budget - LJN Blog Posts - Landscape Juice Network2024-03-29T06:38:29Zhttps://landscapejuicenetwork.com/profiles/blogs/feed/tag/budgetPlayground Equipment for Primary Schoolshttps://landscapejuicenetwork.com/profiles/blogs/playground-equipment-for2011-05-04T13:32:59.000Z2011-05-04T13:32:59.000ZJon Leehttps://landscapejuicenetwork.com/profil/JonLee<div><p>We were recently asked by a couple of Primary Schools if we could build play equipment that conforms to British Standards but does not cost a small fortune.</p><p>Well in short the answer was…Yes of course we could!</p><p>Schools' budgets are getting ever tighter and public money needs to go further and further these<span id="more-1201"> </span> days. That’s where Arbworx comes in.</p><p>As usual we researched the products out there and looked at what could be built for the restricted budget that the schools had. Certain items that cost more than others were slides and features with an increased critical fall height. All these would need safety flooring to compensate for the additional height so we soon realised that savings could be made if we lowered the construction height to remove the need for the flooring. Savings could also be made in other areas if specialist mouldings and fabricated structures were avoided. So it was out with the bright coloured plastic slide and fireman’s pole and in with the timber ramp and climbing bars.</p><p>Kids' imaginations are amazing things and just because it's not a bright flashing structure or it's a stainless steel pole does not mean that it can't also be a pirate ship sailing the high seas. At primary school age it's all about the imagination and where the kids go with it.</p><p>So when we looked a little deeper we found that it was possible to make a quality playground and not break the bank in the process. We started by creating 3D computer images of each of the chosen pieces of playground equipment and then built a virtual playground for the school staff to tweak so that it was unique to their requirements and location.</p><p>Then we applied safety distances to the model so that we could use the final plans to construct the playground. Once we had settled on a firm plan, orders were placed with our suppliers to deliver the materials and start the work. We chose a supplier who offered a 25 year guarantee on the posts and I am convinced that we will never get a warranty problem having seen the excellent quality of the delivered materials!</p><p>Then it was all hands to the pump to get the positioning of the timbers correct and set out all the pieces in the way that we had designed it. Not so easy when some of the materials were around 45kg+ and about 3M long!</p><p>We got busy with the post hole borer and in no time there were posts going in and frame works being attached to the posts. With so many staff on site we were all required to complete CRB checks which the school kindly carried out on our behalf. Our only real hold up with the works was having to stop whilst the kids were in the playground for their breaks. We actually managed to get our own tea breaks coinciding with theirs so it was smiles all round. (And one eye on the tools in relation to where any of the children were of course!)</p><p>As the playground took shape the overall size of the project started to show through and we were very happy that our careful attention to detail in the planning stage had ironed out many of the potential problems so that we avoided them whilst on site. It is obviously much easier to get the works done out of school time but we were conscious of the costings so with good planning this was avoided.</p><p>We kept the actual construction very close to the original designs as we were very conscious of the need to be ‘fit for purpose’ and the safety aspects of the entire project.</p><p>By the end of the build we were all very pleased with the outcome and we still managed to keep our promise… works on time, within budget, and still good value for money.</p><p>The best part will be seeing the children go mad on it at play time!!</p><p> </p></div>So much more to sowing from seedhttps://landscapejuicenetwork.com/profiles/blogs/so-much-more-to-sowing-from2011-01-17T12:30:00.000Z2011-01-17T12:30:00.000ZJigsawgardens.co.ukhttps://landscapejuicenetwork.com/profil/Jigsawgardenscouk<div><p>THE SEED catalogues have been arriving in the post this week and they got me salivating at the prospect of summer blooms and a bountiful autumn harvest, all on a credit-crunching budget, <em><strong>writes James Iles of jigsawgardens.co.uk</strong></em></p><p><br/>The range, diversity and selection of seed-grown plants increases year on year and demand must surely be high in this climate with gardeners keen to economise while keeping their gardens looking first class.</p><p><br/>Seed potatoes and onion sets are already in the shops where for just a few pounds you can produce a bumper crop of vegetables later in the year but you could do so much more from seed.