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

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

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

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

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

Follow me to see the completed project!!

]]> http://gardenimprovements.com/wordpress/index.php/2011/02/15/large-family-garden-design-in-east-kilbride/feed/ 0 http://gardenimprovements.com/wordpress/index.php/2011/02/15/new-build-old-problems/ http://gardenimprovements.com/wordpress/index.php/2011/02/15/new-build-old-problems/#comments Tue, 15 Feb 2011 14:01:11 +0000 Nicky Patterson http://gardenimprovements.com/wordpress/?p=134 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?

by Nicky Patterson

The format is familiar: new-build property that new owners require to be landscaped;  I arrive for a survey visit and am presented by a blank canvas of either a full plot of earth or fence to fence lawn.  The houses have generally been up and out of the wrapper for almost a year and now that the owners are satisfied with their interior fittings and decoration they turn their attentions to the garden: their initial landscaping budget has been squeezed out by their natural desire to embellish upon the interior design and also commonly by the addition of a conservatory or integrated garage conversion.

I am always excited by the prospect of these garden designs since the grounds are indeed left as a blank canvas and we, with the clients, can truly indulge on a personalised and bespoke design that will fit well with the client’s lifestyle aspirations and procure the most function possible from their new garden space.

The common problem is that the developers have left the gardens in a terrible condition.  Their obvious objective is to gain maximum profit for the property sale and this means that they generally do not spend much on improving the property grounds.  In fact they apply the minimum required to get a fast sale.  Monoblocking along with some tuf and cheap planting the front garden as standard is the most lavish cost attributed but this is crucial in their presentation of the property to the market and so it makes sense for them to spend here.

The back garden deserves none of this treatment as far as they are concerned.  At most they will include a lawn as an option but this, again, is to seem to make the property more presentable.  The truth is very different.

The developers never excavate away any hardcore bases they have used for cabins and site offices, they never excavate any clay or subclay that has been densely compacted by years of constant heavy plant site traffic.  This leaves a broad base of densely compact and variably impermeable sub-structure.  On top of this they will import anything from 2 inches to 2 feet of low quality unscreened topsoil which will respond to the weather much like a goldfish bowl would if filled with mud i.e. rainwater goes nowhere.  The developers will not install drainage as standard to alleviate these conditions.

The new owner is of course unaware these problems until they eventually focus their attentions onto the garden and see how the mud or lawn collects prolonged puddles and they will be unaware of the reasons why and the costs involved to rectify until they consult a professional.

So our initial budget has been bombed.  Either we cannot provide the garden the client truly wants and needs or the client has to shell out £000s even just to get to square 1 of the design implementation.

So what’s the solution?  In current economic conditions, direct confrontation with the housing developers would seldom result with a successful outcome.  Instead I feel we are left to simply creating more awareness of these issues through press and promotion so that, when these new-property owners come to take the garden to task, they can approach their budget figures and design aspirations reasonably, and we landscapers are not left to tricky negotiations after initial contracts have been agreed and the full extent of the poor site conditions is discovered in the opening days of the project.

Our dumper stuck in the mud (whilst installing drainage!!)

Best regards, your huffing grumpy gardener

Nicky Patterson, GardenImprovements.com

This design is commissioned by Stewart and Karen M of Motherwell in Lanarkshire, Scotland.We had already landscaped the back of the Maxwell’s garden and they were keen to have the front made into a hard-standing driveway.  The existing front garden consisted of red chips and a small lawn area.

We had already landscaped the back of the Maxwell’s garden and they were keen to have the front made into a hard-standing driveway.  The existing front garden consisted of red chips and a small lawn area.

The aim of the design is to reduce the impact of the hard landscaping on the effect of the property – a traditional sandstone semi.  Monoblock is certainly far too modern a material to use and the budget ruled out using traditional stone – the driveway area will be at least 110 sq m!  The medium choice is the tumbled block which comes in 3 sizes and always looks handsome when installed.

The turning circle is one of the main reasons why Stewart and Karen want the change; they live on the eternally busy Hamilton Road in Motherwell and parking on the street can be hazardous.  Thus the lawn area has to go out of necessity and furthermore the clients wish for a low maintenance solution for the front.

The replacement for the lawn area is a ‘feature corner’.  Basically we will install two very large rockery stones amongst a bed of beach pebbles and boulders, and plant the area up with grass, sedge, hosta and fern to achieve a clean but interesting effect – an idea which is popular with those that design roundabout landscaping and business parks…though that is meant as a good thing!

So this should present visitors with a subconscious familiarity whilst presenting the property in an easygoing light, not too formal – but thankfully nothing as close to a car park either!

The side of the house is the runway to the garage.  We did discuss the possibility of breaking up the paving beyond here, but Stewart and Karen decided to run the paving the full length – providing their wee boy with a suitable area to run a trike up and down.

The colour of the materials will be more or less subtle variations of pinks and greys to suit the house material.  The feature corner will be linked to where possible through the use of planters which will break up the swathes of stone with some soft lines and bright colours.

We don’t take on many driveways but when we do I am always keen to avoid paving the area from wall to wall – this type of treatment, in my opinion, never looks good and rather than ticking the ‘kerb appeal’ box, I find it tends to set an austere and soul-less tone; which for a home can never be a good thing.  Here the paving is really kept to a minimum as far as possible without compromising the client brief.

This project was completed in January 2008 but we unfortunately lost the finished photographs (along with all of our 06 and 07 builds) in a computer crash.  We will be returning soon to get these so keep posted…and remember backup is the key!!

Kind regards

Nicky Patterson, Designer @ Gardenimprovements.com

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

]]> http://gardenimprovements.com/wordpress/index.php/2011/02/15/lanarkshire-tailored-driveway-design-in-motherwell/feed/ 0 http://gardenimprovements.com/wordpress/index.php/2011/02/15/modern-trellis-design-for-the-garden/ http://gardenimprovements.com/wordpress/index.php/2011/02/15/modern-trellis-design-for-the-garden/#comments Tue, 15 Feb 2011 14:01:09 +0000 Nicky Patterson http://gardenimprovements.com/wordpress/?p=191

Continue reading »]]> A fantastic design for a modern garden trellis by Jayme Jenkins as seen at Nest in Style: Using steel wires this trellis is especially useful as an invisible or floating trellis for a modern or contemporary garden design where traditional trellis styles might conflict with the overall concept.  Here you can see the effect and how the trellis is constructed – good luck!!