The Sketchbook and Shovel » garden designer ayrshire

Super Sheds: Coming to Your Backyard Soon : TreeHugger

Nicky Patterson — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 10:40:03 +0000

If you have one, I know you love your shed. You might not think it, know it or say it…but deep down you really cannot do without it! Yours may be a handsome new shed, still proud in its newly treated timber – it reminds you of log cabins and Swedish saunas and you treat it like a grown-up Wendy house…sort of! It might be a dilapidated old shack, creaking with character and woodlice – you run a gauntlet of HUGE spiders and webs to get the rusty old garden shears every summer, cursing as some old tin of paint or a lawnmower blade whacks you shin on the way past! Either way, you love it. You might think, know or say you hate it – but you don’t.

I’m not really shed ‘geek’ but I wanted to get some of your juices going before presenting this Super Sheds article from the TreeHugger site displaying some fantastic ideas (like the one pictured above) for garden sheds and garden offices – see if you like some of these ideas and want a new shed then you’ll need a garden to suit…and that’s where I come in!!

If sheds isn’t your ‘thang’ then I’ll find out what is. Everybody loves their garden for a reason – for some its sheds, for others its BBQs, or plants, or sunshine (obviously not in this part of the world!), or for kids, or for fresh air, or vegetables, or wildlife… anyway whatever the reason is, I think it should be celebrated because I love gardens and I know how you feel!

So have a look – there are some pretty cool ideas! So cheers for now folks – I’m off to build something in my shed (actually I’ll just stand and gaze at all my cool tools for 20 minutes…but by intermittently banging a hammer on the shelf I can fool the neighbours!).

Ciao for now!

Nicky Patterson, Designer @ GardenImprovements.com

Article via TreeHugger

New Dwellings for our Feathered Friends

Matthew Thomson — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 10:40:01 +0000

With so many clients wanting new and exciting features in their gardens, the team here at GardenImprovements.com thought these bird feeders are a great idea. Joe Papendick makes these cool sculptural bird feeders out of hand forged steel and other metals.He then applies a chemical to the metal to bring out it’s natural aged patina and color. I’m sure all the birds would be a twitter if I planted one of these in my garden. I know I would! Check them out at http://www.etsy.com/

As well as bringing a touch of class and originality to the garden, they’ll also keep our feathered friends happy! Always on the look out for improving our living areas!

Cheers for now

Matthew Thomson, Apprentice Garden Designer @ GardenImprovements.com

Via- poppypetunia.blogspot.com

East Kilbride: Large Family Garden Design in Jackton

Matthew Thomson — Tue, 15 Feb 2011 14:01:13 +0000

Welcome to another project article in our Garden Design Portfolio Series. This garden has been designed by Nicky Patterson and will be built by the team of garden designers and landscapers at GardenImprovements.com.

This design was commissioned by Richard and Karen E from a new-build estate in East Kilbride, near Glasgow in Lanarkshire, Scotland.

The family had a large new build garden upon which to make a family garden and their brief consisted of

A largish lawn for the kids to run around on

Small degree of terracing of the existing slope

Patio’s for entertaining

A area exclusively for the children, including the potential for a vegetable plot

The clients had a budget of around 10k and were happy to undertake the planting themselves over a period of time

The plan is to have two separate areas; one for the adults (on the left hand side) and one for the kids, on (the right hand side). The adult side will consist of a breakfast patio – where Richard and Karen can enjoy a glass of OJ and read the paper in the morning rays; a large black Slate entertainment patio emanating from the house – perfect for BBQs and Sunday lunches; and a separate lawn area with a water rill leading through conjoining these elements. The two sides are to be separated by a pergola cutting through the lawns with the kids area consisting of soft play and their own lawn. The idea behind this is to give the parents a bit of chill out time while knowing the kids are having a ball in the play area safe and sound.

So in this shot of the design we can see the breakfast patio to the left and main patio on the right. We decided on the black slate to give a modern, clean feel to the design and when edged with granite setts the two really contrast each other well. The pergola will add a real focal point as well as giving a new dimension to the space, without completely obstructing the view to the kids play area.

The pergola also acts as a frame to the feature Magnolia Stellata tree at one end and a feature bird bath in the gravel area at the house meaning no matter where you are in the garden you get a fantastic view of a great piece of garden art. We made sure the patio was large enough to fit a table and eight chairs on easily with room left over for secondary seating if the clients desire

And there will be plenty of demand for extra seating with this stunning curtain cascade water feature the main focal point of the breakfast patio. The water will run through a rill travelling alongside the edge of the patio, creating some relaxing noise to enjoy. While the feature is great to look at its also child friendly being extremely shallow – allowing some education and play with water.

