Chris Deakin and Jason Lock

By Louisa Lay
Wednesday, February 12, 2014
9:03 AM

Landscape and garden designers Chris Deakin and Jason Lock have worked on many innovative projects showcasing their skills and expertise.

But this year the pair are taking on perhaps their most prestigious commission to date after being selected by department store The House of Fraser to launch its spring collection in the form of a bespoke garden at the Chelsea Flower Show.

Working from an office based at Earsham Hall, near Bungay, Mr Lock and Mr Deakin have developed a design embracing the company’s rich Scottish heritage that will see an outdoor room created using materials usually seen in an interior space.

Entitled ‘Fabric’, the six-by-six metre garden will feature weatherproof wallpaper, floor covering and upcycled furniture with strands of shock pink throughout, synonomous with the store’s logo.

Wall mounted antlers, wood panelling and a stag sculpture will be worked in with a heavy influence of crossed lines, formed with sawn granite to mimic a tartan pattern, while blooms such as Astrantia Roma and Iris Windsor Rose will feature strongly.

The duo who run Deakin Lock Garden Design were approached by the House of Fraser to enter the Fresh Garden category after being reccommended by Mr Deakin’s sister-in-law, who works as a fashion buyer.

Mr Deakin, 41, said: “It’s a fantastic opportunity because as a brand they really are the cornerstone of shopping. We had lots of meetings at their London head office and we are hoping if this is successful it may the first of one or two more.

“They have never exhibited at Chelsea before but it had been in the back of their minds and it just so happens we were introduced. As it’s their spring collection it’s going to be very soft fresh colours and very floral.

“We all know that they don’t just sell clothes, they have a homeware and furniture department so we wanted to create an outside room with living space, but using materials and colours that we use inside, such as external wall wrap.

“It’s such an exciting brief for us as it pushes us to design outside our comfort zone and to be much more theatrical. It will be about a nine-day build up to the show and the biggest thing for us at the moment is sourcing plants. We have got some fantastic landscape contractors who are Chelsea veterans and have done alot of gardens.”

Mr Deakin and Mr Lock met while working as garden designers for Notcutts in Woodbridge and after deciding upon a change in direction Deakin Lock was formed in 2008.

Both have a wealth of experience in the industry with registration at the Society of Garden Designers and the British Association of Landscape Industries.

Neither are strangers to the Chelsea Flower Show, having been responsible for many of Notcutts gold medal exhibits, with Mr Lock as landscape director.

Mr Lock, 47, said: “We have always wanted to build a Chelsea garden in our own capacity and the opportunity fell upon us. The fortunate thing is that alot of what we do can be prepared off site. I’ve been involved with in the region of 19 Chelsea gardens and we know alot of exhibitors. We are like a big family, all in it together, and hopefully we can win gold.”

Dean Healey, head of creative at House of Fraser said: “We are incredibly excited this year to be part of the RHS Chelsea Flower Show and to be working with the talented design team Deakin Lock.

“The garden invites the spectator to re-examine the way in which we perceive daily objects by challenging the boundaries of interior and exterior design. The aim is to give the space a modern, contemporary feel that reflects the House of Fraser brand today. By incorporating the original stag motif with accents of the iconic House of Fraser signature pink hue, the garden will tell the story of the brand’s illustrious evolution.”

Visit www.deakinlock.co.uk

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My Everyday Magic

It’s, quite simply, an exercise in daily gratitude. If something in your day makes you smile, that’s Everyday Magic.

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When is an art exhibit not quite an art exhibit and an art gallery not quite an art gallery? 

In Rachelle Roberts‘ exhibit at Seasons Olive Oil Vinegar Taproom, 36 W. King St., the art is an array of textile prints and the paintings that inspired them, and the art gallery is a place where people ordinarily sample and purchase products like herbs de Province olive oil and tangerine balsamic vinegar.

But, like a well-planned meal, it all goes together perfectly.

“We think that the artist and art we are featuring has a certain fresh appeal to our community,” says Micaela Ferrari of Seasons.

The growing trend of displaying art in restaurants, cafés, jewelry shops, coffee shops and tearooms makes artwork, such as that in Roberts’ exhibit, more accessible to the public.

The title of the exhibit is “The Garden Spot.” Roberts, a Lancaster native who graduated from Lancaster Mennonite High School, now lives in Bucks County. She is a graduate of Philadelphia University, where she earned a master’s degree in textile design.

