Mount Usher gardens, Co. Wicklow planted to William Robinson's naturalistic style

Wildflower meadow - pic taken at a friend's house in Wicklow

There are a plethora of approaches from the monastic purists who will only use native plants to soft liberalists who will allow exotics but arranged in a “natural” manner: a complete breakdown of natural and ecologically inspired planting styles is given by Noel Kingsbury in Hitchmough and Dunnett’s  “The Dynamic Landscape“(2004).

My route in to landscape architecture was in many ways the “wrong-way-round”: I graduated as a geographer and then became a conservation ecologist dedicating a year of my life to habitat creation with the British Trust for Conservation Volunteers and only later on rekindled a childhood interest in landscape and garden design.

In many ways, I have now come full circle, as I am now keen to infuse my landscape and garden designs with as much of an ecological thrust as my clients will allow.

Originally posted in the THE LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT’S JOURNAL BY TIM AUSTEN

The garden design plan involves the renovation of an existing suburban garden.  It is of a traditional style with a good-sized lawn and generous planting beds along the sides with an existing (but weedy) natural stone pathway providing access down through the garden.  However, these elements had not been reconciled with a recent house extension and patio which are contemporary in form and style.

View of existing garden (pre-design)

So, the main design issue was to marry up the remnants of the previous garden with the new style of the house.   This meant adding in some new paving to tie the pathway in with the patio whilst also providing functional access to the new shed.

Although the planting had become overgrown and weedy, the garden retains some nice plants and mature shrubs so the planting design involves retention of what is best and then effectively adding in a new groundcover layer. Two main planting types are used in the design: sun-living plants and woodland/shade plants and a herb garden space is also provided for.

The garden design plan

The design for this garden is a lesson in achieving a lot whilst trying to minimise the amount of work undertaken: the design plan is simple but the changes will make a big difference to the garden.  This approach helps the client’s pocket but also seems to make sense where surely it is better to overhaul what you have than starting all over again.  Construction post to follow soon – I’m off to lay out plants today! 

Front garden design (by Tim Austen) featuring granite setts and kerbs to tie-in with the granite windowsills of the house. Colour of gravel also complements the red-brick of the house.

A good starting point is your house: the colour and finishes on your house should be used as a guide for materials selection for the garden.  For example, if you live in a red-brick residence you could consider using red-brick paving for your garden paths.    If you have granite quoins or windowsills then a granite paving may work well.

On the other hand, if you have a painted finish to your house e.g. a shade of  cream then a beige or sand coloured stone may work or if you have a strong colour like yellow then you should consider using a grey coloured stone so as not to clash with the colour of the house.

Muted tones generally work best in the Irish landscape and soft moisture-filled Irish light and natural Irish stone, such as Kilkenny blue limestone or Liscannor are perfect in this regard.  The same applies to the selection of gravels.

Kilkenny Limestone paving flamed finish (Tim Austen garden designs)

Aside from colour the textures of paving will extend from smooth, polished surfaces through to coarsely textured and rugged finishes.  The overall look of your garden design may dictate the appropriate finish with more textured stone suiting traditional designs and the more highly polished stones working in contemporary layouts…but this rule does not always apply – if confused, consult your nearest garden designer!

Tim's bee pic. from his biodiversity study

Having undertaken a  study of biodiversity in Dublin’s gardens a few years back,  I am a fan of any garden design that encourages more wildlife habitat in to our gardens.  So, I am looking forward to seeing the University of Leed’s bee-friendly garden at Chelsea this year.  Their top-tips for encouraging bees in to your garden are given on their website and include:

• Bees love to nest in logs, crumbling walls and woody undergrowth
  Resist the urge to clear away rotting wood, or to fix up the old garden wall.  Create a habitat pile or invest in a ‘bee hotel’, which you can make or buy from garden centres.
• Bees love longer grass
  Consider leaving just part of your lawn an inch or two longer to encourage bees. You can always cut the rest so your neighbours still know you care!
• Plant bee-friendly flowers
  Avoid garden-centre annuals or double flowers which are often sterile and instead opt for flowers loaded with nectar such as lavender or fuchsias. Not only will you be doing your bit for bees, you’ll also be saving yourself a fortune!
• Don’t be over keen on your weeding
  Dandelions, clovers and forget-me-knots are great for bees  – a great excuse to put your feet up

Bee-friendly flowers

1. Lavender
2. Buddleja
3. Comfrey
4. Fuchsia
5. Hebe

Flowers which offer little reward to pollinators

1. Pansies
2. Begonias
3. Busy Lizzies
4. Petunias
5. Hybrid tea roses”

And there is loads more information about why bees are important to the health of our plants on their website.  Follow this link   Keeping up with the Joneses harms Britain’s bees – University of Leeds.