The kids side of the garden is to be split into two main areas; the soft play area and the lawn, so if there was to be any boredom on the play equipment they could always jump off and have a kick-a-bout on the lawn. There’s still room for planting so that if the young ones develop some green fingers there’ll be scope for a wee vegetable garden!

The geometric shapes we’ve opted for in this design really make the most out of the space available to us which is critical to the brief. We had to get a lot in here to keep the kids amused – you know the attention span they have!

Can’t wait to get this one started so keep an eye out for updates on how the job is progressing and the finished photos

Kind regards

Nicky Patterson, Designer @ Gardenimprovements.com

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Glasgow South: Long Narrow Garden Design in Clarkston

Matthew Thomson — Tue, 15 Feb 2011 14:01:08 +0000

The design was commissioned by Alastair J from a Clarkston in the southside of Glasgow, Scotland.

His brief required:

Some decking
A secondary seating area to catch the evening rays
A low maintenance solution with a lawn
A ramp to allow disability access
Some privacy fencing

The decking area had already been nominated to be protruding from the rear of the house. The garden was long and narrow, (and narrowing!) so ellipsing oval lines became evident after playing around with some different shapes. These lines also helped develop the area to accommodate a second patio area at the bottom of the garden which was where the evening sun settled.

The tear-shaped deck creates a fantastic base to begin leading the eye around the garden. The smooth curved lines also sooth the mood of the garden into a calm and stylish space in which to entertain and lounge.

The lawn gives some lush green and soft quality to the area immediately below the decking which then allows us to transgress into a gravel garden area which will be bursting with grasses and low growing shrubs, creating some texture and shape. The raised bed along the far side allows us to manage the lateral height difference in the garden whilst also installing some further structural interest to the space which will be reinforced by some dense and repetitive planting.

This end of the garden gathers the majority of the afternoon and evening sun – so some shade in the form of a ‘floating’ pergola, is welcome but I fell also necessary here to reconcile with the obstruction posed by the garage building. Here the garage is somewhat integrated with the garden and therefore becomes less obtrusive. the form of the pergola offers some contrasting lines to those established by the elliping ovals and this helps to confirm the design aesthetic within thi garden.

The material colour pallete is more or less monochromatic but use of green slate shale in the gravel beds offer tonal interest which prepares the way for the lush green grasses and shrubbery which are accentuated by bursts of white, pink and red.

This design was commissioned yet unfortunately the project has not yet come to fruition, which is disappointing because I really like the design and would love to get the finished article into our portfolio. C’est la vie!!

Kind regards

Nicky Patterson, Designer @ Gardenimprovements.com

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Glasgow South: Contemporary Front Garden Design in Netherlee

Matthew Thomson — Tue, 15 Feb 2011 14:01:05 +0000

This project comes from Netherlee, an area in-between Clarkston and Muirend in the southside of Glasgow in Scotland where Louise M has commissioned this design for her small front garden which was cramped and darkened by overgrown shrubs and hedges.

Her brief included:

A low maintenance solution to the garden as a whole

To brighten up a originally dull area

Some terracing and planting to suit the shape of the garden

As you can see the original garden is dense and awkward with planting and light levels are poor. The hedge and large mature tree on either side certainly don’t help either!

The plan is to create a modern and contemporary formal front garden – the entrance to any property needs to befit and frame the building but must be found to be simple yet attractive. Louise had requested a small seating area to catch some evening sun and I chose to incorporate this in the form of a small circle cobbled patio – to fit a small bistro table and two chairs. The rest of the design would pivot in radials around this forming a lawn, a gravel path, some attractive low maintenance shrubs and a small raised bed.

To address the issue of the low light levels in the garden and the confinement of space - I’ve introduced a fan shaped lawn inkeeping with the pivot theme that opens the area up and creates further usable but low maintenance sections. Obviously, being a front garden, I have kept the access steps and path as straight forward as original but have tied these into the rest of the design by cobbling them in a similar fashion to the patio.

Fanning from the cobbled patio is the lawn and a slate shale pathway leading down to the retaining wall and steps to low level where a raised bed provides some essential colour – using low maintenance grasses and shrubs. The slate really brightens the garden up and provides a nice crunch underfoot.

It was important to have a bright base for the low level to reflect some light up onto the walls and the space on the top level so a silver granite gravel will be laid as a pavement, providing a low maintenance solution while offering a good contrast with the dark cobbled edging stones.