“It’s really the oldest school for textile design in the country,” says Roberts, adding that it was founded as the Philadelphia Textile School in 1884, and was affiliated with the Pennsylvania Museum and School of Industrial Art. Later it was known as the Philadelphia College of Textiles Science, and now Philadelphia University.

In “The Garden Spot,” Roberts draws on the rural culture of Lancaster County, with its farms, flowers, fields, fauna and fowl. Yes, there are chicks and ducks and geese wandering around in one farm-fresh textile design. In her design “Gathering of the Webbed Feet,” the primitive-style feathered farm creatures are accented with fruit trees and flying birds.

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Another piece that draws on her Lancaster experience is “Splendid Thistle Finch,” which was inspired by fraktur paintings and Pennsylvania Dutch motifs such as hex signs. The distlefinks — stylized goldfinches — are decorated with whimsical color combinations such as golden yellow, brilliant red and bright turquoise.

“Although the textile designs have primitive elements that are very fun and playful, they also have sophisticated color palettes that lend themselves to functional uses,” says Roberts.

Roberts also takes her inspiration from the flowers and trees of Lancaster gardens. One of her most striking designs, “Midnight Picnic,” features a dark background scattered with gorgeous ivy leaves, berries and blossoms. “Smoky Cornfield” is a repeat pattern of corn and tobacco fields right before the harvest, when everything is a sunlit maize and golden green.

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“Forget Me Not My Roots” is the transformation of original chalk and charcoal drawings on brown paper bags, while “Endless Vines” pays tribute to the bugs and moths that buzz about on a summer evening. Roberts even creates a Lancaster County version of the French toile designs in “Farmland Toile,” showing line drawings of farmers toiling away in the fields.

As creative and artful as her designs are, Roberts makes it clear that textile design is as much science as art. They can’t just look pretty, they have to work. The designer has to take into account the type of fabric that will be used, from the lightest of silks to the sturdiest, rustic cottons.

“There is a process that goes into designing textiles that lend themselves to the weight and particular fabric on which it is printed,” says Roberts, noting that today’s digital designs allow for greater flexibility in color and size of the patterns, and techniques range from pigment-based inks to resist dyeing.

Roberts’ talents for textile art has been employed by companies such as Martha Stewart’s Home line and and Butterfly Home Fashions in Brooklyn, N.Y., as well as various swimwear designs. She currently works as a designer with Congoleum flooring company.

“With this exhibit, I am hoping that people will see the possibilities of the textile designs for use in their own homes, kitchens and dining rooms. The exciting part is that these designs can be adapted in many ways, in different colors,” says Roberts.

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Friends of the Rouge and the Alliance of Rouge Communities have teamed up to offer native garden design workshops to teach residents in the Rouge River drainage area how to garden with native wildflowers.

Workshops will be held this spring in four communities, including Livonia.

“Water is a precious resource that is in high demand,” said Cyndi Ross, River Restoration Program Manager for Friends of the Rouge. “Michigan residents sometimes forget how scarce fresh water is for many around the world. We are the keepers of roughly 20 percent of all fresh water on earth. It is our duty to ensure this resource, essential for all life, is available for us and future generations and to preserve the economic and recreational value the Great Lakes water provides to Michigan.”

One of the biggest threats to water quality in the Rouge River and the Great Lakes is contaminated storm water run-off. This is a result of the large amount of impervious land cover.

Friends of the Rouge is asking homeowners to reduce water runoff and create a small native garden on their property.

It is holding a free public workshop, Naturalizing the Home Garden: A Native Garden Design Workshop, across the Rouge River watershed to teach people how to select native plants that are right for the conditions in their yard and offer design tips for creating attractive gardens that reduce rainwater runoff, and provide nectar for birds and butterflies.

Optional expert assistance is available for a limited number of workshop attendees immediately following the workshop. Interested persons are encouraged to register early as space is limited. Registration is required for expert assistance. Registration is available online or by calling 313-792-9621.

Workshop dates and locations are:

• 6-7:15 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 19, Novi Civic Center, 47175 W. 10 Mile Road, Novi

• 6-7:15 p.m. Wednesday, March 5, Livonia Civic Center Library, 32777 Five Mile Road, Livonia

• 6-7:15 p.m. Monday, March 31, Cranbrook Institute of Science, 39221 Woodward Ave., Bloomfield Hills

• 6-7:15 p.m. Tuesday April 15, Caroline Kennedy Library, 24590 George Ave, Dearborn Heights

“We all contribute to the storm water problem; now is the time for each of us to be part of the solution,” Ross said. “Native gardening is fun and rewarding and are beautiful additions to any landscape.”

