The Sketch Book and Shovel

Here is an article I wrote for the much celebrated Landscape Juice Network back in February 2009.  I think much of it still holds true currently for the many businesses, established and start-up alike in the landscape and garden design industries.

Landscaping through the recession : Landscape and garden expert.

So after much practise and a couple of knock-backs, I finally had come up with a design that a client felt worthy of having built in their garden…phew!  The customer was Mary G from Busby on the south side of Glasgow, and not only did she like the design she loved it enough to go over budget to get the project going!

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Being new to the landscaping and design business it was always going to take me a while to get used to the different aspects involved, none more so than the design process; fiddling about on the laptop with the design software we use was all well and good- but it couldn’t prepare me for the real life problems presented by an actual client and project.

by Matthew Thomson

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Introducing our newest blogging author Matthew Thomson; also a trainee garden designer and a landscaper, whose recent experience at an introductory meeting with the Glasgow Guerilla Gardeners has indeed left him inspired and keen to spread the good word.

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Much of Glasgow has been bought, pulled down, built upon or developed in these past ten years and there have been tens of thousands of new properties built around the city.  New properties with gardens of course are where my interests are focused since they instantly require some form of landscaping and we have designed and landscaped more than a few in these past 4 years, but there seems to be a trend in the condition of the garden left to the new owners by the developers: If you have recently purchased a new-build property or are thinking of buying one; how much thought or relevance do you, or does the developer attribute to the garden at the point of sale?

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As a designer I am frequently invited to people’s homes to discuss their requirements in the garden.  Many, who have contacted me with landscaping projects in mind, simply want A patio, or A deck or A driveway and it must be THIS shape and must go HERE, THERE and THERE: but if we look at the garden in it’s entirety as part of our property; then it becomes another room – albeit an outdoor room. I wonder; would people upgrade their old and worn out bathroom by simply replacing the bath alone?  It might be a whopping great shiny bath but would it not outshine the rest of the bathroom fittings and therefore actually make the room far LESS attractive – surely the opposite from the desired effect?

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As landscapers and gardeners up and down the country shake off their festive hangovers and head back out – we find that country is frozen solid – but surely we aren’t ALL down in the dumps about 2009?

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Having read some of the many articles on the effects of the credit crunch on small businesses, I wonder how it will affect my small business and how other garden designers and landscapers around Glasgow, and indeed around the UK, will cope with the coming year.

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The winter months are in fact the best time to arrange to have a landscaping project scheduled for your garden; ensuring everything is in place for the new season to start and getting a real head start on enjoying your home outdoors!

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