Bamboo and lavender planting around the patio offer further audio and frangrant sensory qualities, creating a pleasant environment in which to enjoy a cup of tea or glass of wine, while the different levels and heights help to give that extra dimension and feeling of a greater space than actually exists but also produces some interesting walkways and paths that will procure some enjoyment and sense of function for the client and any guests she may have visiting.

Kind regards

Nicky Patterson, Designer @ Gardenimprovements.com

Please check us out and connect with us at our profiles below!

Glasgow West: Contemporary Garden Design in Anniesland

Matthew Thomson — Tue, 15 Feb 2011 14:01:00 +0000

The design was commissioned by Nicky K from a new build townhouse property in Anniesland in the west end of Glasgow, Scotland.

His brief required:

Somewhere to relax after a days work
A stylish and contemprary design with some light colours
Simple and low maintenance planting
A water feature
Some lighting
A small lawn area

This design is for the new build property which have been left unturfed with bare soil and with a slight gradient up towards the back fence from the house.

It is quite a narrow garden and so my initial idea was to bring in some shape and create the sense of space through use of circles and curved lines. The basis of the design centres around a circular lawn which dominates the middle area of the garden but is then subdued by the inclusion of tree trunk disks and segmentation by a water rill which springs from a water feature at the top left corner of the garden, runs underneath the deck and then disappears at the house.

The use of pale sandstone will brighten the area and provide the perfect entertainment patio for Nick and Wendy to enjoy some evening dinner in the relative style and comfort of their new garden.

A lemon-shaped deck provides the perfect platform for a couple of loungers which will catch the last of the evening sun and the interaction of the water feature will create a pleasant environment in which the clients can enjoy a glass of wine.

The decked area will bring raised by about 2ft from the level of the lawn thus creating a cascade waterfall feature in front of stone filled gabion cages which allow the water to trickle into the rill. The use of subtle planting and beach pebble creates a seaside effect and we can introduce some height interest through the use of cypress trees down the right hand side.

The low retaining wall will slope from the height of the deck down to the height of the paving thus dealing with the height difference within the garden and allowing for several terraces within the space; one for the patio, one for the lawn and one for the deck.

Keep posted for the completed pictures of this project!

Kind regards

Nicky Patterson, Designer @ Gardenimprovements.com

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Summer Kitchens Make A Comeback In Style : TreeHugger

Nicky Patterson — Tue, 15 Feb 2011 14:00:57 +0000

If you’ve got a big garden – something like this would be superb!!

Summer kitchens were common a hundred years ago since stoves took a long time to heat up and a long time to cool, and in the summer it would make the house unbearably hot – so people often moved outside to cook to keep the house cool.

Nowadays we have gas and electric ovens which heat and cool quickly and dining outdoors has become more of a lifestyle. It is a social activity which brings friends and family together in a relaxed and unconstrained atmosphere. In the west of Scotland, like others in northern climates, we tend to want to live indoors nine months of the year and then party all summer so building an outdoor kitchen (even a small one) would seem to align with that attitude – but more than that these kitchens would enable us to eat and dine outdoors all year round! Sometimes the most exciting times too be outdoors yet under shelter are when its raining or when the snow is on the ground!

Estonian architects Urmas Muru and Peeter Pere have built a great outdoor kitchen.

They tell Rose at Dezeen:

“As Estonian weather is not famous for its warmth and sunshine it has become popular to have summer parties at so-called summer kitchens and shelters,” explains Pere.

“It is actually contemporary version of the old farmhouse tradition to cook outdoors in summer not only for the family and for the cattle as well,” he continues.

Via -Summer Kitchens Make A Comeback In Style : TreeHugger

Cheers

Nicky @ GardenImprovements.com

Glasgow West Garden Design: Rural Relaxation in Kelvindale

Matthew Thomson — Tue, 15 Feb 2011 14:00:55 +0000

Peter and Julie M commissioned this design in Kelvindale near Hyndland in the west end of Glasgow, Scotland. Their brief required:

Removal of the square shapes and lines already established in the garden
To create a fairly low maintenance space
A flowing and soft design, no rigid or restricting lines

The garden consists mainly of lawn and has a considerable slope towards the house. Peter and Julie would like to retain the apple tree near the back of the garden, which will fit into the design perfectly.

The new design alters the entrance to the garden: as you come from the original decking at the house (bottom), steps lead you up to a pale sandstone patio and a sea-flint path which runs almost centrally through the garden and up into a purple slate shale seating circle where the apple tree stands.

Some terracing has been introduced in the for of steps so there will be three levels, the patio, the circle at the shed and the seating circle. The Sandstone patio is certainly big enough to hold a large table and chairs and some informal seating created by the steps should help if anyone is left out!

