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

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

by Nicky Patterson

1 and a half stone of beer, wine, meat and cake

I’m still with my wife’s family in Portsmouth, having spent Christmas here, and will be celebrating Hogmany tonight and welcoming in the New Year.  Being in the south of England for a couple of weeks has certainly allowed me to relax a little and remove myself from the direct responsibilities of running the business, but it has also allowed me to gather some alternative impartial opinions on the credit crunch and its consequences.

My wife’s father and step-mother both work within the public sector here, as do many who live around Hampshire due to the concentration of military and government bases down here.  What has become obvious, and has been debated by some in the newspapers of late, is that those within the public sector will probably have a very different experience of the ‘credit crunch’ than those in the private sector.

We have witnessed the wholesale failing of the banking system and the many job losses as repercussion of this failing.  We have witnessed the failing of stalwart high-street icons such as Woolworths and Wittards amongst others.  Some high-street retailers will obviously benefit in the short term from these as their share in the available retail market increases accordingly, but it is curious that the finger of fate as far as these examples have proved does indeed seem to be fickle and there are many who will lose jobs and become worse off for this but many who will remain as normal, even if with some stress of uncertainty.

The public sector however remains relatively unscathed and those who work within it might even become better off in 2009 as the VAT cuts and lowering fuel and retail prices come into effect while their employment and salary remain stable.

So how will all this ultimately affect those within the service industries; and in particular landscapers and garden designers; who are more or less in a tertiary market and as such are wholly at the mercy of the economy?

Well I, for one, am confident that, since our target market are primarily those in a middle to high income bracket, there is still a wealth of property equity out there that can be invested in home-improvements: and these are exactly the type of investments people have made in the past when the housing market has slumped.  Not only that; there is a clear difference in experience of the credit crunch thus far between those in the public sector and those in the private sector – and this does not seem to be a trend that will change significantly in 2009.  There is therefor still a significant portion of the population who will in fact have an increased disposable income which will be circulated throughout the rest of the retail industries and keep small businesses breathing.

So I am not going to hang up my sketch-book and shovel just yet: it will certainly get tough as some competitors will inevitably suffer and fail while others will in fact ‘up the ante’ which means that while there may be fewer bones to chew, it will be those who sharpen their teeth the keenest who will survive the months ahead.  I have my file out right now!

Nicky Patterson

GardenImprovements.com

The design was commissioned by Mr and Mrs R from Greenhills in East Kilbride near Glasgow in Lanarkshire, Scotland.

Design by Nicky Patterson

Their brief is:

• To provide a decked area suitable for hosting family gatherings
• Some areas for children to play
• Privacy from overlooking neighbours
• Stylish lines and shapes
• Different seating areas to accommodate sun movement
• A garden that charmed and invited guests
• To address the slope within the garden

Mr R had suggested at the survey visit that a circular deck (top LHS) was what they initially had in mind – so when I got into the studio this was my first reference point to explore; and as I began to build upon this I felt that the circles were indeed working for the space.  In a short but wide and awkward shaped garden like this the circles help to bring the focus within the space and detract from the uneasy shape of the garden, while at the same time creating the illusion of space beyond the physical perimeters.  They are also ideal devices to lead the eye around the garden heightening the sense of involvement and pleasure for the users.

The decked area had to be situated where the sunshine fell most, and the slope dictated that we should build some retaining walls: the clients required privacy from neighbouring gardens so splitting the garden on two distinct levels worked to help this end. A very large retaining structure dominates the garden at the far end and is impossible to avoid – so instead I have incorporated it into the garden by merging the circles into the wall and planting spires of cypress that will seem to accompany the wall and then by planting some vigorous climbers we can tone down the severity of this structure.

The large lawn areas should accommodate the expected family’s adventurous feet while also ensuring a soft green centre to the garden area.  Within the deck shall be an almost semi-circular bench with timber seating that will easily host many a deriere of an evening!  The banked planting, together with some plants in pots and troughs, will soften all the edges and ensure a serene environment for the couple to relax in.

