I had a very exciting morning having one of my gardens professionally photographed by David Hall (www.davidhallphotography.co.uk) - the landscape contractor had suggested that we split the cost and this made it a reasonable proposition. The garden was looking gorgeous thanks to the owner and her gardeners' efforts, and the weather was as good as we could have hoped for. I took the morning off work (starting at 7am to get the best light - that was a shock to the system ;o)) and it was great to take a little time to just enjoy the fruits of my labours. I so rarely get time to really enjoy the gardens that I've designed, so this morning was a real treat. When you've designed a garden and it's been built, it seems to take on a life of its own, and I can admire its beauty without feeling this is an arrogant thing to do. It's such a delight to see how the plants settle in and do their amazing thing, how the light plays on the water, how views are framed by the structures... I'm posting a few of my own pics as David's won't be available for a few days.
I'll be using the best photos on my website and for my portfolio, but I would love to have the garden work harder for me, as I'm proud of it and I'd love more commissions along these lines! It would be great if the clients agreed to have the garden submitted to one of the glossy magazines for a feature, but they value their privacy and may not agree to this. Even if they do, there is a 12 month lead-in so that articles are seasonal, so there won't be any quick results. How many lovely gardens are there out there I wonder, that are only ever viewed by the owners and their visitors? One garden I designed was regularly used for charity events which was great - lots of people got to enjoy it.
How have any other designers managed to publicise their gardens?
Comments
That looks like a very good project. Looks very interesting. I like the curved pergolas. What are they made of?
Clive
Such a fantastic garden, really well done.
thanks John & Clive. The pergola beams are made of glulam timber composite, 200 x 100 section. Luckily for me, we had structural engineers working on the house build, so they spec'd the technical side of the pergolas to ensure they stay up - they are big beasts!!
Hi Rose
I've herd of the material, but never used it. Are the beams steamed to that radius or are they built up over a former like that?
Clive
Hi Clive, the beams are constructed over a former using thin layers laminated together. Uses a lot of glue which is the downside (from sustainability point of view). When used architecturally they are generally made in a factory, but also perfectly possible for a good carpenter to put them together in a workshop, provided they have the space. To get these shapes the alternative would be box section steel, and that would be a very specialist and expensive process.
Fantastic Rose,
Looked so balanced, I love it, both soft and hard landscape.
Cool relaxing and seems easy to maintain.
You are right it is nice to go back to 'your' gardens. I found myself few weeks ago while (I past near one ) getting inside (huge property) as there was no one in - so I still went to see the garden that I designed 3 years ago. (one of the few in the uk)
Images are great the best thing to use for your marketing- add some music to it and you can win any job. It will just melt your customers.
I think it is one of the best parts of the job, when you can capture it.
thanks Ofer, I love your idea of music, it never occurred to me to add to the portfolio... tricky making the right choice though!
Absolutely stunning, you have every right to be proud of it.