I am looking for landscapers near to me- I am in Hungerford berks. I have work in Marlborough and Newbury etc. which needs doing. I am looking for landscapers with experience and references, possibly with a portfolio of work to show me for small to medium projects now and in the future

I had a phone call recently from a lady from the local historical association in Hungerford. She had been archiving inventories and had found a record made upon the death of Thomas Tuttle in 1736. He had lived and died at Hungerford Newtown and amongst his goods and chattels- one bed and all things belonging to it, four pewter dishes and nine pewter plates etc,  there is listed  " in his garden sume young plants £1  and 12 shillings".

This is the only record in all the inventories of plants, and £1 12 shillings was quite a sum in those days. Its fascinating to think that there was an ancestor in Hungerford over 250 years ago who had plants amongst his prized possessions.

Although Napoleon reputedly said that we are a nation of shop keepers, he could easily have said that we are a nation of gardeners. Of course how this manifests itself has adapted in relation to life in the particular time period. I have always been enthralled by history and studied Garden History as well as Garden Design. Gardens from the past correlate very well with the social history of the time. To understand Garden Design it is important to have references from the past which lead a path to present and future design.

A period property should have a garden which sits well with it. That is not to say that it should be a museum piece with no use in the present- gardens by nature grow and evolve over time. The skill is to marry the requirements of a modern lifestyle with key features of a period garden to create a beautiful and useable space.

I was interested to hear that the National Trust are to record and catalogue all the plants in their gardens. There is a belief that amongst the undergrowth somewhere are unknown plants which were brought back from far off exotic places in the golden days when travel was the advantage of the privileged classes. There could even be completely unknown species awaiting discovery. I have often thought it must be amazing to be an archaeologist unearthing a pot which has not seen the light of day since it was last handled however many hundreds of years beforehand.The archaeologist superimposes his fingerprints over the ancient owners prints and sears the bond which links the two together. It is the same with gardens. As you cut back an ancient Yew you feel that you have stepped into the shoes of an old gardener. We share so much and yet so much separates us.

Gardening is as popular as ever- you only have to look at how many garden enthusiasts and beginners are registering on The Garden Network lately.

Lets enjoy our gardens-Heres to the future and the legacy we will leave behind for others to enjoy.

Plant shopping- i love it, especially buying plants for a project. I have a long term project at Standen manor. I first met the owners 3 1/2 years ago when I was called in to give some advice and we have gradually been renovating the existing gardens and creating new areas.

Now we are creating a long (mainly herbaceous) border in the walled garden. It is north facing and is an empty space with the exception of Roses _Madame Alfred carriere which we put in 18 months ago or so. I have chosen a white colour to harmonise the planting with an injection of some pink. It is a border which will usually be seen in the summer so the flowers are chosen for interest from May till September, although there are evergreens to provide a framework in the winter.

I am waiting for the bulk of the plants to be delivered- should arrive tomorrow fingers crossed- and i picked up the remainder yesterday. Many thanks to Penwood Nursery for their help. Its a fantastic nursery in Burghclere, Newbury, worth visitng if you are in the area.

I spent 4 hours at Standen today, planting, deadheading and generally tweeking as - panic stations- House and Garden magazine are arriving on Monday to do a photoshoot!!

Tomorrow I am enjooying myself as its my wedding anniversary and then on Saturday it will be mad panic to get planted. I also have loads of nepeta to go around the Apple trees to put in and 100 Erysimum Bowles mauve for around the swimming pool area, with creamy Clematis. I love it when the plan all starts to fall into place

Plans for the Show garden have come to a standstill at the moment. I have taken advantage of the good weather to work on my own garden which will be open to the public in the summer. I am always deciding to change things/move in the garden. This year we are lifting an area of lawn and putting some paving down. It all needs to be done soon. The garden is open on 5th and 19th July with evening openings 6th and 20th.

Last week I went to Shalbourne plant sale- a local gardening club have a plant sale in the village hall. It takes place every year and you can pick up some amazing plants, some quite unusual. I found 3 large Box plants which i was able to buy for the Show garden. I now have quite a nursery of plants stored at the top of the garden growing on for the Show Garden. I want to have pretty flowering plants too with white flowers i think but I know it will be difficult. The choice will be limited as the Show is in September.