For additional information, visit www.therouge.org. Join FOTR on Facebook.

A Secret Garden Floral Design Florist Tammy Brandt.Courtesy of Tammy Brandt

Tammy Brandt, Avon

Do people give you
flowers? What’s your favorite kind of arrangement to receive?

Rarely, if ever. Because I am surrounded by
flowers everyday people tend to bring treats like candy, cookies,
cupcakes-mostly baked goods, and I am OK with that.

It’s hard to say what my favorite
flower/arrangement to receive is, it changes with the seasons. Right now I am
thrilled to see the tulips and daffodils arriving. They give me hope and let me
know that no matter how bad winter is, that somewhere out there, spring is on
the way Easter brings all the soft, creamy, pastel colors and by May the lilacs
and peonies start to bloom. August brings bright, giant, happy sunflowers, and
fall brings all the beautiful harvest reds, oranges, rusts and golds. Come
December I love the scent of the pine cones and evergreen boughs. They are all
my favorites, I guess that’s why I am in this business.

How often do men come
in with no clue of what they are looking for, other than a generic request for
flowers? How do you guide them to the best choice?

I would say that between 55-60 percent of our
business is the traditional red rose. Although, many people who still love
roses prefer different colors such as pink, lavender, white or yellow. Some
people avoid roses altogether and lean towards non-traditional flowers such as
carnations, lilies, orchids or tulips. To accommodate all these varied tastes,
and a wide range of budgets, we carry as broad an inventory as possible.

What percentage of
your Valentine’s Day sales are the traditional dozen red roses?

I wouldn’t exactly say men are clueless, some are
quite knowledgeable when it comes to floral selection and design. It’s been my
experience that men and women have very different styles and approaches to
shopping. A lot of the men who come to our store are more invested in the
person they are buying for, than the actual stem by stem assembly of their
flowers. My entire staff is knowledgeable, capable of asking the right
questions, and thereby helping guide our client to a mutually satisfying end
result.

What’s the most
exotic request you’ve faced, and what lengths did you have to go through to
fulfill it?

One particularly unusual request was from a young
bride who asked if we could provide fully mature dandelions, on stems, for the wedding
guests to blow towards the bride and groom as they left the church. I was
pretty sure I would not be able to fulfill her request. However, we did our
absolute best to contact every wholesale resource available to us.
Unfortunately for this bride, we learned that there is no professional,
wholesale cultivator of dandelion flowers in today’s marketplace.

How do you compete with web sites like
1-800-FLOWERS?

We
don’t, we can’t. We do not have access to their national marketing and
advertising capacity; and we are not a factory style, assembly line production
of cookie cutter arrangements or boxed flowers with a vase inside. (Which, incidentally
leaves the recipient to do the job of the designer.) We are an
independent, locally owned, small business which is staffed by an owner and
designers who love what we do. The greatest difference between us and them, is
that we are a caring, giving part of our community. We offer excellent customer
service, with a no questions asked guarantee of our work. We will quite
literally do everything within our power to help our customers. From forgotten anniversaries, to last
minute funeral arrangements or the “Uh-Oh, I just remembered their
birthday.” We do everything we can to get the job done for our clients.

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Friends of the Rouge and the Alliance of Rouge Communities have teamed up to offer native garden design workshops to teach residents in the Rouge River drainage area how to garden with native wildflowers.

Workshops will be held this spring in Novi, Bloomfield Hills, Livonia and Dearborn Heights.

“Water is a precious resource that is in high demand,” says Cyndi Ross, River Restoration Program Manager for Friends of the Rouge. “Michigan residents sometimes forget how scarce freshwater is for many around the world. We are the keepers of roughly 20 percent of all freshwater on Earth. It is our duty to ensure this resource, essential for all life, is available for us and future generations and to preserve the economic and recreational value the Great Lakes water provides to Michigan.”

One of the biggest threats to water quality in the Rouge River and the Great Lakes is contaminated stormwater run-off, according to a press release. Rain water falling on homes, parking lots and roads is not able to soak into the ground as nature intended, so it is collected in storm drains – along with pollutants – and piped to the nearest lake or stream to prevent flooding.

Friends of the Rouge is asking you to reduce water runoff and create a small native garden on your property. Learn how by attending a free public workshop. Four Naturalizing the Home Garden: A Native Garden Design Workshops will be held across the Rouge River watershed to teach people how to select native plants that are right for the conditions in their yard and offer design tips for creating attractive gardens that reduce rainwater runoff and provide nectar for birds and butterflies.