</p><p><br/>It's a great time of year to think about sowing more from seed as the stock in stores and on-line now is at its peak before the springtime rush so beat the crowds and get planning ahead now.</p><p><br/>There is so much to choose from with perennials, shrubs and even trees (albeit for the more patient gardener) you to wait until next year for the ready-to-plant matured version but there's nothing like getting ahead in the garden.</p><p><br/>Cyclamen seeds, for example, could be sowed now in a propagator on a windowsill, ready for flowering next winter. Sweet peas can also be sown now under cover, ready for planting out once the frosts have passed in April/May.</p><p><br/>And that brings me on to what basic kit you will need, which is cheap too. I picked up two windowsill propagators with vented lids for around £3 each and even adding in a small bag of seed compost you could get yourself a basic seed germination system for under a tenner.</p><p> </p><p><a target="_self" href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/3314190306?profile=original"><img width="750" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/3314190306?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" class="align-center"/></a></p><p><br/>However even some old plastic pots will do. All you need for either method is some window ledge space.<br/>With seed packets starting from around £1.49 per pack for flowering annuals to just £3.50 for the more mass-producing climbing bean plants (just compare that to the price of one packet in the supermarket this summer!) you begin to see why sowing from seed can save you some serious money in the long run.</p><p><br/>This week you can get your gourmet garden off to a flier with some early crops in tray modules or try the biodegradable coir plant modules/pots, which I find extremely useful as you can stick them straight in the ground without disturbing the root ball of your seedlings.</p><p><br/>Sow small quantities of lettuce, cauliflowers, radishes, summer cabbages, carrots, broad beans, turnips, peas and salad onions. They only need temperatures of around 13C to germinate so your budget propagator or pots on a windowsill will be fine before growing them on in decent lighting indoors.</p><p><br/>Prick them out very carefully by their leaves from seed trays (if you do not use modules or pots) as soon as they are large enough to handle and place in new trays of compost.</p><p><br/>Start onion seeds off in modules by sowing in clusters of five or six seeds. Put on a warm windowsill in a propagator until they germinate.</p><p><br/>They should be ready to plant out by April but don't worry about thinning out as they should fight their own corner in the garden producing bulbs of a suitable size for the kitchen.<br/>Flower and perennial or shrubs seeds can be sown under cover from around March time according to the packet's instructions in a similar way to these early veg crops so you'll soon be on your way to getting a great selection of flowers on the go for this summer's displays.</p><p><br/>The beauty of buying them now is you will find a wider choice to start from than you may get later in the year from plant stock and you will have saved yourself a tidy sum in the process.</p><p> </p><p>For more on gardening tips or to check out more of James' gardening writing visit <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.jigsawgardens.co.uk">www.jigsawgardens.co.uk</a></p></div>2D AND 3D GARDEN DESIGN / VISUALISATION SERVICEShttps://landscapejuicenetwork.com/profiles/blogs/2d-and-3d-garden-design2010-09-30T07:30:00.000Z2010-09-30T07:30:00.000ZDavid Beasley Garden Designhttps://landscapejuicenetwork.com/profil/DavidBeasleyGardenDesign<div><b>*** PROFESSIONAL STANDARD *** BUDGET COST *** QUICK TURN-AROUND *** UK BASED GARDEN DESIGNER ***</b><p style="text-align:center"><a target="_blank" class="noborder" href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/3284615340?profile=original"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/3284615340?profile=original"/></a></p><i><u>2D / 3D Courtyard Garden Design Produced Using SketchUp For Private Client In Yorkshire.</u></i><b>Hello</b>Let me firstly apologise for hogging precious <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.landscapejuicenetwork.com/">LJN</a> band-width with the following blatant advertisement for my <b>2D AND 3D GARDEN DESIGN / VISUALISATION SERVICES</b> but, please, do not get bored and read the <u>entire</u> blog post as I guarantee there are cost effective services contained within (some you may not have thought of yourself!) that may benefit you as either a Home Owner / Occupier, Commercial Property Owner / Occupier, Garden Designer, Landscaper or Retailer / Artisan!For those who do not know of me by now, my name is David Beasley, I am self-employed and the owner of <a rel="nofollow" href="http://a-design-and-build.co.uk/" target="_blank">A DESIGN AND BUILD COMPANY</a> - a Garden Design / Visualisation / Landscaping business based in Kingston-Upon-Hull, East Yorkshire, UK.I have been involved in the Landscape Design and Construction industries at <a rel="nofollow" href="http://a-design-and-build.co.uk/about/" target="_blank">all levels</a> since leaving school in 1988.Originally trained by Landscape Architects / Civil Engineers to produce traditional, hand-drafted technical drawings for commercial and public realm projects, I have since converted to Computer Aided Design (CAD) for all my drawing production.