In my vast social network (which is in direct contrast to my actual network of a dozen friends and family) it’s sometimes interesting to see what other industry designers and landscapers are up to. I say sometimes because so often it’s the same tired old phrases that come up time and time again.
Not wanting to sound like Mr Appleby and have a go at all those writers who are surprised every year by the emergence of snowdrops and feel a need to write an article (again) I came across this particularly good blog
http://blackwalnutdispatch.com/2011/12/29/top-ten-most-annoying-garden-buzzwords-and-catchphrases-of-2011/
and whilst I don’t agree with it totally I almost actually do. I don’t want to be in an outdoor room, I want to be in a garden or a park. I also want to add another term which is ‘softening’ the hard landscape. If its too hard for the client or design then change it, don’t cover it up!
It’s the Spring gardening season and the big supermarket chains have a new ploy to prove their green credentials as they welcome us into their stores. Whenever I pass through the doors of these urban centres of epicurean delight these days I am being presented with a new form of ashtray – the huge planter with a tiny tree planted dead centre. If it’s a small local shop we get one of these, if it’s the big 24 hour store variety they are treating us with two (one at either entrance). I’ve posted a few of these remarkable plantings at http://gardendesigner.posterous.com
It seemed to start as a way of placing something huge in front of the doors to act as a more inviting form of deterring ram raiders but its quickly developed into a way that a member of my newly opened local Waitrose calls ‘showing our interest in the local environment’. They included the extra trees already planted at the adjoining residential development but they were clutching at straws really (and maximising their profits) so 1 out of 10 for Waitrose.
I actually first noticed this trend at my big 24 hour Tesco Extra Mega Stella store down the road where following a comment on my blog about the sad looking spiral conifers they’ve re-planted this week with some swanky new pyramid Taxus. You can actually spot the plants now but they’re still being used as ash trays. So I’ll give them 2 out of 10 for effort, blimey colourful Tesco better than grey old Waitrose!
Next stop Sainsbury’s.
Just got to NZ where the Ellerslie Flower Show got cancelled as you’d expect and as I was due
there I came anyway and have stayed in the north island. Interesting to see how everyone has reacted with almost instant fundraising and the marquees being used to house people not floral exhibits.There’s even been a gay garden open day – the biggest open gardens day in NZ every year apparently (lots of good looking men and their dogs that don’t seem to be allowed in their gardens) – raising funds. Just wonder if we’d have that community spirit, suspect so but having just watched Bob Parker (mayor of Christchurch) explain how to use a loo when your house has fallen down it’d probably be a step too far for Boris.
I’ve read a lot of rubbish over the past week about the sell off of our national forests. If you believed the government nothing will change about the access, management and care of forests. Are we really that naive? We must have very short memories of the last Tory led government.
I’ve followed the debate quite closely and what concerns me more than anything is that the pundits and celebrities are missing a key element which is the research that is being taken care of by the Forestry Commission is now likely to go in this shake up. We are facing a catastrophe across a huge range of trees that will be worse than dutch elm disease. We cannot wait a few years for the private sector to pick up the baton to fight the stress that so many of our trees are now under. It’s vital for our timber industry and our landscapes that this research is ring fenced and protected if the government is really set today on selling off our national assets.
‘Petersham Nurseries wins Michelin star‘ – good on them but have you been to the place? Vastly marked up prices and customers that can afford silverware at £1k+ Small wonder really. Interestingly, from Mary Portas’ list of the top worst things in retail I’ve spotted a couple on my visits to Petersham. So if you’re a small garden centre in the Midlands wondering where your cafe is going wrong, don’t worry, you’re probably making good money from your scones and fruitcake.
Have you seen the latest House & Gardens and an article on the leading garden designers in the UK (A to L, rest to come in next issue)? Apparently the hot design trends for 2011 include ‘not using box because of box blight’ and ‘slow gardening’. Surely if you are a leading garden designer you should be leading trends not coming up with stuff that’s, well to be blunt, so 5 years ago? With a few notable exceptions (Luciano Giubbelei and Jinny Blom) it felt like we’d gone back to the 90s and its no wonder design doesn’t move forward in the public’s eye.
So a challenge what are the real design trends for 2011? I’ll start you off with a revival in private plant collecting.
On my way up to Wigan last week I needed a quick joke about garden designers to use in a presentation. An hour later of searching on the web I hadn’t found one. Do garden designers take themselves too seriously? Have you got a joke I can use?
You’d be forgiven for thinking that Mr Osbourne had pulled a rabbit out of the hat and surprised us with just a 19% cut across the board. Those MPs have got so used to expecting 20 or 25% cuts that they were cheering along a substantial budget reduction. Whether or not you agree with the cut the devil is in the detail and I’m sure we will find out more in the next few weeks about how it will affect horticulture in the UK.
My suspicion is that the smaller companies will continue to suffer for the next few years much as they have done the past two years. The larger companies may benefit from the expenditure on large infrastructure schemes to go ahead (unlikely anything from new schools though as that budget tightens considerably) but that’ll take a while to work through. And we’ll be relying on volunteers for our public parks within the year.
I had dinner at the House of Commons last night and there was a palpable sense of doom. I suspect a 19% cut hasn’t lifted the gloom.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-11569160
http://www.andrewfishertomlin.co.uk
I’ve been noticing a tendency for one part of our industry to knock another recently. For example the Garden Design Journal columnist who talks about ‘real gardeners’ knocking garden designers but himself knocks garden designers in favour of landscape architects. Then there are garden designers being less than supportive of landscape contractors and vice versa – one designer recently told me she “treats all landscapers with contempt”.
On the surface its all hunky dory with joint SGD/APL/BALI days out and at a grass roots level there are great relationships across the different specialisms – because that’s what we are, specialists. So why the put downs events and why, when we all trying to keep our heads above water during the toughest economic condition can’t everyone be a bit more supportive? We need to bond as professionals, to have a united voice and maintain the high standards of our industry.
http://www.andrewfishertomlin.com
Digest the details of the toughest budget for a generation and you wonder where people will really be hit. There is definitely some moving around of priorities but who is the major loser? Even with a 20% VAT rate you can’t but wonder if it will stop the wealthy investing in their gardens (they didn’t buy more when the rate went down – just paid before it went up) and for the middle England middle income family it might make then think twice about where they spend their money but on the whole I think we got off lightly…. for now. Because what will happen when there are big cuts in department budgets? Certainly the big projects have already been axed in ministers minds and once jobs on this scale go everyone will keep being careful of spending when they are frightened for their jobs. It’ll either put the country back on track or be the nail in the coffin, either way the current tough climate will last a bit longer, and maybe for another decade.
