimson/gold leaves in autumn. Mature trees also have peeling bark.

Nyssa sinensis (Chinese tupelo) H10m S6m Tupelo’s are more commonly found in American gardens but are quite happy in the UK and actually prefer wetter soils, the Chinese tupelo is also tolerant of such conditions. Autumn foliage can range from yellow and orange to bright red.

Sorbus 'Copper Kettle' (Mountain ash 'Copper Kettle') H6m S5m Always good value for money, Sorbus come into their own in autumn, this cultivar has masses of pale orange copper coloured berries and bright orange/red foliage in autumn.

Malus ‘Evereste’ (Crab apple 'Evereste') H7m S5m Flowers profusely in spring but the real interest is in late summer/autumn with masses of maturing red/orange/yellow fruit.

Cercis canadensis 'Forest Pansy' (North american redbud ‘Forest Pansy’) H10m S10m Best grown as a multi stem specimen. Has deep red leaves throughout the growing season turning to bright red orange and yellow in autumn. For best foliage colour the tree should be planted in full sun.

Analysis plan, Dessau

2010-10-19T06:35:00.000-07:00

I've had a pdf file on my laptop for a while now, and always thought it was interesting. It's a site analysis of the current municipal park in Dessau Germany, its a very good example of how thorough an analysis plan can be.

Looking at the site again recently i found there was now a proposal file as well showing the designers ideas on how best to use the space.

http://www.bauhaus-dessau.de/index.php?municipal-park-dessau

The Lyrical Landscape, Book review

2010-10-18T11:10:00.000-07:00

Author: Marta Iris Montero, Published 2001,Thames & Hudson.

Everything I hoped it would be and more, this book on the theories and work of Roberto Burle Marx has been on my shelf for a while now after I initially devoured some time ago it like I do with all new design books.

A re-read was in order and I’m glad i did, I’d forgotten how good it was. It’s very well balanced with chapters on his early life and the development of his ideas through to gardens, landscapes, public parks and even the landscaping of the then newly created city of Brasilia.

The case files are numerous and varied and show small urban parks to sprawling country estates. There is a short article on each case file and most of the entries have either an original scale plan or a drawing based on the original plan so there is lots of detail to pick over.

From a western standpoint most people aren’t going to be familiar with the plant material used or written about in the book as the selected gardens/spaces are in South America. I managed to spot a few, but as a common factor in Marx’s work was the use of native plant material (and why not) that’s no surprise.

Some of the spaces are very ‘of the time’ and I suspect haven’t aged well. I know a couple have been completely demolished in the name of progress which is a shame but probably inevitable as the population of any given city grows changes will eventually have to be made to its public spaces however unique and brilliant they initially were.

It’s a great book and I recommend it to anyone interested in Burle Marx and the recent history of garden design in South America which he was so much a part of.

©Peter Ward Garden Design 2010

Book Review

2010-10-05T10:28:00.000-07:00

Gardening with nature by James van Sweden, published 2003

Hard to find for a fair price for a reason I still can’t fathom, the 2003 reprint of this book by James van Sweden is an insight into how he and his associate Wolfgang Oehme go about the business of landscape design.

The book has been split into three main chapters, starting with what turned out to be the most interesting part of the book; an insight into James van Sweden himself, his career and his thinking on landscape/garden design practice in the states.

Rather disappointingly after this the majority of the book is taken up by a collection of not very in depth case studies of various gardens/spaces from the 1960s to the relative present that really seem to appear in print as a means to name drop. The brief case studies are only saved by images of planting plans including a list of plants used; this does offer an insight into the actual nuts and bolts of their “planting style” at least.

The third chapter is the briefest of all and is a guide to planting your garden, it’s a bit simplified and wouldn’t teach a professional anything they didn’t already know, and is realty more aimed at the weekend gardener.

I would have preferred fewer case studies in favour of a more detailed look at some of the designs, and the processes involved. But as the book is a borderline coffee table publication and not a dedicated be all and end all regards naturalistic planting design I guess I can’t complain.

A recommended plant list totalling a fairly paltry 52, rounds up the book which is a bit disappointing compared to say a more recent planting design book by Piet Oudolf for instance. (But you would expect an Oudolf book to be crammed to over flowing with interesting plant recommendations)

I have also read another book in the series ‘Architecture in the garden’ and found it much the same in terms of style and prose; it again was a bit insular like this book was regards its outlook. There didn’t appear to be much in the way of change or at least forward progress regards the appearance of the gardens through the decades, but I guess if ii isn’t broke why try and fix it?

©Peter Ward garden design 2010

coming soon..

2010-09-23T11:51:00.000-07:00

A review of a Roberto burle Marx book is coming as well as one by James van Sweden, and some posts regards sustainable design i think.

