sculpture in the garden

After a wonderful afternoon at the museum inspired amidst wonderful exotic planting that reflect the climate of the south west ,you can find the hidden shaded and incidental sculptures of Barbara Hepworth. Sat amongst these monolithic structures what reflected the materials and surface treatments a result of casting and fabrication techniques that remain largely unchanged over thousands of years,there silhouetted and contrasted are a multitude of flowers ready to spring forth beauty and adoration ,two worlds distinctly placed coexisting together in harmony.

Getting to Barbara Hepworth Museum and Sculpture Garden
Barnoon Hill 
St Ives 
Cornwall TR26 1AD 
Email visiting.stives@tate.org.uk 
Call +44 (0)1736 796 226

Contemplating Eden

 

 
Turning your pipe dreams into a small corner of Eden where contemplation comes easily and some sanctuary is found for birds and wildlife... where in the evenings you find peace and inspiration, is in fact my labour of love.

 As a garden designer I am often asked to turn desolate spaces into thriving green habitats that are home both to people, pets and wildlife. Creating that mature well thought out cottage garden or simpliflying your overgrown jungle into a sleek minimalist work of art, free of clutter, is often more enjoyable and less expensive than you may imagine. I welcome a challenge and enjoy meeting clients whose despair I often turn into creative ideas that remain and give pleasure long after the project has reached completion.

Spaces are usually multifunctional in that children, dogs, laundry, and barbeque all jockey for position in what can be a limited space. A clever designer will jig saw your plants, pool and jacuzzi so that aesthetically and from that all important practical point of view everything fits perfectly into place including that longed for water feature or tree house that you never had room for up till now.

 After coffee and a chat I will usually provide you with visual plans of your project. These are often adapted as the we re-think and discuss such things as costs and materials. I work quickly and try to adapt ideas into finished works of art within a relatively short time.

Tree Spirits

trees have spirits and this is how they look according to the famous studio gibli aniamaters
i really love these little fellas.

Flowering Trees and Shrubs

When is the Best Time to Prune?

When you can't wait to get started in the spring garden, a good task to undertake is pruning. Most trees and shrubs benefit from annual pruning. It keep them in shape, gets rid of dead and diseased wood and encourages new growth. But not all trees and shrubs should be pruned early, especially some of the flowering ones.

Early spring bloomers set their flower buds the fall before. Pruning them early in the spring would mean losing some blossoms and is one of the most common answers to why trees wont bloom ! Most of the time this is not what you want. However there are exceptions. It’s often easier to prune when you can see the shape of the plant, before the branches are masked by leaves. Trees and shrubs that are in need of a good shaping could sacrifice a few blooms to be invigorated by a spring pruning.

There are no hard and fast rules, but here is a of list of commonly grown spring flowering trees and shrubs and the best time to prune them.

Trees and Shrubs to Prune in Late Spring/Summer, After Bloom

• Azalea (Rhododendron species)
• Beautybush (Kolkwitzia amabilis)
• Bridal Wreath Spirea (Spirea x vanhouttei)
• Flowering Crabapple (Malus species and cultivars)
• Forsythia (forsythia x intermedia)
• Hawthorn (Crataegus species and cultivars)
• Hydrangea, Bigleaf (Hydrangea macrophylla)
• Lilac (Syringa vulgaris)
• Magnolia (Magnolia species and cultivars)
• Mockorange (Philadelphus coronarius)
• Mountain Laurel (Kalmia latifolia)
• Rhododendron (Rhododendron species)
• Serviceberry (Amelanchier x grandiflora)
• Slender Deutzia (deutzia gracilis)
• Weigela (Weigela florida)

Trees and Shrubs to Prune in Early Spring, While Dormant

You can still get your pruner out this spring to shape the following list of trees and shrubs, while they are still dormant.

• Bradford Pear (Pyrus calleryana)
• Butterfly Bush (Buddleia Davidii)
• Crape Myrtle (Lagerstroemia indica)
• Flowering Dogwood (Cornus florida)
• Flowering Plum (Prunus blireana)
• Glossy Abelia (Abelia x grandiflora)
• Golden Rain Tree (Koelreuteria paniculata)
• Honeysuckle (Lonicera fragrantissiam)
• Hydrangea, Peegee (Hydrangea paniculata ‘Grandiflora’)
• Potentilla (Potentilla fruticosa)
• Redbud (Cercis canadensis)
• Spirea (except Bridal Wreath) (Spirea japonica))
• Wisteria (Wistera species)

Furness Treecare and Landscape

If you dont know what needs doing but you know it does just call us!