We are updating the original ‘breakfast’ patio to conform with the new circular design and this can be accessorised accordingly.  A tertiary patio area shall be built in the spot in the garden that catches the last of the evening sunshine.  This is illustrated as a circular patio which will be raise six inches from the lawn, with some outdoor beanbags on it – and the concept is that Mr and Mrs R can relax after a hard days work on a super-slouchy beanbag with a bottle of beer and keep an eye on children playing while still feeling encapsulated in the modern structural planting scheme of the garden’s design.

The nearest lawn area will be reinforced with lawn mats which offer sufficient critical fall heights for alot of play equipment and crucially will blend in with the aspiration of the design.  The planting will be mostly low maintenance grasses and shrubs which provide plenty of green structure with the odd burst of colour as accessory.

The walls will be rendered white and coped with sandstone coloured block which will also be used to define the circles within the lawn areas.  The paving should be Travertine which will illuminate some reflected light into the garden that will compliment the walls and the lines and shapes used.

Some dense planting of bamboo behind the ‘evening patio’ and the creation of a ‘hedge-in-the-sky’ with bay at the fence line should ensure further privacy for the family.

We are looking forward to building this project in the spring 2010 and will of course be posting the completed project images once we have finished!

Kind regards

Nicky Patterson, Designer @ Gardenimprovements.com

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]]> http://gardenimprovements.com/wordpress/index.php/2011/02/15/east-kilbride-stylish-relaxation-garden-design-in-greenhills/feed/ 0 http://gardenimprovements.com/wordpress/index.php/2011/02/15/eat-from-your-very-own-kitchen-garden/ http://gardenimprovements.com/wordpress/index.php/2011/02/15/eat-from-your-very-own-kitchen-garden/#comments Tue, 15 Feb 2011 14:00:07 +0000 Nicky Patterson http://gardenimprovements.com/wordpress/?p=3 We are offering to design and build a kitchen garden for your garden in January or February 2009 for a credit CRUNCHILY friendly 20% off both drawings and labour!!

As we all look to our balance books and see what can be done to reduce outgoings and with constant pressure to be green and healthy at the same time, why not invest in your very own kitchen garden?  Feed your whole family for years to come from produce grown in your own back yard!!

We are offering as our winter (and credit crunch) special 20% off plans drawn to site your kitchen garden in the best possible place and tailor it with the most practical and fitting design for your lifestyle and your gardens surroundings.

We are also offering 20% off of labour costs for kitchen garden projects booked in January and February !!

Of course this is to try and fill our books during the enquiry barren winter months but it is also an opportunity for you guys to get a head of the pack, have fun, be lean and green and SAVE MONEY to boot!!

Book a survey with us quoting “KITCHEN GARDEN” in the further comments box and we will arrange to visit your property and discuss your requirements.

Nicky Patterson

GardenImprovements.com

by Nicky Patterson

So in December, for the majority of garden design and landscaping firms the phones go dead and the emails come to a halt as people concentrate on the holiday season and their attentions are diverted to hosting family dinners and parties and visiting friends and relatives.  The cold enquiry front gets even cooler in the current economic climate when consumer confidence is at an ebb and the banks are defying to lend as to the government’s and consumer’s wishes.

However many will still utilise the mass of positive equity still retained in their property and apply it to improving and developing their current residence, to make lifestyle investments which will massively improve the quality of their useable property space.  Those more canny than others will know that January and February and March are the best times to have any major landscaping projects undertaken, ensuring that all the hard construction is cleared in time for the spring and for when the garden can be enjoyed to its fullest (why waste that precious relaxation time over spring and winter having your garden built?).