RHS show judge Andrew Wilson (pic from RHS site)

Text from the Telegraph 21 Apr 2012.  “Chelsea Flower Show judge Andrew Wilson shares his crib sheet for analysing gardens – how plants, hard materials, colour and layout work together to create the whole.”  He says that “…common to all good gardens is a sense of integrity or coherence that allows all the different elements to work together as a composition. A little background research into a garden’s creator, and the period in which the garden was developed or changed, can help you analyse how it works”

His analysis looks at: movement through the garden, materials and structure, planting design and laying out space (masses and voids).  I think that this is a useful piece of text for garden design amateurs and a good, straight-up, refresh for seasoned pros.   Follow the link below for the full article:

How to judge a garden – Telegraph

The Big Year (Image source Film Ireland)

Under our current spell of weather with its punishing, blustery winds and sharp rain, the least likely thing to be on your mind is the thought of carrying out a survey of your garden.  But if you are mulling over the idea of a garden redesign this summer, then it is something you are going to have to do.  I find having a plan of the existing garden is really the only way to visualise what sort of design changes are required.  And the survey plan is used as the basis over which new designs can be sketched.  Below is an outline of the kit that you can be getting ready in the interim and also some tips on what is required of this survey.

Firstly though, you need to put yourself back in school, perhaps, in maths or geography class to get in the frame of mind for this work. Or remember the fun science project when you got to go outdoors and find out about nature: maybe you surveyed the trees in the school grounds one year?

Basic garden survey equipment

So, my essential kit for a garden survey is paper, pencil, and tape measure.  Other useful equipment that I have used for detailed surveys includes: a rule, string, spirit level, and long (flexible) tape measure.  For larger sites, consider using a measuring wheel, which is really handy way of taking quick measurements and is easily used on your own.  For greater detail on level changes consider the use of a laser level (these can be picked up at good value these days and the less expensive ones are perfectly adequate for most garden survey work).  A photographic record is also a must for reference, so bring a camera, too.

My trusty measuring wheel

The main things that you need to survey (measure) are:

GARDEN DIMENSIONS: You will need to assess the main garden dimensions including length (depth), width and level changes across your site. If your boundaries are curved or of varying width, ensure that you plot these changes accurately on your survey plan.

GARDEN FEATURES: In addition to the size of the garden and its gradients, record the location and size of existing garden features, such as: the location of any garden buildings, pathways, steps, paved areas, planting beds, types and heights of fences and/or walls and the main trees and shrubs throughout the garden.

SERVICES: the location of any underground services, electricity and water pipes, as well as drainage points should be noted, as these will dictate whether, or not, parts of the garden can be dug at depth.

ORIENTATION: Don’t forget to assess the orientation of the site (i.e. find the north point) and record the sunny and shady spots.  Ascertain the direction of prevailing winds and also where wind is likely to be channelled by tall, solid objects, such as, evergreen trees, walls and even the house.

SITE SURVEY PLAN: Ensure that this information is recorded on a plan “in-the-field” and then transferred to a tidier survey plan completed at your desk (or kitchen table!).

Finally, my best advice is to have a second person with you to help you take the measurements and to assist in the recording of the information.  Carrying out the survey can actually be quite good fun; especially if undertaken with a friend – you can share the tape measure between you and it becomes a sort of bonding exercise (a bit like bird-watching )!

At this time of year, no blog on garden design would be worth its salt without a post on Rhododendrons .  Alongside the Magnolias these are some of the plants (both trees and shrubs) that lend a real “wow-factor” to spring gardens.

My father has always been a “rhodo-fanatic” and having recently moved from a garden in Wicklow with alkaline soil to one in Kerry with acid-peat soil, he is delighted with the results – his Rhododenrons are romping away and producing spectacular flowers.

