The Garden Design Process

By Duncan Heather

I would like to put together an argument that demonstrates more can be made of the preliminary research documents, when it comes to winning design contracts and selling schemes to clients.
When first being taught to allocate space, the landscape student is guided through several different processes before they reach a final design solution.
It all starts with an accurate topographical land survey. A plan of the site is then drawn up to scale, to include boundary walls, existing buildings, trees, services and existing levels.
Having gathered this information on a local scale, the student should then expand their area of study to the surrounding landscape. Topographical, historical cultural and architectural information can be gathered from maps and the internet, which helps put the site into context and may suggest a theme on which to hang their eventual design.
Shadow plans are then calculated to assess the impact of spring and summer shade patterns and a sight Analysis plan developed to note the influencing factors of the site such as existing features, wind direction good and bad views etc.
Once all this information has been compiled, the student can start to experiment with space allocation in the form of bubble or functional diagrams.
All this work is a prerequisite to the creation of the presentation or master plan.
But what happens to all this research once the presentation plans are completed?
What many student fail to appreciate, is the difficulty many clients have in understanding the 2D plan drawings.
While we take it for granted that the 'house' is the big black rectangle in the middle of the drawing, it's surprising how few clients realise this. You can be waxing lyrical about how great their new garden is going to be, while showing them the plan and they simply can't make head nor tail of it!
There are 4 preliminary design stages and these can either be presented on separate sheets, or combined into one or 2 presentation drawings. These allow the designer to start their presentation, by going through the site survey and point out the house and the important features of the garden. This allows the client time to digest the plan and to familiarise themselves with the graphical nature of the drawings.
Next you can start to explain how they started to develop their ideas, by running through the site analysis plan and the bubble/functional diagrams.
Explaining the thought process to your clients helps you justify why you have arrive at a particular design solution, but also it help the client to understand how much work goes into the preparation of a landscape plan.
When you are charging several $1000 for an outline proposal arriving with just one sheet of paper can give the client the impression that they are not getting value for money.
Remember! you only get one crack of the whip at presenting your ideas, so you need to make that 'sale' in no more than about 60 minutes, otherwise you won't get the rest of your design fee and more importantly the garden will never be built.
Arriving with 2-3 sheets of research drawings plus the garden plan, plus any coloured perspective and a mood board, suddenly starts to look like a lot of work and thought has gone into the design.
So if you want to improve your sales and get more of your gardens build spend a little extra time 'prettying-up' your research drawings and use them as part of your presentation.

Duncan Heather is one of Europe's foremost garden designers, to-date having won five gold, one silver & one bronze medal and three best of show awards for his design work. He lives in Oxfordshire where he both lectures and works. Born in Britain, he travels extensively and undertakes a very wide range of projects around the world, from tiny courtyard gardens to large country estates.
Duncan Heather is director of the Oxford College of Garden Design and MygardenSchool.

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Solar Garden Lights For Inexpensive Lighting

By Barbara Volkov 

Using solar garden lights in remote areas of your backyard garden is a wonderful way to shed light to those areas without the use of electricity. Solar garden lights are inexpensive and simple to install; they just need to be placed in areas that receive ample sunlight during the day. Solar lighting can be used in many different ways such as accent lighting, path lighting and spotlighting.
Solar yard lights need to be accessible to the sun during day-time hours to absorb the energy from the sun in order to light-up during the evening hours. Before you actually install the solar lights place them in the areas you would like to have lit up and place them equal distance apart but make sure those areas get enough sunlight during the day. Most solar lights will need approximately 8 hours of sun; some may need more in order to give off light during the night.
There are a number of motives for utilizing solar-powered lights in the garden: because they do not use electricity but the sun's energy they are considered environmentally friendly; they are simple to install since you will not need to dig ruts for wiring because they do have any; they are easily moved from one spot to another; they are less expensive than any other type of lighting; the upkeep is almost non-existent except to replace a rechargeable battery every so often; the LED bulbs rarely burn out; they add beauty and highlights to your garden during the evening hours; and they you have more of an opportunity to spend time in your garden during spring and summer.
Installing solar patio lights is one way to change the appearance of your landscape, yard, or garden. Because they are inexpensive and easy to install they can give you an array of ways to use them. These garden lights are available in numerous shapes and sizes and some have the ability to change light colors. These lights give you a way to highlight outdoor decorations, lounge areas, or dining areas. When solar lights first emerged on the scene they came mounted on stakes and most people used them for path lighting. Now you can find them for hanging on tall poles that look like lanterns to light up a pathway, they can also be mounted on walls, railings, or inserted into a deck for safety. The lights on tall poles will lead your guests across a grassy area of your garden without stumbling into something on their way to an outdoor living area.
Solar spotlights are much brighter than accent lights or pathway lights. They are mostly used to highlight an outdoor decoration, an unusual landscape or a prize-winning flower garden. Many spotlights are available with the solar panel attached to the light with a wire; this allows you to place the spotlight on a particular area to highlight and place the solar panel where it will receive the direct sunlight. There are other types of spotlights that are specifically designed to be security lights; these are classified as motion sensor lights, they only light up if movement is detected.
The holidays are coming and Halloween is the first. Solar lighting is so popular now that solar string lighting and solar tube lighting is now available for holiday decorating. Some stand along outdoor displays for the yard have gone to solar power. Since these lights are now solar-powered your electricity bill will be a lot lower during the holidays. Many of us have tube lighting and string lighting in the backyard all year but they use electricity and now since they have gone solar we do not need to worry about wasting electricity because we will not be using it.
Solar lights are made of the same materials as most traditional fixtures which make them quite durable; some consist of resistant plastic and others are made of aluminum, copper, or bronze. They come in many different sizes and shapes, are quick to install and easy to move around. Solar garden lights do not cost a penny to operate since they get their power from the sun.

Barbara is using solar garden lights in her backyard garden and finds her garden enchanting. Her website Gardeners Garden Supplies has several articles regarding garden decorations and outdoor lighting.

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