Hugging the seating circle is a reclaimed stone wall which tapers to ground level at the entrance – reinforcing the flow of the garden. Using the reclaimed stone will enhance a rural style and should appear to have been there as an old feature, as will the old apple tree and the wild flower turf used to border the central shape

The central circle will have the gravel path cutting through it and on the shed side will be cobbled to provide a solid surface for potting and accessing tools from the shed. Opposite, a green slate shale planting bed provides an opportunity to add some intersting specimen plants – here I have suggested a corkscrew hazel as a centre piece.

Shrubs and ornamental grasses will fill out the beds and wild flower turf will add some seasonal variation – this will be virtually maintenance free requiring a cut only ONCE a year!

Bursts of planting through the Slate Shale will create more dimension to the shapes and will draw the eye from the house toward the seating circle and apple tree. The materials and layout of the design will ensure Peter and Julie acquire a relaxing, flowing country-style garden to enjoy whilst not having to put in too much hard work maintaining it!

We are very excited about this project and hope to get it under-way in the very near future so keep an eye out for the finished pics!

Kind regards

Nicky Patterson, Designer @ Gardenimprovements.com

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Glasgow South: Small Low Budget Makeover in Mount Florida

Matthew Thomson — Tue, 15 Feb 2011 14:00:52 +0000

The design was commissioned by Nader A from Mount Florida (next to Hampden Stadium) in the southside of Glasgow, Scotland. This is an example of an effective low-budget project and how small spaces can be transformed.

His brief is:

To provide an attractive patio area on which he could entertain guests during concerts taking place in Hampden stadium
Cover up the existing concrete terrace
Build some raised planters and plant some contemporary, low maintenance shrubs.
He had a budget of £1200

This was a very small area covering half of the full back garden which was split into two levels – the area of concern being the upper terrace directly adjacent to the house. As you can see the existing concrete base is dull and fairly worn down and did not befit the appearance of this mature sandstone property.

The space is quite restricted and the plan is therefore very straight foward..

A stepping stone access to the patio is bordered with decorative spey gravel to brighten the garden and blend with the colours and tones of the buff coloured patio.

It is essential that the patio is of a sufficient size to host a dinner party or two so it fills most of the main garden area, with the decorative gravel continuing throughout the design. To provide some planting there’s a couple of raised Redwood planters containing bamboo in one and lavender or herbs in the second. This will also bring some interesting aromas to arouse the senses.

In such a small space and with a small budget – it didn’t make sense to squeeze in too many features, so the design is clean, smooth and simple but with interesting structure and planting to keep the users interested.

Hopefully Nader and his family will be rockin’ out to some gigs in their new garden very soon!

Kind regards

Nicky Patterson, Designer @ Gardenimprovements.com

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Glasgow South: Contemporary Garden Design in Pollokshaws

Matthew Thomson — Tue, 15 Feb 2011 14:00:51 +0000

Welcome to another project article in our Garden Design Portfolio Series. This garden has been designed by Nicky Patterson and the team of landscapers at GardenImprovements.com.

The design was commissioned by Brian and Christine M from a terraced sandstone property in Strathbungo, between Pollokshaws and Pollokshields in the southside of Glasgow Scotland.

Their brief required:

A new contemporary and low maintenance area
Some provision for entertainment in numbers
Space to relax
They have a budget of £12K

The plan is to completely remove all existing elements and begin from scratch with a symetrical circular design. The main circle forms the patio area and is sliced through by a linear rill led from a sheet cascade water feature. The top-left and bottom-right corners will be built into large loungers clad on top with smooth hardwood timber slats upon which some large cushions or beanbags can be strewn. The top right and bottom left corners are left open for access.

The patio circle will be formed in linear sandstone slabs and edged in a slate block. A thick green slate shale border hugs the patio allowing for some architectural and exhibition planting. We will retain the existing clay brick walls but build a new white render wall to surround the car parking area at the rear – the raised deck loungers will also be constructed in this way and all of this should pose an interesting contrast between old and new style materials which should sooth the aesthetic of the design into the surrounding environment.

There will be ample space for a large table and chairs for al fresco dining and the expanse of space around this should set a tone of comfort and luxury.

The clay brick and glass cascade water feature will pool in a small butler’s basin flush with the timber but also feed into the rill. appearing just 4 inches above the rill line in the paving to create a little noise. The rill will disappear into a small but oasis of grasses near the building.

Unfortunately we did not win the contract for this design as Brian and Christine decided to move when an opportunity presented itself. Nevertheless they were impressed with the design and would have loved to have had it implemented!

Kind regards

Nicky Patterson, Designer @ Gardenimprovements.com

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