Rhodendron macabeanum in Kerry

Briefly, as you would need a whole book to explain their botanical and horticultural characteristics (and I am no expert on this particualr plant), the name comes from the Greek, rhodon, rose, and dendron, tree: this is a very large genus of plants, with hundreds of species and hybrids in cultivation too, including the shrubbier Azaleas.  Common to the majority of Rhododendrons is their dislike of limey soils, although there are some exceptions, such as those grown on the recently developed Inkarho rootstock.  There are both evergreen and deciduous species with the evergreen providing garden designers with opportunities for using them as year-round accent plants.

Rhododendron arboreum in Kilmacurragh, Co. Wicklow

I prefer to see them used in woodland styled gardens with some shelter available: Rhododendrons generally prefer cool roots and are happy enough with partial shade; sun-loving hybrids are fine unless the roots get very dry.  They like to be mulched in early spring with leaf or green waste compost, old manure and the like as they are hungry plants – this also helps to keep the soil moist.  I love to come across a spectacular rhododendron whilst walking around a woodland garden like Mount Usher.

Azaleas are often a bit more showy and so can be used in other gardens with more open aspects and where a strong splash of colour is desired.  But ensure that there is something to take over after the Azaleas fade.

Before:

During:

After:

The three multi-stemmed trees are Betula pendula multi-stems, height range 5-5.5m.  These were planted as root-balled specimens.   Being on the nothern side of the building the groundcover plants include those tolerant of shade.  The soil is also somewhat wet.  Plants selected included, amongst others: Alchemilla mollis, Astilbe, Bergenia cordifolia, Helleborus orientalis and Caltha palustris with a selection of  Ferns, grasses including Luzula sylvatica with Geranium ‘Rozanne’ and Tradescantia ‘Red Grape with one or two flowering perennials thrown in for good measure.

The planting forms part of a larger landscape design that I have undertaken for the Gap of Dunloe that includes a new garden with interpretation of the Gap for visitors to Moriarty’s shop and café.

This first part of planting has been widely complimented by enquiring visitors and I have had to send down a full plant identification list to my clients. More on the progress of this landscape design project to follow.

‘Clinic’ – there’s that medical overtone again in regard to garden design advice that I am not sure about; but anyway, that aside, the GLDA are hosting some garden design advice days as part of the Bloom fringe over the coming weeks.  Press release, as follows:

“Good news for gardeners in Dublin, Kildare, Limerick and Cork: free design advice from experienced garden designers is being given at selected garden centres who are holding design clinics as part of a new initiative called Bloom Fringe.

‘The Chelsea Fringe is an enormous event across London’, explains garden designer Sheena Vernon, ‘but at short notice, the Garden and Landscape Designers’ Association, who were asked by Bloom organisers’ to come up with ideas for the weekends running up to Bloom, decided that partnering with our local garden centres would be the best way to start.’

Dates, times and designers are listed below, many of the names you might recognize as the list includes a number of medal winners from Bloom.  If you want to guarantee availability, ring the garden centre and book a slot.

The more information you can bring to a designer, the more specific they can be in their advice, so photos (on your phone will be fine) and measurements are much appreciated.

Also taking part as a fringe event is the Leinster Gallery who will host a pop up nursery in their sculpture garden as well as music and talks on gardening.”

Click on this link for a full  list of participating garden centres and dates.

Incidentally, my ‘clinic’ is at Gardenworld (the National Garden Exhibition Centre), Kilquade, Co. Wicklow from 10am-4.30pm on Saturday May the 12th, Tel: 01 281 9890 or ring me at the Austen Studio 0404 66827 to set up an appointment.

Liscannor stone in Tim's 2011 Bloom show garden

Furthermore, with environmental considerations coming to the fore coupled with a desire by consumers to support home-grown industry traditional Irish stones, such as Liscannor from Co. Clare and Kilkenny limestone have once again found a foothold in the market.   I just love the textures that the fossilisation gives to these stones – I used these slabs from Liscannor in my Bloom garden last year and they were a great talking point.

In truth, the “world-is-your-oyster” when it comes to picking stone and you are as well to plan a specific “stone-hunting” trip where you go to your local paving or patio centre to view what is on offer.  If you have a garden designer on board, take them along with you to and agree a selection together.

Natural stone paving complementing decking in one of my garden designs

Alternatively garden festivals, such as Bloom, showcase different paving materials in the show gardens and you can quiz the designers about why they have used them – they are only delighted to talk to the punters!