Optional expert assistance is available for a limited number of workshop attendees immediately following the workshop. Interested persons are encouraged to register early as space is limited. Registration is required for expert assistance. Registration is available online or by calling 313-792-9621.

Workshop dates and locations are as follow:

Wednesday, Feb. 19, 6 – 7:15 p.m. – Novi Civic Center, 47175 W 10 Mile Road, Novi

Wednesday, March 5, 6 – 7:15 p.m. – Livonia Civic Center Library, 32777 5 Mile Road, Livonia

Monday, March 31, 6 – 7:17 p.m. – Cranbrook Institute of Science, 39221 Woodward Ave, Bloomfield Hills

Tuesday, April 15, 6 –7:15 p.m. – Caroline Kennedy Library, 24590 George Ave, Dearborn Heights

The 26th Northwest Flower Garden Show provides imagination and inspiration with its magnificent showcase of gardens big and small, more than 100 free seminars, “Play With Friends” for families, a big line-up of exhibitors in the Marketplace and more.

“Art in Bloom” is the theme for the 26th Northwest Flower Garden Show, which features the region’s top garden designers and landscape firms embracing a festive tribute to art in more than 20 colorful and dramatic display gardens.

The rich palette of color and light, with thousands of blooming flowers and exotic plants, will give showgoers a sneak preview of spring.

The show runs through Feb. 9 at the Washington State Convention Center.

Bainbridge Island participants include Garden Creator Plantswoman Design. Area businesses showcasing their products and services in the Marketplace include Hidden Cove Pottery Tile.

Complementing the eye-popping display gardens, the “Small Space Showcase” presents innovative, idea-generating small space and container gardens for those seeking inspiration for gardens on their deck, patio and terrace. The artistry of the area’s top floral designers is spotlighted in the “Floral Competition,” with lavish displays of artfully arranged blooms.

This year’s show includes plenty of things to see and do.

The “Seminar Series” will offer tips for gardening newbies to lifelong gardeners.

The show boasts a big line-up of 110 seminars presented by top-tier experts, all free with admission to the show. Organizers promise it’s a great way to jump-start your gardening experiences, and learn about trends that not only beautify but are practical, too.

“Garden to Table” cooking demonstrations return with top-notch presenters, including co-executive producer of Growing A Greener World TV Theresa Loe, TV host kitchen living expert Coryanne Ettiene, and author and 425 Magazine style editor Alexandra Hedin.

The popular “Gardening 101” series for the new gardener runs every day of the show this year. Speakers include local luminaries Ciscoe Morris, Marty Wingate, Marianne Binetti, Debra Prinzing, Rizanino Reyes, Bill Thorness and many others.

For a complete schedule of seminars and book signings, visit http://www.gardenshow.com/seminars/.

“Play With Friends” and Treasure Hunt provide fun and interactive activities for children.

Children 12 and under admitted free to the show, and kids can create fish, sea creatures, cranes and other structures with robotocized Legos, make stop motion animation videos with figures and drawings they create, and contribute to a waterfront mural.

Children can also participate in a show-wide treasure hunt, sponsored by Swansons Nursery, with entry forms available in “Play With Friends” and show information booths.

The Marketplace spotlights new and distinctive garden products, thousands of plants and one-of-a-kind creations.

The bustling Marketplace is a shopping destination with more than 350 exhibitors offering the hottest new tools and other gardening gear, plants, and unique art for the home and garden. The Vintage Garden Market returns with repurposed and shabby-chic treasures for the garden and outdoor living spaces by local vendors.

Specialty nurseries will be introducing new and exotic plants — as well as old favorites — in the Plant Market. The Garden Gallery display and competition spotlights skillfully-crafted garden art pieces in a variety of mediums. They are available for sale by the artists at the conclusion of the show.

The show is open from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday.

Regularly priced adult admission tickets are $22; and $5 for youth (ages 13–17).

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Friday, 07 February 2014

Journalist and Chelsea Fringe founder Tim Richardson has sparked a row by referring to some garden designers as “ladies who lunch”.

Writing in his column for the Society of Garden Designers’ Garden Design
Journal, Richardson said one perception of the profession is of
well-off, middle-class, middle-aged women who take up garden design but
do not need to work to survive.

He added that he does not think there is anything “necessarily wrong
with this model” and said the term is bandied about by “basically
jealous” designers who have to charge a professional rate.

But he called on the society to “get its house in order” and sort out
qualification and accreditation as well as publish professional rates
like the Landscape Institute.

