The thoughts and ramblings of a landscape gardener…
Posted in every post to date, horticulture in ireland on Sep 16th, 2008
A polite debacle arose recently were a landscape architect, a contractor and a sub contractor agreed to work together for the common benefit of a client. Not much new there and a normal sounding relationship prior to the start of any garden build. What resulted was a mild tarnish and financial loss on the name [...]
Posted in every post to date, landscape design on Feb 21st, 2008
garden show preparation is in full swing; The trees are in bud, almost trying into leaf; the daffs have sprouted and almost all in flower. The season is literally almost urging itself to burst into full bloom.
Such varied enquiries come into my office. But, even with our website [thanks Patrick] usually it’s what type of [...]
Posted in every post to date, my office on Dec 16th, 2007
If you ever want a wedding in the summertime, marry Santa… but never a horticulturist [Dave]! This Christmas our summer holidays start December 29th and we return Wednesday 16th January.
Sounds like a long holiday but this is the first time the team [and I] have had a chance to sit down since this time last [...]
Posted in every post to date, my ireland on Dec 16th, 2007
Can you imagine if every shop front made this amount of effort to the front of their business? Wouldn’t Dublin be that little more beautiful. With construction work, traffic and all of the usual razamataz which might not inspire excitement in your day - what an effect it would have!
We did these planters for Itsa4 [...]
Posted in advice - garden, every post to date on Dec 3rd, 2007
If cutting nee maintaining fine lines of pristine planting isn’t for you then a formal hedge is not what you want. If however you like trimming or cutting from time to time and don’t mind ‘organised chaos’ then maybe you do! But a hedge as we [becoming elder] Irish know it, is something that [...]
Posted in advice - garden, every post to date on Dec 3rd, 2007
All across Ireland on motorways, farmland and construction sites planting is taking place - but time waits for no man, to plant. Some say winter is the quite period for landscaping - I don’t really agree.
There are exceptions to every rule but in general, plants [bare roots/ whips] are dormant in winter. This allows, within [...]
Posted in advice - garden, every post to date on Oct 27th, 2007
I’ve just returned from Galway where the week truly could’ve only got better. When I visited in August what I found was nothing short of criminal.
The ‘contractor’ had removed the foundations of the retaining wall leaving it falling away into the garden with the driveway. He also took up the trees & drainage pipes but [...]
Posted in every post to date, my office on Oct 17th, 2007
‘Tranquil settings, the finest of surrounds within the peaceful and serene grounds complete with parklands and golf course.’ This all sounds absolutely superb but what the small print on the booklet didn’t tell me was that this would be, for me, a true bus-mans holiday.
It was a few weeks ago when invited away [...]
Posted in every post to date, landscape design on Oct 13th, 2007
Half the interest of a garden is the constant exercise of the imagination.-Mrs C.W. Earle, Pot Pourri from a Surrey Garden, 1897
The introduction of possibly ‘younger’ designs or more designs from a new younger generation to our television screens certainly allows those in that domain to cause slight controversy. I shall rephrase. It allows select [...]
Posted in advice - garden, every post to date on Oct 6th, 2007
good reliable tradesmen are notoriously hard to find - and if you do find one, chances are they’re booked up for ages. Emily Manning gives a survival guide to beating the cowboys. from Irelands Eddie Hobbs You & Your Money Magazine.
Manning suggests three websites to find the ideal contractor. pickapro.ie and online tradesmen.com do have [...]