Among other things..

peter

Rain

2010-08-26T03:11:00.001-07:00

We've had a lot of wet weather in the UK recently, and it got me wondering whether I'll ever be asked to design a garden that's at its best when its raining? Perhaps with some overhead water features that are automated to start when there's enough rainfall? or water features that change there characteristics when there's an excess of water?

New flyer

2010-06-18T10:23:00.000-07:00

Just had some new flyers printed, still in keeping with the ethos..

Battery park planting

2010-05-15T07:51:00.000-07:00

New york 2006 designed by Piet oudolf, some of the borders were just past the best arguably when the pics were taken, still we had some nice weather! Parts of the garden were still being built at the time.

Arts and crafts paving designs

2010-05-15T07:45:00.001-07:00

Some interesting paving patterns from the Tirley Garth estate in Cheshire. Taken when they held there annual open day(s) a few years ago.

El Jardí Botànic de Barcelona

2010-05-06T10:48:00.000-07:00

Hopefully I'll be paying a visit to the botanical garden of Barcelona this summer. I'm not usually a fan of botanical gardens as they tend to be like plant museums, everything seems to be a bit scripted and unnatural.

This one however houses a collection of plants from the five Mediterranean regions of the world, if that makes sense. The planting has been naturalised, so rather than looking like a collection of individual plants they appear together, fighting for space and whatnot as they would in their natural habitats.

The shear scale of the space is what impresses me most (look on google for an aerial photo) as well as the bold, geometric, large scale hard landscaping as can be seen in the photos, should be an interesting trip.

Design links

2010-04-20T12:00:00.000-07:00

A couple of sites that might interest designers.

Bau Outdoors

http://www.bau-outdoors.co.uk/

Contemporary garden furniture, some interesting minimal pieces as well as the traditional.

Jakob

http://www.jakob.co.uk/

Green wall fixings, balustrades, architectural systems etc.

Networking

2010-04-18T11:05:00.000-07:00

A popular networking site for anyone with an interest in horticulture/garden design.

The Garden Network

Gardening forum

Salix exigua (Coyote willow)

2010-03-08T12:14:00.000-08:00

Native to most of North America the Coyote willow is a large shrub or a small tree dependant on pruning. It has long, thin grey-silver leaves that appear after slender catkins in early spring. Its not fussy about where its planted it can be content in full sun as much as in partial shade, and is quite happy getting its feet a bit wet, so all in all it’s a very versatile plant.

Left alone it will develop into a tree approximately 5 – 7m high and 3 – 4m wide, pruned hard back early on in life and/or at yearly intervals in late winter/early spring it can become a very nice multi stem shrub.

Its often used to stabilise banks of rivers, but in the garden its best use is as a mid layer shrub to underplant beneath, if kept in check occasionally it shouldn’t pose too much of a problem for any planting.

It moves very easily in the slightest if winds bringing movement, sound and therefore ‘life’ to a space, willows are definitely something to contemplate using if your gardens a little bit on the static side.

Home Landscape, The Art of Home landscaping book review

2010-02-12T13:27:00.000-08:00

Most reviews of garden design publications are of newly published works, I thought we'd do things a little differently here and only review older titles of notable interest.

The Art of Home Landscaping by Garrett Eckbo was first printed in 1956 and then again in 1978 in a revised and expanded edition. Its basically a guide to garden design for the average homeowner, complete with photos and detailed information of numerous garden projects produced by himself and other designers of the time.

The book itself is much more accessible to the home owner/designer than his more well known book: Landscape for Living which while fascinating and full of insight, was never intended for the home market. Everything that designers should cover in the design process is here from procedure to planning and building.

The photographs, although in black and white are fantastic and show in most cases very modern gardens attached to modern properties. This was a time of growth in America with new styles of architecture appearing that cried out for a new 'style' of garden. The integration of house and home is very obvious in some of the designs and photos, no doubt the Californian weather helped to further the thinking behind this as many of the gardens appear to be situated on the west coast of America.

Planting wise the book is pretty dated, obviously a lot has happened since the 1950s regards planting styles and the greater availability of plant material, but at the time it was probably quite cutting edge.

A lot of the designs shown are very simple and uncomplicated visually, and have a distinct American feel that you can still see in a lot of modern American gardens. Not having centuries of horticultural baggage no doubt helped make it easier to try new things, something that European garden designers most definitely have to contend with, for better or worse!

Without a doubt its the most interesting book on garden design i own and i cant believe its not been reprinted more than it has. Its possible to find a copy of the 1978 reprint for about £5 on the web the original 1956 edition will set you back a little more and is harder to find but just as worth it i assume.

Simple Municipal planting #1

2010-01-31T02:22:00.000-08:00

Full sun/Partial shade, Summer/Autumn interest, most soil types, Low maintenance.

Acer circinatum

Pittosporum tenuifolium 'Arundel Green'

Package #1

2010-01-20T14:07:00.000-08:00

The question of a standardised, one size fits all garden design popped up in a forum recently, the post was about the quantifying of a ready priced package that clients could readily pick out of a catalogue like a new bathroom suite, and how this might benefit the designer.