As we approach Christmas Day and New Years Day during our festive break from site-work I am working upon 3 different designs for prospective work which will begin pre-Spring.  The projects are all of moderate and conservative budgets, £5-£12K, but i am relishing the prospect of getting back to work and further enhancing our design portfolio.

I am enjoying this break, spending it with my wife’s family in Portsmouth – where the weather is eternally warmer than my native Glasgow, but i am also looking forward to welcoming any new commissions or contract proposals for what i see will be a fruitful 2009 despite the delicate nature of our current economy.

So a Merry Christmas to you all and i look forward to seeing you in 2009!

Nicky Patterson

GardenImprovements.com

PS. Don’t forget our fantastic Winter offer of 20% off drawings and labour for kitchen gardens!!

by Nicky Patterson

Come To Scotland For Your Holidays!

So I’m back at the Bat-Cave now after a lovely past few weeks and I am working my way through all the mail and emails that have mounted up on my desk and desktop resepectively.  I’m a little bit annoyed that my last post’s optimism had it’s wing shot by the announcement a few days ago that the price of fruit and veg and general groceries is to increase by 20% in th UK in 2009.  Is it just me or is the media determined to make all this seem completely insurmountable to even the most optimistic of us?

I had been encouraged by some of the commentators debating that the public sector would keep alot of SMEs above water, but 20% added onto shopping bills is a fair whack and can only further dull consumer confidence.

On top of this English, Welsh and Irish gardeners are experiencing the, by now notorious, ‘Arctic Chill’  right now (in Glasgow we just call it winter!) while in Scotland we are experiencing relatively (but only relatively) milder weather; even though spades are still bouncing out of the ground!  At any rate, the big kick-off to the new season has been somewhat ‘put on ice’ and left alot of us thumbing through our paper-work and trying to invent new sources of enterprise for the coming months (perhaps some are finally getting their tax return underway – who me?).  Anyway this silly weather isn’t exactly the worst news ever because obviously things will warm up as 2009 shakes off the sleep and we can all get digging, building and planting again.

I have in fact had some good news recently and I shall be sure to gloat about it once everything is finalised but I was thinking how fortunate I was here to be presented with such an opportunity at what is proving to be quite a low-point in my short career as a businessman.

2008 has been my worst year by far.  Business was actually very good but I was badly let down by staff who took advantage of my absence (while concentrating on design demand, networking opportunities and expanding the business) to cut corners on projects and take prolonged tea-breaks in full view of clients.  This lost me some well founded client relationships and cost alot of money where work had to be re-done.  A steep learning curve.  I am glad to have pulled through it though and have made amends to most of those clients as best I could.  The expansion plans are in the bin and like many the focus is on streamlining and improving quality.  These are my plans for 2009.

At any rate I have learned some valuable lessons but one more than most which is reaping rewards even now – to keep my head up, chin up, keep my eyes peeled and my ears open; keep on top of it all and opportunities, when they come along – like this one, can be taken in stride.

So for me the only possible way is up and while I fully expect some downturn in business; at the moment I am relishing the challenge and I am ready to take those unexpected opportunites.  And, like my dad always says – and I appreciate that it is a cliche, “when the going gets tough, the tough get going”.

All the best for 2009 folks, I hope it turns out a good one for us all.

Nicky Patterson

GardenImprovements.com

These leaves (or blades I'm calling them) are RAZOR-sharp!

We set out this morning (our first day out this week!) to build a small kitchen garden for a regular client in Newton Mearns.  On arrival we discovered the site to still be completely covered in snow and the area where the garden was to be built was unworkable.

The client pointed out a number of trees for us to trans-plant while we there anyway and so we got to task.  Moving the apple tree was no problem nor was the new 10ft Ilex too difficult to plant in; but the young Monkey-Puzzle posed a problem.

Beautiful but dangerous!