At the Society of Garden Designers (SGD) Awards (24 January), attended
by Richardson, host James Alexander Sinclair made several barbed
references to the column.

SGD chair Juliet Sargeant said the diverse routes into garden design led
to a “rich mix of experience and background unique to the SGD” and
resulting in “an organisation of unparalleled character, creativity and
vibrancy”.

She added: “The SGD welcomes people who work flexible hours, ladies and
even those who eat lunch, provided that they are committed to providing
excellent service through continuing development and high professional
standards.”

Sargeant argued that garden designers and landscapers in general “suffer
from the misunderstanding that their work is simple, easy and unendingly
enjoyable, so they do not require proper remuneration” – something that
she said is at least beginning to change.

After the awards event, Richardson said: “Nearly everyone seems to
understand that I am not attacking ‘ladies who lunch’ – or indeed
‘women’ generally – but trying to initiate discussion about the reality
of the public and professional image of garden design.”

View full sizeA classical bust is paired with orchids in “Intelligent Choices,” a room vignette created by Wolfs interior design firm for the Cleveland Interior Designer Showcase at Orchid Mania. The showcase includes rooms by area designers who were inspired by orchids. Julie E. Washington

A single orchid is lovely, but a group of local interior designers at Cleveland Botanical Garden isdemonstrating the unusual and beautiful ways that groups of the flowers can make a room sparkle. Get orchids out of a windowsill, designers say, and try framing them as art, setting them in a bookcase or even hanging them upside down from the ceiling.

This year’s Orchid Mania, the annual celebration of orchids at Cleveland Botanical Garden, includes the Cleveland Interior Design Showcase. More than a dozen top local designers created room vignettes inspired by or accented with orchids.

Orchid Mania continues at the botanical garden through Sunday, March 9. Meet and Greet the Interior Designers nights are 6 to 8 p.m. Wednesdays through March 5.

The participating designers let orchids fuel their imaginations when designing their rooms. Reflections Interior Design in Cleveland Heights put orchids in frames and mounted them on walls as if they were works of art. Lee Meier Interiors in Westlake went bold with a backdrop of green geometrical wallpaper, while Wolfs on Larchmere Blvd. in Cleveland put orchids next to large sculptural busts in a room titled “Intelligent Choices.”

One of the most unusual rooms came from Kidist Getachew of Cleveland, who suspended an egg-shaped, futuristic-looking chair above a path of orchids.

“Every space couldn’t be more different,” said Chris Kascsak, who with Bret Manning is a principle designer of In Design Inc. based in Cleveland.

Kascsak helped organize the exhibit and chose the four colors that designers could use in their spaces. The hues were Benjamin Moore BM 2058-30 Deep Ocean, and Sherwin-Williams colors SW 6726 Talipot palm, SW 6557 Purple Passage and SW 7589 Habenero Chile.

Carol Wellman of Carol M. Wellman Interiors used all four colors in large squares, set off with a “tree” made of potted orchids.

The room created by In Design, “Cabinet of Curiosities,” featured a large bookcase that, instead of books, held light pink and deep pink orchids and jade green pots.

Kascsak and Manning created a brightly saturated space with Habenero Chile and fushia — two colors that would seemingly clash but actually played together very well – in striped curtains. The hues work because both are saturated colors, Kascsak said.

Walls and the inside of a large bookcase were painted coral; the same color popped up in two chairs covered with an Asian print. A leopard rug prevented the traditional bookcase from feeling stuffy.

“I think it’s pretty fresh,” Kascsak said. “We love color. We’re known for our brilliant color.

Janna Lutz, principle designer of Janna Lutz Interiors and the retail store Chestnut Hill Home, both in Chagrin Falls, titled her room “She Blinded me with Science and Orchids” as a nod towards the creation of new varieties of orchids. Lutz wanted to showcase the blooms, so she was delighted to find a driftwood candelabra that had lots of spaces for pots. “It’s a beautiful way of presenting potted orchids,” she said.

Lutz chose peach and dusty pink orchids to accent her Habenero Chile walls. “It turned out like it was supposed to,” she said.

IF YOU GO

Orchid Mania

Cleveland Botanical Garden

Now through Sunday, March 9.

Hours 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturdays, noon to 5 p.m. Sunday. Hours extended to 9 p.m. on Wednesday. Closed Monday.

Admission: Free for members, $11 for adults, $6 for children ages 3-12. This includes the entire garden, the Eleanor Armstrong Smith Glasshouse and Orchid Mania activities.

11030 East Blvd. cbgarden.org