Margaret Traynor is a hard-working nurse in Glasgow’s Yorkhill Sick Children’s Hospital.  She is due to retire soon and her daughters Linda and Karen decided to write to ITV’s flagship daytime magazine show “This Morning” to see if they might help out with a special surprise.

Margaret's garden lacked any function or usability

Margaret had planned to renovate her garden for years but didn’t manage to get the time and resources, given her hectic work schedule, to do this.  The This Morning team decided to arrange this special surprise for Margaret as part of their Dreams Come True series.

Nicky was contacted just a few days before Christmas and asked if he would be interested in getting involved with the project.  He duly obliged and so he and the ITV team took their Christmas break in anticipation of a 48 hour surprise makeover in the second weekend of January.

On returning to work Nicky met with production assistant Ben Elcombe and Margaret’s son in law David at Margaret’s home in Partick in Glasgow.  This was a secret recce and Margaret was at work completely unaware of what was transpiring back at home.  Nicky had to work quickly taking measurements and drafting initial design ideas – the makeover was due to take place in 3 days time!

Concrete and old bark did not offer any colour

RHS medal winner, and host of ITV’s This Morning’s gardening spot, David Domoney conversed with Nicky by phone in detail about what might be possible to achieve in Margaret’s garden at the weekend.  It was agreed that decking would form the main functional area since Margaret had always wanted a deck, while aggregate and extensive planting would generate an attractive environment for the rest of the garden space.  David hadn’t yet seen the garden since the project was agreed upon at the last minute before the festive break and was reliant upon Nicky’s expertise in order to form an agreed design and plan of works for the project.

On Saturday 10th January at 10am Margaret was whisked away by her daughter Karen to Mar Lodge for a luxury spa weekend as both celebrated their birthdays.  David and his team of Garden Angels arrived in Glasgow around 330pm and met with our designer Nicky to formalise the plan of action and begin the ripout of the old garden including the shed, patio and old furniture, and source and collect the relevant materials.

The whole project was for charity and donations of plants and materials came from many well-known trade supporters such as B&Q and Dobbies Garden Centres.  The full list of suppliers can be viwed on ITV’s own page for the suppliers of this project. Nicky and GardenImprovements.com donated the decking materials and the services required to fit it.

Since no builder’s merchants were open on the Sunday it became a race against time to get all the relevant materials to the site ready for construction on Sunday.  The weather was horrendous!

8am on Sunday 11th January and already soaked to the skin the team began to plant up the trees and terrace the slope of the garden while Nicky made the preparatory cuts for the decking (squeezed into the back of the van for shelter!)

David Domoney

12 hours later and with much help from Margaret’s brother Ken and son-in-law David the decking was complete and the rest of the garden almost there.  The house was in the middle of a terrace and so all the materials had to come through the house or over the neighbour’s fence.  David Domoney’s team of 7(!) had to manouevre all their gear over and through the area where Nicky was earnestly piecing together the new decking for Margaret.  Daughter Linda played hostess to the whole team keeping us well fed with tea and rolls throughout the day and was left with a muddy brown (formerly white) kitchen to clean up when we had all finished!

Nicky commented, “It was a very daunting task having to complete all the work in little more than 12 hours – nevermind appearing on live TV! – but when you are up against it you tend just to get on with it and I didn’t really think about the weather at all.”

ITV Crew arrives at Garden Makeover project

On Monday 11th January the TV crews arrived and the finishing touches were applied to the garden.

Throughout the morning Philip and Fern spoke to David live while Nicky and the team made sure everything was in place for the surprise reveal.

At 12 noon Margaret arrived home and was greeted by David and a TV camera crew at the top of her front path in Partick.  She gasped at the site of the full skip and continued into the house to see what had happened.

The gasps of Philip and Fern were echoed by Margaret when the curtains were drawn back and Margaret stepped into her brand new dream garden!

The completed Garden as presented to Margaret on live TV

The transformation was tremendous and Margaret wept as Nicky and David and the Garden Angels team, family members and colleagues from Yorkhill congratulated her and toasted her upcoming retirement in a garden that she could truly enjoy.  Margaret, a previous lottery winner with 4 numbers, said to Evening Times reporter that it was better than winning the lottery in an article in which Nicky was also required to comment upon!

Post Live TV party on Margaret's new deck

Nicky was commended personally by David Domoney for his work with the promise of work on future projects at RHS Chelsea, Tatton Park and Hampton Court Flower Shows – so watch this space!

A grinning Nicky commented, “I am honoured to have been personally commended by David Domoney and I am looking forward to working with him again later this year.”

Once David and his team had headed home Nicky was invited by the family to stay behind and enjoy a glass of Champagne – he is also looking forward the celebratory BBQ to which he has been expressly invited to when the weather warms up a little!

Nicky added, “Linda made the whole experience a pleasureable one and I enjoyed meeting her and the other family members immensely – Ken and David were particularly helpful in assisting me with the deck construction!”

Margaret in the garden after all the hard work

Michele Tamlin, ITV’s This Morning producer also commended Nicky and this can be seen on our new testimonials portfolio – soon to be updated with the previous 3 years commendations.

Margaret and Daughter Karen relax with a glass after the TV crews have left

Nicky himself is very satisfied with the project and with Margaret’s delight at her new garden, “It was a real pleasure to see Margaret’s reaction at what we had all achieved and there was a tremendous sense of satisfaction among the team members and TV crew and there were hugs and kisses all round!”

Some sunshine at last!

Nicky Patterson

GardenImprovements.com

A Review of the Dutchtub Portable Wood Burning Spa | Spot Cool Stuff: Design.

First in a series of blog posts showcasing some of the great ideas out there that help inspire our garden designs and will inspire you to get design motivated!!

Until our new office is completed on Canary Wharf in London I am committed to working from home in Clarkston in Glasgow.  My office measures 2m x 2m and is used by me and my apprentice designer Matthew who will be making an appearance here soon.  The home-office idea isn’t a new one but is certainly becoming more popular and more acceptable within business models: check out these ideas as featured in TreeHugger.com.

The “New Staple of the American Home”

How to sleep on the job – and get away with it!

Check out this organic and living chair by Shinwei Rhoda Yen

Must have been a fun-guy that came up with that idea!!

Garden gnomes have shifted their twee-ness and transported straight into the 21st century.  Check these wee guys out:

Get the kids involved with the garden this year:

And finally here is a fantastic new site to help you plant up those beds and borders:

Tata for now!

Nicky Patterson, Designer, GardenImprovements.com

In one scene, not quite surprised to see Muriel Gray roaming the countryside, I was more taken aback by the introduction of her interviewee, Jack Frame,  and his striking and atmospheric renditions of trees in their countryside settings.

This example, of a solitary cherry blossom at the ripening of it’s bloom, is a scene I often try to replicate in my designs.  There is nothing quite as exciting, for me as a designer, to see one of my completed gardens be confetti strewn by a celebratory blossom tree as it heralds in the warmer weather of a summer.