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GARDEN DESIGN MANAGEMENT & ADVISORY SERVICE HAZEL HUDDLESTON M.I.Hort |
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From pocket-handkerchief to multi-acre gardens, from new- build houses ,to old established garden renovations, a full design and advisory service is available. By carefully designing a garden, linking in all its features, using suitable materials, and by choosing an interesting range of plants, to suit your particular type of garden, the three main criteria of modern gardens can be achieved:
Whether intended for D.I.Y. and delivery of a ‘Garden Kit’, or for a Garden Contractor to implement, the plans are easy to follow. The service is economical, and, offers as little or as much as you want! |
HAZEL M.
HUDDLESTON M.I.HORT
Hazel is a member of the Institute of Horticulture, and Institute of Garden Design. She had previously worked in the University and Royal Botanic Garden in Edinburgh, a local authority landscape department, plus 18 years in her previous nursery and garden design business, before embarking in 1997 on LONGFRAMLINGTON GARDENS.
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“ …… as well as plants, a garden is also about space, the interrelation of space, and the things you find in it! “ The most popular garden option chosen, is a design to give colour and interest all year round, based on informality and low maintenance – a very modern and apt approach, though each garden is unique, as are its owners, and each design reflects their individual needs. The designer pays great attention to detail – from the use of construction materials, to creating and using garden microclimates, to the intricate use of plants to achieve ’the effect’. |
Vital for the success of all gardens:
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We do also offer a Postal Design Service for gardens further afield, or ‘unable to visit’ gardens. If you would like an initial visit to discuss your garden, or you would like further information about the design service, do please phone or email us. |
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W hy you would want to ask a Garden Designer to see your garden? Whether you have a new garden, or you are looking for an upgrade of the one you have got, a garden designer can help by working with you to create an individual planning package that will suit your garden and you. Gardens are constantly evolving and changing – what may have been a superb design when first landscaped, may now need some re-working. No matter how low maintenance the scheme, garden and plant management is still necessary – and you should try to confirm this at the outset - ie the common Buddleia or Butterfly Bush – this can be cut back every late Winter, or left to create a very large shrub. Fashions come and go ie clipped holly , but untrimmed makes a useful evergreen tree. What was in the mind of the original planter? Sometimes a complete new planting scheme is the best way forward, but often there is good salvageable plant material. Perhaps you are just ready for a complete new look for the garden? Often people are too scared to cut things back – but it is important to know what you are cutting back ( as some will not respond to rejuvenation pruning ), what the ongoing results will be, and the time of year to be doing it. Garden design is about looking after all the practical things – like what you want to use your garden for. Design is more than pretty pictures, but also understanding the limitations of your garden, and making the garden ‘work’ for you. In addition to you, there are a lot of things to consider as part of the appraisal before making any garden plans – soil types, light levels, moisture levels, existing services plants and structures, tree roots, foundations, to especially the access to the garden. We have had to carry everything through the middle of the house on several occasions – not an ideal scenario! 4x4 pergola uprights don’t bend easily around door posts!. An ambitious scheme is wonderful and all that, but can easily fall down if the aftercare and follow-on maintenance is not taken care of, whether doing the work yourself, or you have a gardener to do the work for you. On the whole, as a population, we are needing to adopt smaller garden spaces – this puts further need into designing outdoor space more carefully. The more information given to the designer or planner at the outset, hopefully, the more successful the garden scheme will be. Planting, as the soft furnishings of a garden, can be designed to give a garden colour and interest all year round. After short-listing suitable plants, you can then bring in all the aesthetic qualities – the flowers, the fragrance, the colours, the foliage, the bark colours and textures, the fruits and specialities. It is important to pick plants that will thrive in the individual gardens conditions – especially to make a good initial structure. It is difficult to say no to someone when they have their heart set on particular plants that you know have little chance of thriving, but you can always make space for a few acknowledged ‘experiments’. Some of you are looking for simple easy planting plans, others, a very intricate detail with as much plant variety as possible. Making a garden does not have to cost the earth, but it is a good idea to have a budget in mind from the start. The designer will not ‘hit the nail on the head’ for you if on the one hand they aim for too ambitious a scheme, nor on the other if too cost conscious. It is always a difficult one to address, when trying to match what you are wanting against the available funds. Garden design as you can see involves many tiers of work. Instant fix gardens as seen on the tv make-over programmes are one thing, but a new garden is really just the start…… thankfully we are all different, and long may we want to keep our individuality! Gardens no exception. |