The leaves of this tree are thick, tough and scale-like, triangular, 3–4 cm long, 1–3 cm broad at the base, but have razor-sharp edges and tips.  I mean razor sharp!  The tree itself was only 5 foot tall but had been planted in a raised bed far too close to house.  If you have seen these trees around your own neighbourhood then you will know how big they can grow and this really isn’t great for small front garden areas, nor for the house because the tree will block light into it’s windows.

We really cannot get close enough to the tree to dig it out without causing injury to ourselves – genuinely! Next time you see one go up and feel it’s leaves and you will see what I mean!

The solution that we came up with was to tie up the branches of the tree upward into trusses with string, so as to hold all of the branches in a conical shape hugging the trunk – much like how Christmas trees are packaged by netting for ease of transport.  The branches are flexible enough to allow this to work without causing  any harm to the tree itself.  This took a great deal of care not to cut our hands but allowed us to get close enough in to get our spades into the ground near the root-ball.

And it’s that simple!  Not so simple that I’m not calling it a Top-Top though!

We transported it by wheelbarrow and planted it into a space in the perimeter planting that needed to be filled.  The location suited the style of trees nearby, mostly other conifers and pines – but also added some security; there’s no way a burglar could drop over the fence and into this tree without letting go an alarming yelp!

So if you ever come face to face with a young Money-Puzzle tree that you want shifted you’ll know exactly what to do!

A job well done!

Cheers

Nicky Patterson

GardenImprovements.com

Social networking is fantastic for business-to-business networking and also allows clients to get more insight into our activities!  So why not get some more info on what we’re up to through our social networking:

Follow Nicky on Twitter

Join our Facebook Page

Join Nicky on Facebook

See us at Landscape Juice Network

Join us at LinkedIn

See our BT TradeSpace

Phew, quite a list but you should get involved! Look forward to hearing from you!

Nicky Patterson, GardenImprovements.com

by Nicky Patterson

Nicky pretends to be a bush-man!

These days (and especially during our current economic climate) it is essential to procure the most possible function and usability of the space we find in our properties, and with the increase in lifestyle advertisement as a result of years of generated affluence we are now readily inclined to look beyond bricks and mortar to see how our gardens can be utilised.

There are of course many standard practical functions to the garden: offroad parking; children’s play; vegetable cultivation; pet’s habitat etc; but now in a fully immersed sociable and lifestyle-orientated society there are new and exciting functions which can be procured from a garden: patios and decking big enough for entertaining the whole extended family and cooking a BBQ, the extension of informal seating that can be derived from this through raised flower beds and retaining walls; a kitchen garden to feed the family or to educate the kids; a soft rubber play surface for children’s play equipment; fencing and planting for privacy while we relax on our evening patio in the twighlight with a glass of wine, gently illuminated by the garden lights and lulled softly by the bubbling of a water feature.  Sound good?

Shirley was in love with her new walk-in chamber pot

Well all of these ideas are concepts that aren’t really new to anybody at all but their implementation should be approached with some sense of cohesion within the space and sympathy with surroundings.

Interior design is a much celebrated discipline which not everybody can get right without some advice and we have all seen rooms where curtains and sofas and cushions and carpets make for a confused and uncomfortable experience.  In the same way your garden – or exterior – design should allow for materials, shapes and textures and structures to sypathise with one another to create an harmonious space which will truly let you relax, truly allow you to show off to friends and family, and truly add value to your lifestyle AND your property.

That’s where we can help!

Not functional or pretty

My job as a designer is to ensure that the space delivered to you is suitable to your requirements as an individual and as a household. I can give you all of these different elements set-out into a fully functional, very useable and extremely attractive garden, with planting to suit your ambitions and everything you need from your property space.  I don’t doubt there are plenty of able bodied folk out there who are capable of laying some slabs or building a wall but perhaps seeking a little design advice would make all these efforts FAR more worthwhile.  For those niether design nor DIY inclined – we can provide all the services required.

A small but well-designed garden

I look forward to hearing from you soon!

Nicky Patterson

GardenImprovements.com