The design would be very simple and generalised so too ensure mass appeal. Materials wouldn't change bar a choice of colour perhaps and planting would be pretty unadventurous with a solid if boring selection of dependable plant material. All this would be readily available locally and probably bought in bulk.

Some designers/landscapers already do this, but perhaps not intentionally, the rehashing of old ideas, materials and planting whether relevant to the site or client are nothing new. It makes sense financially as costs are much easier to work out and seen as the designer/landscaper aren’t doing anything really different each time they should be able to turn over jobs more quickly.

I very much doubt any individual designer would consider producing a brochure of design packages, with each design bearing a name like ‘The urban garden’ or ‘The cottage garden’ yet something like this from one of the big diy superstore chains in the UK might not be far off, especially as they continue to diversify.

So much has to be taken into consideration with a design; every job will be unique so surely forcing a site to conform to a standard pre-packaged format will ultimately never be a good idea.

And yet perhaps there is a niche market (hopefully a very small niche) for this type of design for people who want to be seen as individuals but who really just want to conform.

Naturalistic planting in context

2010-01-10T06:35:00.001-08:00

Trends come and go in garden design, something that has been around for a while now and shows no sign of disappearing is naturalistic or prairie planting.

The prevalence of this style of planting in private, public and commercial spaces, at least abroad, is becoming an almost be all and end all regards originality. That said it may not be a bad thing as most parks in this country still adhere to victorian gaudiness regards planting: take 1 cordyline australis, then surround with uber tacky luminous bedding (i think i can feel the ghost of William Robinson flowing through me) why is this still the case? The people must know this style isn’t cost effective long term.

Used in context its fantastic, but most people don’t have the kind of space this planting really needs, and so a somewhat watered down version adorns most amateur gardeners/designers attempts. Grasses and ‘native’ plant material are planted singularly in some cases and so the naturalistic style is nigh on amalgamated into the brush wash of differing garden styles that make up most peoples gardens in the UK.

This unfortunately serves to diminish the original intention even more i think, especially seen, as it’s already a pastiche of nature’s own design even when done in larger spaces.

Still its been seeping into the national psyche of years now, and it’s definitely here to stay in some form or another. Even maybe fifteen years ago the only grass people had in their gardens was the grass that they mowed.

Where can planting go from here? And by this I mean in the broad sense, the future of planting if you will. Most new/rehashed ideas to me at least seem to be coming from Europe, vertical planting on buildings for example, but even these have been around for a little while now. What’s next?

Obviously this planting doesn’t work in every situation, and isn’t too everyone’s taste, if it was I guess this is all you would see anywhere. But it is adaptable and that’s the thing, it’s broad and forgiving and any unintended randomness i.e. different variety of plant turning up on delivery wagon can be passed off as naturalistic! Even inexperienced designers can come off looking pretty savvy (to the client at least)

© peter ward garden design 2010

Perennial combination #1

2010-01-09T14:03:00.000-08:00

Sun/partial shade, sheltered, well drained/moist but well drained, summer flowering, relatively low maintenance when established.

Salvia discolour
Anthriscus sylvestris 'Ravenswing'
Achillea 'Apfelblute'
Geranium clarkei 'Kashmir White'
Scabiosa atropurpurea 'Chile Black'

Architecture & The Garden

2010-01-09T11:12:00.001-08:00

So many things have to be kept in context when designing a garden, budget, clients wishes, the locality, environment etc one thing that is often at odds with the soon to be designed garden is the property it’s attached too.

Decades of bad architecture in this country have left us designers with an unfortunate legacy and unless a ‘Grand Designs’ esque property comes along most of us will have to make do with less than inspiring architecture.

Georgian/Edwardian and some Victorian properties at least have a bit of character you can go along with or play off. Terraced housing is interesting, as your essentially designing for a space that was never intended to be used as a garden (outside toilet and coal shed now a thing of the past) still there’s plenty of them.

Is this why most British people spend so much money on gardening, perhaps they are subconsciously trying to cheer up their properties?

Yes there are rules to adhere to with every design, and for the most part it’s better to stick to them, but different architectural styles require a little more thought.

How we approach and work with different architectural styles should really be mentioned more i think. To often designers stomp in and attempt to put their mark on a project almost as if their marking their territory and they want people to know they have designed it. Surely it’s better to create a ‘timeless’ type of design?

Then again who am I to dictate to someone what they should have, or indeed can’t have because of the style of their home. Although after seeing another new build property (in the UK) with a ‘Japanese’ themed garden on tv a few days ago perhaps i'm right?

© peter ward garden design 2010

Garden design plain and simple

2010-01-09T11:11:00.000-08:00

First post so i’ll keep it light, this blogs about planting, principles, and just about everything related to garden design thats interesting.