The rough plan is on paper and now I need to finalise this and submit it. However i have got quite a few plans to work on so will try and fit it round them.

I love this time of year- everything is just bursting with life. You can watch some things growing before your eyes. My Beech hedge which is alway late coming into leaf is an example of this. On Friday there was the sign of a few streaks of green but today it is almost completely lush and green- that loveley lime green shade of the new leaves.

Enjoy the good weather and your garden

Stacy

Organic is a fashionable word, like carbon footprint or food miles. However i think it is important to look beneath the jargon to appreciate organic for what it is- a way of life in harmony with people, plants, animals and the general environment.

I have been gardening organically for quite a few years now and as a garden designer I promote the organic way of life. We have a thriving bird population in our garden now. I am lucky that i work from home. From the study window i can observe the wildlife in the garden. There is a birdhouse terrace of 4  on the wall outside the study window. 2 sparrow families have moved into 2 of the terrace houses and are a joy to watch. (and very entertaining!) I watched one of the Sparrows make repeated trips to and fro with pieces of grass etc in his beak, to make a nest. Each time he flew off the other Sparrow nipped into his neighbour's house and pinched a bit for his house!

The collared doves and the Wood Pigeons are nesting in the Laurel; our resident Robin is nesting somewhere- not sure where yet. In previous years he has nested in the potting shed, an old tea pot in the hedge and a log nesting box under the tree house. A Song thrush has been more and more visible close to the bird table- she usually keeps to the top of the garden. I believe she is nesting in next door's hedge.

This year we have lots of frog spawn in the pond. We haven't really had any in recent years because we have a very healthy frog population so its nice to see.

But the piece de resistance was observed on Sunday. A mouse on our bird feeder! It is a pretty metal feeder shaped like a bullrush. The mouse run up the spike and perched precariously on the feeder with its tail curled around the spike to help it cling on. Then a baby mouse appeared and darted backwards and forwards underneath his mother to get her attention as children do! They disappeared into the Laurel so we think they have a nest in the overflow log pile in there.

I get so much pleasure from my garden, although I am aware that I have to share it with others.

An idea came to me and I got it down on paper the other evening. Went to bed feeling very pleased with myself but woke up to see the plan in a different light.

I do this every day- come up with concepts, ideas and plans on paper for clients yet it's so difficult to do it for me! I suppose because I can't question myself and look at the project subjectively. When I visit a client we have an in depth talk and get to know each other. If I can empathise with the client I can come up with a concept which fits them like a glove. But  I've tried to mentally question myself but its going nowhere. It would help,  I think if there was a brief but this has been left open.

Still I know I will get there eventually.

Good news though- I bought a gate yesterday which I know will be perfect. Now that  I have something tangible, I can use that as a starting point to develop the concept. I think its a bit like some actresses who say they can't get into character till they put the shoes on- i need to have something which i can see or touch to put myself in the space and feel it. Very fitting in a way as show gardens are more theatre than anything else!

So tonight after I've finished for the evening its (literally) back to the drawing board. Wish me luck!

 

I had listened to the forecasts for this region-Berkshire- and knew that snow was on the way. I also have a mountain of work to get on with but my garden is crying out for me to spend some time in it. So i decided to get outside and spend as long as i could in the garden on saturday before the weather got the better of me.

I managed to get in a full day out there- break for a small shower just about Grand national time. The sun was shining , warmth on my back. I listened to a Garden's Illustrated Podcast as i worked then various comedies. Laughed out loud at times but I'm sure the neighbours are used to my strange habits by now!

Today- Sunday- the snow has arrived. I went on a consultation this morning and now back home at work. I still have that mountain of work to get on with but today i approach it fresh and revived. That's the magic of gardening which i love- it makes my heart sing!

Thank you to all the WI members I met last night for a wonderful reception.

I was invited back to give them a talk, having spoken to them last 18 months ago. This time I spoke about "Garden Design Solutions" and did a question and answer session afterwards. I also judged the Spring flower competition. They are such a lovely group and appear genuinely interested with lots of questions to answer.

