by Matthew Thomson

When Nicky informed me that i would be sending off my own design and presentation I was a tad nervous about the outcome to say the least!  It didn’t help that the garden I would be designing for was a very strange shape and quite large.  When doing practise designs I found it alot easier to come up with ideas for smaller gardens, so this was the first stumbling block!  I tried to fit in everything that the client had wanted, but ended up with a mish-mash of a design with no real flow throughout the garden, so it was back to the drawing board!

I needed some inspiration, so took to the web to see if i could find it there.  I wanted to have my own style in the design so found it quite difficult to look at other designers’ designs and ideas without thinking that I was cheating, so it was to the reference books next! This proved a bit more successful as they not only have designs and techniques in them but tips and ideas on how to create gardens of all shapes and sizes which was exactly the kind of help i needed.  I came to realise that the design concept is the same, whether for a small town garden or in my case a large oddly shaped country garden, just different scales.  So once i had got my head round the size and shape it was onto the design itself, which proved just as difficult.

The clients themselves live in a modern farm conversion in the country with cracking city views of glasgow, so my problem was trying to fit in the rural rustic surroundings, the clients modern style whilst framing the city landscape in the distance.  Not much then!  Taking into consideration the clients needs for certain things in the garden; utility area, patio, water feature, i decided to try and mirror the view from the house in the garden.  I tried to achieve this using different heights in the centre of the garden with hedges and walls, and fibre optic lights embedded in the patio, to reflect the city view, and with different size lawn mounds either side of the central ‘city’ area to replicate the surrounding country hills and farmland.  Considering the materials was also important so it was back to the books to find the perfect gear.  I would say that this stage of the process was probably the easiest due to the fact that the house was very modern so to tie in that to the garden was just a case of trying to use nice clean modern materials, like black slate for the patio and crisp white gravel for the pathways.

So i was happy with my design, next stage- the dreaded presentation!  Now I’m not the most confident of people so this was terrifying for me to say the least!  It was a case of sucking it up and getting on with it really, no books to help me there, and in the end it wasn’t so bad!

It’s out the road now anyway, first one under the belt as they say.  I came across a few problems and it took me longer than i would have liked but its all part of the learning process i suppose.  I’m looking forward to the feedback but not as much as i’m looking forward to the next set of  problems….. I mean designs!

Best regards

Matthew Thomson, Apprentice Garden Designer @ GardenImprovements.com

Originally posted 2009-06-24 17:00:58. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

These fantastic garden daybeds certainly inspire us to design gardens to put them in and I’m hoping that by showing them here as demonstrated at FreshHome they might inspire you guys to get us to draft you up some fantastic design for your own garden!

These beautiful daybeds are made by Lifeshop Collection, a company that is specialized in indoor and outdoor contract furniture, hotel furniture, contract lighting, contract artwork, casegoods, and resin furniture. The summer is near, and a piece of outdoor furniture like this would be great, to relax outside your house, and breathe fresh air. These pieces would be also awesome for an outdoor party. – Via – Espaciohogar – Via – Freshhome

Cheers

Nicky Patterson, Garden Designer @ GardenImprovements.com

Originally posted 2009-03-26 17:00:04. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

You may remember reading about Matthew’s first successful design which was for a small sun-lover’s garden in Busby?  If not then you should take a look to see his approach to the design but anyway here is the finished garden – minus planting which we’re doing next week!!

This garden was built in the Busby area, next to Clarkston in the southside of Glasgow, Scotland by Nicky Patterson and Matthew Thomson of GardenImprovements.com

Matthew’s design is fairly simple but simplicity is the key when we are working with a tight budget and a tight space.  the circles will help to open up the garden.

Matthew’s vision (above) of the finished garden – bright materials essential to reflect light and lift the mood of this dreary garden plot (below).  See Matthew’s design in full here.

Overshadowed by an overgrown conifer hedge, the space did not feel light and airy like a garden should – the existing paving was tired and dull, and the lawn was more or less swamped with weeds and moss.

One of my favourite parts of all projects is the part where we have ‘ripped’ out the old garden, have a blank canvas and are ready to begin constructing the new ‘outdoor room’.  We were kindly offered access by Mary’s neighbour Theresa – which was a very good thing since we really would have struggled to get this done without it!

The new patio looks and feels alot brighter, a far more inviting area of the garden now!  It has been built in a pale sandstone with strains of red through it which blend with the red edging cobble.

The new fence has been stained with a light cream to achieve a sea-sidey effect which marries with the beach pebble laid as a perfect low maintenance solution for a busy Mary!

So as per Matthew’s design the bed areas will be planted up with some grasses and sedges to reinforce that coastal theme.  We will also include some specimen shrubs as feture plants to create a little more interest and focus where required.

The lawn confirms a link between the surrounding landscape – mostly mature trees and hedges – and also ensures that this small space doesn’t become too much of an outdoor stone box!

We always give our design clients something to help celebrate their new garden!

It was a pleasure to work with Mary on this build and we are looking forward to returning within the next week or so to get the planting scheme installed – an example of how we can implement projects in stages to help our clients manage budgets!