Treework

We work in both public and private sectors, offering a professional service that provides a comprehensive range of services from Tree felling,Tree reduction,Crown lifting, Deadwooding 

Thinning and pollarding as well as seasonal pruning of Trees and Shrubs

Simplified this means we are a succesesful growing business providing Treework from the heart of Derbyshire to five surounding areas.

Simplified this is what we do !

Tree felling.-removal of trees that need to be cleared for various reasons. Although it is rare to be able to fell a tree these days due to space and obstacles. Trees are removed most commonly due to proximity to property ,concerns re root damaging the fabric of building. When and where it is not possible to fell Trees they are climbed and dismantles in a safe and controlled manner.

Tree Reduction

Reduction in the overall size of the tree by anything from 10 to 15 percent which means an overall reduction in scale of the tree a reason for this  is to maintain health and reduce problematic growth.

Crown Lifting and Deadwooding

This is the process of removing lower branches to maintain the shape of the tree and to encourage new growth within the canopy. Dead-wooding is the removal of dead or diseased branches they occur upon many trees and can cause damage to the tree and are potentially dangerous to property and people.

Tree Survey-Tree report-Recommendations for A Tree Plan

Site Work where tree stock is Assessed and a guide is provide as to recommend a scheme of work to maintain health,safety and management of Tree stock . This is undertaken also for individual trees .

We have been increasing the number of trees we plant and have come to offer tree planting for schools and organizations 

These are the services we offer and after 10 years operating in the area are proud providers of Tree Services.

If we wish to design, create and explore the possibilities say for the creation of a garden that ticks your boxes . You have to consider what you see in your minds eye"discuss and reflect within the framework of costing and then find landscape designer who can match these criteria then working with flexibility and adaptive planning together you aim to bring all to fruition. Well yes thats the ideal but its not that easy so with this in mind i wanted to look at the process from a design point of view.

Firstly gathering your ideas however broad and tall in vision to discuss with the landscaper /designer and seeing if there are ways to bring some of these to life. The ideas from chelsea may seem large and for more formal settings but as a starting point can be synthasised  translated and developed.

For example the first image of those carved stones ,these can be explored and developed in scale and in design ,being readily available here in Derbyshire ,stone offers beautiful qualities and by utilising planting, shape, colour and contrast can be brought together over time .

It is important to develop a sense of understanding in terms of the design if working from a plan leave room  for change for ideas to be developed and be open to options and suggestions that come once a project is in progress.

Good design and planning is essential but not at a cost to quality and choice of materials.

Ensure scheme of work is agreed upon and build in to your project a contingency.

The process is exciting and one which is rewarding for both customer and designer.

ideas in 2012

With great anticipation the chelsea flower show opened with some amazing ideas taking concepts and developing creative solutions to problems , environmental ,ecological and attempted to offer solutions .

With  these in mind I have gathered a series of thumbnails to inspire and provoke for gardens are not defined by one rule they comprise a multitude of concepts cultivated to make the best use of space , planting ,materials,design, innovation.We attempt to combine and to innovate on each project and within each consultation promote designs that utilizes these precepts. Enjoy these and be inspired......

what makes design important.

Recently having met a number of clients each with a set of needs which comprise of function,practicality,use of materials and finally pricing I was considering the balance between these elements and designing with a creative approach. An approach that allows the designer to
use there knowledge of materials ,function and finally the vision of what can be created
within the pricing structure.
Materials can be used with respect to form ,texture coloring as well as structural aspects
in a visual as well as practical sense.
We have a number of projects that have been planned and each client has brought both energy and a
keen awareness of these aspects. Very different factors but all equally exciting. I will update and provide the images to reflect these processes .

view across completed garden

Here is a recently completed garden design comprising of patio ,pergola and large water . Designed with a simple focus to make a previously unusable area into a space for the future needs of the client and there family;a garden for play,interactive, multi functional with 3 dedicated areas. The water feature is designed to be a space where the children can play ,imagine and enjoy. The raised patio with planters provides space for a wooden cabin and a home for the rabbit ,fluffy. Finally the pergola covers the patio where the pool is placed during the warmer months. It has been exciting to work on the project and to see the garden evolve .

elements of hard landscaping

Here is the water feature in context behind walling and a planter. The stone is locally sourced and forms a

retaining run which descends over three levels back to the pump which is below ground level. There are a number of areas with standing stones that will be used as raised beds and will be planted with ferns and hosta's & succulants. These will over time provide color and contrast ,most importantly planting will be fragrant,colorful visually exciting.

against the odds....!