<object width="700" height="525"><param name="flashvars" value="offsite=true&lang=en-us&page_show_url=%2Fphotos%2Fdb-gardendesign%2Fshow%2F&page_show_back_url=%2Fphotos%2Fdb-gardendesign%2F&user_id=23452872@N03&jump_to="></param><param name="movie" value="http://www.flickr.com/apps/slideshow/show.swf?v=71649"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="false"></param><embed wmode="opaque" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://www.flickr.com/apps/slideshow/show.swf?v=71649" allowfullscreen="false" flashvars="offsite=true&lang=en-us&page_show_url=%2Fphotos%2Fdb-gardendesign%2Fshow%2F&page_show_back_url=%2Fphotos%2Fdb-gardendesign%2F&user_id=23452872@N03&jump_to=" width="700" height="525" allowscriptaccess="never"></embed> <param name="allowscriptaccess" value="never"></param><param name="wmode" value="opaque"></param></object> <u><i>My Current On line Portfolio (please click central arrow to play slide-show).</i></u><a rel="nofollow" href="http://a-design-and-build.co.uk/about/qualifications/" target="_blank">I have City And Guilds qualifications</a> and over ten years day-to-day, professional experience of using AutoCAD compatible software to produce my 2D Working Drawings, Construction Details and Planting Plans.Self-taught, I have over five years experience in using <a rel="nofollow" href="http://sketchup.google.com/" target="_blank">SketchUp</a> to turn my 2D plans in to full-colour, perspective 3D CAD models which can be outputted as either JPEG files or avi. animation files for further photo-editing / rendering work or upload on to Youtube etc.I also have a basic grasp of the Kerkythea rendering system and Photo Editing Software so that, if needed, I can turn my SketchUp output into photo-realistic renderings or artistic impressions if required.Anyway, that's enough of the technical speak, below is a list (not exhaustive) of possible uses of my services for each Client type highlighted above:<b>Home Owners/Occupiers.</b>If you have a relatively normal sized / shaped garden and you send me detailed measurements (in metres or millimetres), lots of digital photographs of your properties exterior and existing garden, and idea of the garden's existing topography (height levels), a Design Brief for your new garden and it's exact address I should be able to provide you with a full-set of Design Drawings that you may use to get your garden landscaped. All of this would be done remotely via. the internet without us even meeting or me visiting the site!<b>Commercial Property Owners / Occupiers.</b>You can benefit from the same services offered to Home Owners, whilst I can also produce "still" and video animations for your organisation that you may use for Press-Releases, Marketing, Websites and for Grant Bids etc.<p style="text-align: center;"><a class="noborder" href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/3314135542?profile=original" target="_blank"><img width="721" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/3314135542?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" alt=""/></a></p><u><i>Artistic Render Image Produced For LJN Member PIP HOWARD From His Sketched Planting Plan.</i></u><b>Garden Designers.</b>Fellow Garden Designers (and I'm mainly talking to those who still prefare to use "hand-drawn" methods and those who use 2D CAD only!), I can take your scaled drawings and sketches and turn them into scaled 2D or 3D CAD drawings / videos so that you can present them to Clients or collaboratively share them with other design professionals. Full-colour, accurate 3D imagery will help you sell your designs to your Clients and are also a necessity if you are thinking of entering a Show Garden in a professional show such as RHS Chelsea Flower Show or RHS Tatton Park etc.At the most basic level, I could just even draw up your site surveys in CAD to provide you with an accurate 2D Base Plan (without the need to use cumbersome "beam compasses" etc.) or I could provide you with a faint 3D perspective framework drawing so that you can easily produce a "hand-rendered" image over it.<b>Landscapers.</b>Do you want to inject some design flair into your schemes but do not want to get involved with your local Garden Design set? Why not consider using me as your remote Garden Designer! Wearing the "two hats" of Garden Designer and Landscaper as I do, I have "seen it-done it" with regards to most aspects of Landscape Construction and can communicate with you at a "grass-roots" level. Being Northern-based with low overheads, I can no doubt beat your local Designers for rates. Also, having twenty two years experience in the game (most of that in a design/drawing environment) I can quickly churn out the Drawings / Images / Videos that you may need. Why not consider the idea of me creating you a stunning looking Site-Board graphic complete with 3D images of the proposed garden / landscape?