Its also nice to get positive feedback. One lady told me that she had bought the plant which I recommended during my last talk and that she is thrilled with it. Last time i took lots of plants with me to illustrate the topic "Plants for Winter Colour". I had borrowed them from a local nursery- Yew Tree at Ball Hill Newbury (very good and very helpful), sold many of them on the night and Yew Tree were pleased. They told me that they had sold out of the plants i recommended as many people made a trip to the nursery specially to get them.

The icing on the cake is that I made 3 appointments on the night.

Just received confirmation of another commission today. I try to be organised with a project progress log where i can record all my projects, type of project, the stage each is at etc. to help me. Just totted up curent projects- i have 15 at the moment. Did 2 site surveys this week, 4 projects are at the planting plan stage, 1 is awaiting planning permission, 1 (garden of Hungerford library ) is awaiting secure vandal proof fencing before i can plant it etc. The Town Council delivered a hard wood bench there today which they have kindly donated- just hope it will be OK as we weren't expecting it yet.! 2 projects are waiting for me to carry out the site survey and the rest are in their infancy, awaiting approval etc.

I plan to do as much as possible this week as the school holidays start next Friday. Its more difficult to work at home with all the disruptions in the holidays. However i have appointments to see 5 new clients next week so will be pretty busy out and about. can't say that my days are boring!

Stacy

As with all my plans, ideas are circulating around in my head. Nothing on paper yet!  As there is no brief I can do anything I like. The main thing I want to do is something completely different from the 2 show gardens i did last year!  I happen to have 26 Box plants remaining from a planting job last week so i potted them up yesterday in the hailstones. I'm sure they will be perfect.  At least now i feel that i have done something towards getting the garden underway.

I can feel the pressure mounting and i know that I am going to to get incredibly busy. I have had 2 new clients today and April is around the corner when all the hibernating garden owners awake and want an instant garden. I love this time of the year as i get genuinely excited- new projects, new plants, new people, watching everything growing and blooming. Hopefully the ideas will continue to flow too.!

The much anticipated yet dreaded letter has arrived. Each year i open my garden here in Hungerford during the Hungerford and District Community Arts Festival. Still its the wake up call i need  to get things into shape. I had planned to take some time off this weekend to spend in the garden. My poor garden suffers from lack of attention as work always comes first.  Still I can't complain about being busy. I really enjoy  opening the garden. I meet so many people and have made new friends. Some people come back every year to see what has changed or developped. 2 years ago we started to do an open eveing as well as day time openings which have proved to be very successful. We light different areas of the garden and have music playing. People can wander around with a complimentary glass of wine and it ends up as a garden party. We also raise money for charity. This year as last year we will be raising money for the John O gaunt school Ghana exchange programme.

Oh dear its blowing a blizzard out there so no gardening today!

I am looking out on my garden at beautiful sunshine interspersed with snow and hail. At the same time my Lilac is just thinking about flowering. A month ago I had some little narcissus in flower side by  side with a Knautia. I am finding it increasingly difficult to advise clients about what should be done in the garden. In fact i write a monthly column for a newspaper on Garden tasks for each month and as i write the column in advance of the beginning of the month it is more of a guessing game to know what will have flowered and will therefore need cutting back etc etc.

When designing a garden I put year round interest as a high priority yet the freaky weather mucks up carefully thought out planting plans too. I always have pictures in my mind of a gorgeous colour combination but  the plants may or may not synchronise their flowering times depending on our erratic weather conditions. Remembering last April and May with its glorious sunshine ( I think that was our summer) I look forward to seeing how the coming month progresses

I have just been invited to create a Show Garden at the Royal County of Berkshire Show in September. I created one there last year and also one at West Woodhay House Garden Show. It was my first foray into the world of show gardens and what a steep learning curve!! I knew that show gardens are theatre but I learned so many tricks of the trade as I went along.

Last year I had approx. 9 months to prepare for them in theory. Needless to say I didn't  actually- running a business, looking after a family and renovating a house in France seem to fill any free ?? time I have.  Also i have 15 projects underway at the moment and as you know its getting to the busiest time of the year. I'm seeing 3 prospective new clients this week.

 But last year I won a Bronze and then a Silver so i have to try for a Gold this year.