Monday
Enquiries are still coming in as a result of my RHS Chelsea Flower Show garden, particularly from London. The rectilinear design of the garden is in keeping with the typical London plot and the classical nature of the design blends in harmoniously with period houses.
Today I met a lovely new couple intending to develop a townhouse just off the King’s Road. Their garden is smaller than the Chelsea plot, but applying the same rules of proportion as used for the Chelsea garden; it will be a simple exercise to make it work. However, there’s a catch: as with all five London projects that I’ve quoted for as a result of Chelsea, the owners intend to excavate beneath the garden for extra space; to all intents and purposes, turning the garden into a roof garden. This makes things a bit more challenging, involving other professionals such as structural engineers. Weight restrictions, depth of soil and drainage create parameters that narrow down the possibilities. Fun stuff that makes the job really interesting.
Tuesday
Today a letter came through to say that we had won the Design Excellence award from BALI (British Association of Landscape Industries). Or, at least, I thought I had won: the small print reveals that you are really one of three winners in a Bafta-esque kind of way and that you really ought to attend the ceremony for potential humiliation. My fellow finalists’ entries are amazing, so I won’t hold my breath.
The Society of Garden Designers awards are fast approaching – I was one of the judges for the student award category and I will be at the ceremony on November 9 to hand over the winning prize with fellow designer Andy Sturgeon. Eminent designer/writer/broadcaster James Alexander Sinclair will be hosting, guaranteeing equal measures of hilarity and ridicule. Probably the best awards news this week goes to Christopher Bradley-Hole for winning the Stirling Prize RIBA award for the Sainsbury Laboratory project in Cambridge, demonstrating the importance of symbiotic relations between architects and landscape architects.
Wednesday
Okay, so we’ve had enough rain thank-you very much – you can stop now. All of our projects in construction phase are now affected. Even our project on the east coast of Suffolk (driest county in the UK, I believe) that sits on 100 acres of pure sandpit-quality sand, is hindered by wet. My contractors on the Suffolk project have been trying to seed a meadow around the finished lake and have admitted defeat today. We were trying to finish before the owners arrive back from the US this week and now I have to tell them the bad news. Managing client expectations is an interesting role for the designer; I wonder if perhaps I should have studied psychology as I conjure up an image of Maslow’s ‘hierarchy of needs’ triangle diagram before I send the email.
Thursday
On-site meeting in Devon: we are working with a number of different contractors as well as the project architects, structural engineer and main house contractors. Juggling the various stages of the landscape works schedule is proving a little tricky and with a herd of deer due to arrive in the park this March, we need everything to slot into place. The deer fencing needs to go up, we have to finish the lake, plant the rhododendron walk and, as a matter of urgency encourage a seemingly reluctant reed-bedder to install a reed bed, as part of the sewage treatment in the parkland, despite his protestations about the rain. If managing client expectations is interesting, contractor expectations are perplexing and the main cause of grey hair.
Friday
On my way back up to Suffolk, I stopped off at Greyfield Woods, Clutton, for a quick stroll through the woodland, to rid my mind of yesterday’s frustrations. I came across a beautiful waterfall nestled amongst verdant bryophytic rocks – perfection.
Saturday and Sunday
A few years ago, I made a willow dome in the garden using withies left over from another sewage treatment reed bed project (created by the aforementioned contractor). Today, I had the overwhelming urge to cut it all down and burn it – can’t think why? Seriously, the dome had got out of hand due to neglect during pruning time. Also the sheep make a beeline to eat as much of it as possible whenever they break out (ie the battery on the electric fence goes flat).
I spent the weekend cutting it down and created a decent log pile as a result. This will be ready for the woodburner next winter – not the best firewood, but free nonetheless. What’s more, the stumps will likely regenerate to provide future fuel – very satisfying.
• Thomas Hoblyn is a landscape and garden designer. This is the latest in a series of posts on the ups and downs of a life spent creating beautiful gardens.
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