Nicky Patterson, Designer and Landscaper @ GardenImprovements.com

Originally posted 2009-10-06 15:55:12. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

Shed of the Year Competition Winner Announced : TreeHugger

Cheers

Nicky @ GardenImprovements.com

Originally posted 2009-07-16 14:27:30. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

Presented at Milan Furniture Fair 2009, Green Pockets is an innovative idea designed by Maruja Fuentes a designer from Puerto Rico. Green pockets are ceramic tiles which fuse nature with the interior space, improving both air quality and health. They attach to the wall to create the illusion as if they were actually growing from them. The tiles, made from recycled materials, serve as planters and their unique shape allows them to interlock, thereby creating different patterns depending on the vegetation planted. The pockets bring a soul-soothing dose of greenery and nature to an interior space, improving a room’s aesthetic and air quality. Great for flats and urban housing which may not have vast gardens, not to mention great for the enviroment.

Via – Freshome -Via- Thedesignblog

Always looking for great ideas!!

Best Regards

Matthew Thomson, Apprentice Garden Designer @ GardenImprovements.com

Originally posted 2009-06-22 17:00:44. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

One of my favourite websites: here’s an idea we can all try out!!

Studio G – Garden Design & Landscape Design inspiration » Before and After: Recycled Chairs to Fab Garden Bench.

Originally posted 2009-10-11 09:51:46. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

A funky and modern twist on the traditional garden parasol design: these can be used when the garden design is such that a traditional umbrella structured parasol might compromise the overall theme of the space.

Coolaroo Shade Sails are bold, brightly colored in square and triangle shapes. It’s remarkable how one lone shade sail can lend an outdoor space a contemporary touch. String up a group of shade sails—like in the photo, below—and you can transform a space into something you’d expect to find at a modern art museum.

What you can’t see from the photos is how durable the Coolaroo material is. This isn’t like hanging out a sheet. The shade sails are made for life outdoors. The sail’s nylon edges will not tear or fray. The color of the material will remain bright even when permanently hung outside and exposed to moisture, intense sun – which is inevitable in Glasgow! – and temperature extremes. The D-rings on the corners of the Coolaroo will stay anchored to the included stainless steel poles. Coolaroo products come with a 10 year warranty. If your shade sail becomes damaged the company will replace it for free.

Best of all, the Coolaroo fabric blocks out 90% of the sun’s harmful UV rays while allowing breezes to pass through. So life under a Coolaroo is cool in more ways than one.  – VIA – SpotCoolStuff

Cheers

Nicky Patterson, garden designer @ GardenImprovements.com

Originally posted 2009-03-25 17:00:58. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

We have now installed our chat facility at the GardenImprovements.com website so that new customers can contact us directly to quickly ask about our service before they proceed with their enquiry!  You can ask us if we work in your area, if we are available for a meeting, for quick tips, or for the name of reputable tradesmen who offer different garden services to our own – or whatever you want to ask!

Queries remain private from public viewing and you will always be chatting to me personally – messages are relayed to my mobile ensuring that I am readily available.  Messages will be accepted between 7am and 9pm Monday to Saturday.  If you want a query answered outside these hours simply drop me an email to studio@gardenimprovements.com and I shall respond at the first opportunity.

We were sociable before -and now we’re accessible too!!

Cheers!!
Nicky Patterson, Designer @ GardenImprovements.com

Originally posted 2009-10-05 16:11:36. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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.

The design was commissioned by Robert B from Howwood near to Johnstone and Paisley in Renfrewshire, Scotland.His garden was a long neglected mish-mash of different ideas and DIY projects that didn’t quite ever gel together and had eventually been left to crumble and weed over.  It was a long and narrow plot

His brief is:

• To provide a large decked area suitable for hosting parties
  
• Tidy up the garden as a whole and conform it to an attractive design
  
• Provide a low maintenance solution for the whole space
• Provide some lawn areas for neices and nephews to play on
  
• He had a budget of £3-4K

My initial ideas for the garden design were to compliment the shape of the plot – Robert didn’t want the space to be divided up in the manner that it had been previously and wanted to view the whole area from the vantage of the requested deck area.  My use of diminishing circles accentuates the length of the garden certainly, but helps to lead the eye down and around the garden and take in the pleasure of the planting.  A path which leads to the shed will still invite visitors into the garden area.

The decking illustrated is quite large and provides plenty of space for tables, chairs, loungers and BBQ kits. Existing sandstone dyke beds will be left in situ and one of these will protrude through the deck creating a fantastic feature planter within the sun-bathing platform.  The mixture of sandstone and timber decking will look great!

The planting will be green and architectural for the most part which will burst through areas of beach pebble.  The circles will be concrete and painted in three shades of orange to suggest an exotic theme which will be reinforced by the planting.

The gravel path will provide a pleasant crunch underfoot as well as a nice contrast to the concrete edging and pebbled areas.

The lawn circles will help to soften and bind the whole garden together.  In the sunshine this garden will look superb and Robert will be keen to invite his friends and family round for BBQs and to enjoy the space.

Keep posted for the completed pictures of this project!

Kind regards

Nicky Patterson, Designer @ Gardenimprovements.com

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[Folloe me to see the completed pics!]

Originally posted 2009-07-22 07:45:33. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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

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

[Follow me to see the completed pics!]

Originally posted 2009-09-18 08:00:35. Republished by Blog Post Promoter