Terrace Design

One of my designs has finally been built!  Those nice people at Outdoor Creations asked me to accompany them to a client near Brands Hatch to see if I had any suggestions for a terraced area to the rear of a rather nice property in the country. 
So, I had a ponder and decided that there should be room for entertaining with enough room to walk around and there should also be enclosure from the planting.  I wanted to use a dark coloured stone and luckily the client decided to go for a dark granite inlaid with some hardwood timber.  I drew up two versions and sent them off and the client decided to go with the second option without the raised planters.

The original plan with dining area and seating area with raised planters

The revised plan without seating area and ground level planting 

Outdoor Creations doing their thing, creating...outdoors

So, before...

...still before...

...and still before...

...and now, all shiny and new.

Planting at the Olympic Park

 I thought you might like to see some of the planting styles at the Olympic Park.  It has a definite wild meadow look about it with different areas showing or representing different areas of the world.  Some areas were looking better than others but all in all it looked very good and very colourful, I just hope it gets the chance to reseed itself and thrive from here.

Some gabions and EPDM for you Landscape Architects, ooh!

However, there were a couple of large screens cleverly located in the river with banks either side so people could view them easily.  We were there in the first week before the atheletics stadium had opened and people were already trampling the planting and sitting in the bioswales!  "Mum, my bum feels a bit wet!"  Still, as long as we can all herd together and watch tv.

The Olympics

Well, the Olympics, did it happen?  Was it real?  Two weeks of national glory and then it's gone.  We went to see a couple of hockey matches along with all of the Aussies, Dutch and Belgians.  May I say that the Dutch band is way better than the British band, a bit of Volare by an oompah band, lovely.

It was a bit strange to see such cheerfulness in East London (well any part of London), people being jolly, supporting GB and no snarling.  And even though there was the largest burger restaurant (!) in the world from a company whose name shall not be mentioned here, no litter!  Plenty of Wombles about doing their stuff.

 It's the fashion in East London these days, me and Dizzee, soulmates.

So, it was very good, well done to all.  I thought it was ironic that the Who played Teenage Wasteland at the closing ceremony, the future perchance?

Coastal Drift...GOLD

Well, my girls went and did it , they won gold...whilst all around them were losing their heads etc etc, they stayed calm, took their time and came up with the best planting on display at the whole show.  The grasses and other plants dotted in and around positively sing and recreate the feel of a small garden near the coast in a British garden and the deckchairs and the old gramophone set it off beautifully.  

Well done Sue and Adele, you deserve it.

In Diamond Jubilee year, a gold medal

 Willmott Ford meeting their public

Vote for Coastal Drift for the People's Choice favourite garden here
 http://www.rhs.org.uk/Shows-Events/RHS-Hampton-Court-Palace-Flower-Show/2012/Gardens/People-s-Choice

Coastal Drift at Hampton Court 2

Yesterday was Day 8 for the Coastal Drift team at Hampton Court and it all seems to be going swimmingly!  The deck has had Simon's special stain applied to it, the wall has had another coat of paint and the plants began to go in over the weekend.  All it would seem to be needed to be done at this stage is to continue with the planting and to add the few finishing touches.


Well done gang.

Good luck with the judges, enjoy Press Day and the Gala Evening.

Coastal Drift at Hampton Court

I've just spent the last three days at Hampton Court helping Willmott Ford to build their Coastal Drift garden in time for this year's Flower Show.  The wall and deck were the first things to go up and we have spent the last couple of days dodging the showers and trying to get the wall filled and painted.

It finally stopped yesterday long enoungh to get the final two coats of paint on it and it looks magnificent and really stands out from all of the other gardens when viewed from the end of the row.   

 Waiting for the delivery of compost and sea shells.

 Planting up the wall with grasses to create the movement of the waves.  It works, especially with the recent gale force winds.

Willmott Ford after five hard days work on their creation, just the posts and the planting to go.