House building and gardens.......oh dear......
Building Works
Before building, think about the garden
It’s so difficult being last on the schedule of works.
I drive around, seeing skips outside properties, wonderful building works going on and a completely wrecked garden. Yep, that girl sitting outside your house and sobbing is me! People pore over brochures for taps and kitchen sinks and spend hundreds of pounds on lighting and state of the art doors...but what about the garden?!
The garden is the afterthought. The thought arrives around the time everyone has about £2.50 left to spend. The house build has all gone over budget – just watch Grand Designs if you don’t believe me – and somebody has said “I suppose we ought to do something about the garden”....
The builders have wrecked what was the lawn.
There are still a few breeze blocks sticking out of a lunar landscape. Along comes the poor old garden designer who has the most wonderful ideas for the garden.... Oh the things that could be achieved! But oh dear, nobody really thought about access; the fact that a digger and dumper could be really handy on site but now there’s no way to get round the back, that all the materials need to be delivered and stacked somewhere..... “all through the new kitchen then Madam?” ...... and yes we MUST have lighting but oh dear, the electrics are all in that newly plastered utility room, with no way out but underneath the new limestone floor.
Gardens still aren’t a priority, and so many people have the most wonderful house with a 1930s garden stuck right outside their new sliding doors. Sitting at the breakfast table, no amount of gleaming stainless steel can take away that sea of mud. Just a little thought and a phone call at the START of your project can make all the difference. We can talk about matching flooring materials.
Don’t let your builder put down a two metre sandstone patio! Don’t let your architect pick out a bit of paving on his computer programme. Think about it in advance! Then perhaps your garden budget could go up to £5. Give us a call, we’ll give you an idea.
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Building Works
Before building, think about the garden
It’s so difficult being last on the schedule of works.
I drive around, seeing skips outside properties, wonderful building works going on and a completely wrecked garden. Yep, that girl sitting outside your house and sobbing is me! People pore over brochures for taps and kitchen sinks and spend hundreds of pounds on lighting and state of the art doors...but what about the garden?!
The garden is the afterthought. The thought arrives around the time everyone has about £2.50 left to spend. The house build has all gone over budget – just watch Grand Designs if you don’t believe me – and somebody has said “I suppose we ought to do something about the garden”....
The builders have wrecked what was the lawn.
There are still a few breeze blocks sticking out of a lunar landscape. Along comes the poor old garden designer who has the most wonderful ideas for the garden.... Oh the things that could be achieved! But oh dear, nobody really thought about access; the fact that a digger and dumper could be really handy on site but now there’s no way to get round the back, that all the materials need to be delivered and stacked somewhere..... “all through the new kitchen then Madam?” ...... and yes we MUST have lighting but oh dear, the electrics are all in that newly plastered utility room, with no way out but underneath the new limestone floor.
Gardens still aren’t a priority, and so many people have the most wonderful house with a 1930s garden stuck right outside their new sliding doors. Sitting at the breakfast table, no amount of gleaming stainless steel can take away that sea of mud. Just a little thought and a phone call at the START of your project can make all the difference. We can talk about matching flooring materials.
Don’t let your builder put down a two metre sandstone patio! Don’t let your architect pick out a bit of paving on his computer programme. Think about it in advance! Then perhaps your garden budget could go up to £5. Give us a call, we’ll give you an idea.
<- Back to News list
We'd love to design your garden this year. Why not find out what's really possible. Just look out of your window and imagine what you could see"