<b>Retailers / Artisans.</b>If you produce and/or sell garden-related objects and you find that photographs do not do them justice etc., I can produce 3D models in SketchUp that can be ouputted as black and white "line drawings" / full-colour images for insertion into brochures etc. as well as avi. video files for uploading/embedding Youtube videos on your website. Also, these 3D models can also be placed on <a rel="nofollow" href="http://sketchup.google.com/3dwarehouse/cldetails?mid=e06ef00350129cccf2bf4ee2fc63531" target="_blank">Google's 3D Warehouse</a> so that your potential customers can download your products and view them in there own copies of SketchUp. I could also take the prepared models I have done for you and create a 3D montage scene around them to place them in a "perfect environment".<b>TRACK RECORD WITH LANDSCAPE JUICE MEMBERS</b>As you may (or may not) know I started/administrate the <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.landscapejuicenetwork.com/group/usersofgooglesketchupfor3dgardendesignwork">"Google SketchUp And CAD For 2D/3D Garden Design Work" Group on LJN</a> (please feel free to join and contribute!) and was one of four designers to produce a Concept Design for LJN's last attempt to enter a Show Garden for Hampton Court way back in 2009.<object width="660" height="525"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/rItvLhoDfLs?fs=1&hl=en_GB&rel=0&color1=0xe1600f&color2=0xfebd01&border=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="false"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="never"></param><embed wmode="opaque" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/rItvLhoDfLs?fs=1&hl=en_GB&rel=0&color1=0xe1600f&color2=0xfebd01&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="never" allowfullscreen="false" width="660" height="525"></embed> <param name="wmode" value="opaque"></param></object>My first SketchUp assignment for a LJN member was to produce a model of <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.landscapejuicenetwork.com/profile/MichaelThompson?xg_source=profiles_memberList">Michael Thompson's</a> "Soil Improvement Device (S.I.D.) for his <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.rammed-earth.org/diyrammedearthmanual.htm" target="_blank">D.I.Y. Rammed Earth Construction Manual</a> which I have since read and is excellent.<p style="text-align:center"><a target="_blank" class="noborder" href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/3314140481?profile=original"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/3314140481?profile=original"/></a></p>Next up was <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.landscapejuicenetwork.com/profile/OferEl?xg_source=profiles_memberList">Ofer</a> from <a rel="nofollow" href="http://best4garden.co.uk/" target="_blank">Plants from Zion</a> who contacted me to produce images to help sell his <a rel="nofollow" href="http://best4garden.co.uk/shop/page/37?sessid=aGdpNUmJkBXteOR23FeuMtTz9WcRUTkB8OhQPM5JIQo6m241rmzdGauQtkOw3fEU&shop_param=" target="_blank">Plastic Garden Edging.</a>This was quickly followed by a call from <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.landscapejuicenetwork.com/profile/PipHoward?xg_source=profiles_memberList">Pip Howard</a> who asked me if I could produce 3D Presentation Images from his "hand-drawn" 2D scaled Planting Plan for a Client of his in Paris.At the time of writing, I have just finished preparing 3D SketchUp images of <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.landscapejuicenetwork.com/profile/JohnCavill?xg_source=profiles_memberList">John Cavill's</a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.landscapejuice.com/2010/09/poison-garden-designer-seeks-chelsea-flower-show-sponsorship.html" target="_blank">"Poison Garden" Show Garden</a> entry for 2011's RHS Chelsea Flower Show.A quick call/email to any of these LJN members would confirm that I completed their work entirely remotely via. email/telephone with minimal instruction/information provided by themselves and the finished images were forwarded to them within a week's duration (24 hours in some cases!) and that the quality of work far exceeded their expectations!To cap it off, if you have <b><u>any project (big or small)</u></b> that you think may benefit from David's <b>2D AND 3D GARDEN DESIGN / VISUALISATION SERVICES</b>, please do not hesitate to Contact David via. <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.landscapejuicenetwork.com/profile/DAVIDBEASLEY?xg_source=profiles_memberList">LJN</a>, his <a rel="nofollow" href="http://a-design-and-build.co.uk/contact-us/" target="_blank">Website</a>, Email, Telephone or even Post.<b>Thanks for taking the time and having the patience to read this monsterous blog entry :-)</b></div>