What a day it has been i don't complain about rain as it is essential but for a moment or two as it fell down my back ,then crystalized into hail, planting lost its appeal as much as you try a retreat was called for.We are working on completing a beautiful garden that we have landscaped over the last two months.

It is time to plant which is always exciting as surfaces are softened and shade color and tone bring the elements together. 

Hedge planting march-april

Having had to remove many trees due to various issues it is great to have the opportunity to plant and replace stock which is encouraged by many tree officers. Here you can see around 70 metres of hedging which includes blackthorn , quickthorn, crab apple wild rose and a number of other species. The stock was purchased from David Ross and on botanical online. Hedging is a viable option for boundries in rural and urban areas its also environmentally sound .
We are seeing increased demand for replacement hedging and new areas of planting encouraged by schools wishing to develop wild gardens.

Re Surfacing of large drive in Adlington

The drive was full off moss and weeds and no edgeing was used

and the grass and lawn had begun to collapse and

to encroach onto the drive. There was no liner and no

edging or drainage. Firstly the drive was scraped back so a new

geotec liner could be laid and the edges secured under stone edging

that was sourced from a local quarry. The choice of staffordshire red

was used to reflect the brick in the house, as you can see it is red cheshire

brick. To finish the drive was cobbled at roadside . As you can see the 

effect is in keeping with the house and the client was very happy.We 

supplied the liner free as in the long term term the drive be weed free. 

Treework in disley 2

View looking at the property where branches had begun
to touch windows ,reduce light and cause blokages
in the gutters of leafdrop

View of silver birch once the lower branches
have been removed
This is termed crown lifting.

treework in disley

This Silver Birch was beginning to envelop both gardens ,effecting ground conditions and plant growth. The client asked that the tree be reduced and
shaped ,with the provision that shape and structure remained. There can be
difficulty in maintaining the trees health and managing the the needs of clients we have to look towards standards and longevity.We have seen the increased
use of pollarding across main limbs of trees beyond termination points thus
reducing the ability of the tree to recover and send out new growth.It is important to balance needs with acceptable standards in Treework . This is a point which I hope people become aware when considering employing tree surgeons.

innovation in design.

The process of designing spaces is the most challenging,despite all reference material
and the many books there is the innovation and the
development of a language that defines one or a number of attitudes and expressions present and sought in each project.
Function,form,material interaction,shape,texture colour,innovation,sensation,reverence,movement are present in all. The latest project combines a breif to create a funtional space that will follow and create dimensions of interaction that is both flexible and adaptive.One element of this is the stone bridge that floats over water that flows itself upon hand carved stone linths, sound ,light and serenity combined with incidental spaces to captivate and transfix. We are looking to develop themes that combine elements that creates a sybiosis of captured elements.

dark daiz

One day is delight another dark,little sign of blue azure amidst rolling clouds across panoramic hills. The day is full of contrast. We visited a quarry on kerridge to buy stone today the place is about to close and after 32 years the only guy there has been told he is out of a job.The pressures economic and personal are evident but they are neither summed up as part of percentages or collective verbs,human stories that connect with other peoples lives.The quarry is a mechanical graveyard that reflects a gradual decline but in all this cold rusted steel ,broken diamond cutting wheels ,architectural stonemasonry there is beauty a physicaly imposing vision.

thoughts on the day

This is my first post, thank you to simon ,our simon the one and only as he set the whole blog up ,but with time it has been left in space till tonight.I often thought about what was worth writing,but i think its besy just to start stumpy fingers on qwerty. On friday we were working in the coombs valley,felling a couple of large firs amongst beautiful farm buildings stunning scenery and in the late afternoon a cold wind blowing across the valley. At the end of the day we set off across the valley myself on the back of a trailor attatched to a tractor,exciting and satisfying and a touch nostalgic,as years ago i worked on a farm hay bailing and running round after escaping randy bulls off for a serious redesvous.Any way there was the feeling that brings a smile and a inner moment of peace and harmony satisfied,tired smelling of smoke sweat ready and on the road to the beehive for a pint of the dark stuff .Simple ,remembering the joy and the feeling in your bones we are blessed.There is such beauty here we may look up or out and beyond ourselves there in the colour of a skyline ,in the leaves dancing upon the winds currents in calloused hands.a toast to the sentimental and the romantic and to honest work