Blue Daisy Blog

It’s a happy day when the first episode of the Great British Bake Off (GBBO) new season airs.  If you’re anything like us you’ve been glued to your TVs every Wednesday night watching the trials and tribulations of this year’s wannabe star bakers getting to grips with Mary Berry and Paul Hollywood’s stretching, if not seemingly impossible (for us mere mortals), weekly baking challenges.

But watching the initially optimistic bakers’ dozen succumb to the pressures of the signature, technical and showstopper challenges over the last few weeks it’s got us to thinking and as mad as it sounds we think the GBBO has lessons about garden design hidden in its depths.

So, without further ado here’s our take on what the GBBO can teach us about being a garden designer.

Sound isn’t a principle of garden design as such, more a bi-product of it, but it is something that adds ambience and mood to a garden and contributes to that feeling of unity and harmony that we so often strive for in our garden designs.  There are many ways of getting sound into our gardens; the trickling of gently running water or the gushing of fast flowing waterfalls; the rustling of leaves in the trees or grasses in the borders dancing to the breeze; but one of the most uplifting sounds we can generate in our gardens is that of life itself.  Birds chirping, bees and other flying insects buzzing, creatures rustling around in the undergrowth – these are the sounds of a vibrant and bio diverse garden and plants play a key role in attracting the animals and insects that add to that valuable ecosystem.

We’re slap bang in the middle of garden and flower show season and if you’re anything like us you’ve been glued to the TV – if not planning or managing to visit every show in the country in person – watching Monty and co bring Malvern, Chelsea and the rest a tad closer to home.

Being garden designers we love looking at show gardens; there’s always something new and exciting to see in the wide variety of plots ranging from the mouth gapingly gorgeous to the bizarrely bonkers gardens on show. We have to admit though that being garden designers for real people, we do often seem to find ourselves forever standing in front of beautiful show garden creations asking ‘where would you hang your washing’ or ‘where would we put the bins’ if that was our garden?

Let’s face it, ‘real’ life tends to have its logistical challenges and your garden is no different to the rest of your home when it comes to having to find ways of accommodating those everyday needs.  In order that you don’t end up with entirely impractical garden space we thought it’d be worth highlighting some of those real life everyday garden challenges that is worth thinking about when considering a garden design...

It’s National Gardening week this week and it’s also slap bang in the middle of DIY season, so we thought we’d combine the two and showcase 7 (-ish!) key tools you’ll need to be able to do a spot of DIY garden design. 

These tools are all about doing. There will be many reasons why you want a change in your garden; the things to consider and think about; resources for inspiration, and much more but we’re assuming that you’ve done all of that thinking prior to starting this DIY garden design project and now just want to get stuck in! And these tools will certainly help you on your way.

So, in no particular order...

Inspired by Valentine’s Day, it’s been love week here at Blue Daisy and all week we’ve been talking about things we love about garden design.  To be honest there are far too many things to include here; favourite plants, materials, shapes, styles, gardens and more, all got a mention but in looking at garden design as a process there were some very clear ‘winners’.  So, in no particular order here are Blue Daisy’s top 5 things we love about garden design:

Collaboration

We just love the collaborative process that garden design is.  Our clients are a diverse lot!  Some know exactly what they want from their garden design while others haven’t a clue.  Still others might know certain elements they would like but not how they can get them into their garden space.  Every garden Nicki designs is different and is designed for a particular client but every design has been a collaborative process between client and garden designer.

Anticipation

Even though a client has seen the plans and signed off on their garden design concept it’s often not until the garden has been cleared and the ground works started that they will start to really ‘see’ what’s coming and it’s at that point that the anticipation of their new garden usually really grips them.  We love sharing that sense of anticipation and excitement with our clients.

Transformation

Transformation is perhaps an obvious one to choose for garden designers but we love to see our clients’ responses to the overall transformation of their garden from that very first meeting Nicki has with them, through the design process, the whole build stages and finally to completion. In some cases the change from the ‘before’ to the ‘after’ is profound and it’s not just the physical landscape of a client’s garden that is transformed either – in many cases a new garden design has led to a whole new experience for our clients...

Introductions

We know it might sound a little odd but as part of the garden design process when the build has been completed and the planting has been done Nicki will usually ‘introduce’ the garden and the plants in it to our clients.  Getting to know the different elements of their garden and the plants in it; the job they do in the overall scheme and design, how to look after them, what to expect from them through the changing seasons, and more, is an introduction that often sparks or cements a burgeoning new love affair that often blossoms between our clients and their new garden design and we just love playing cupid!

Relationships

Relationships work on two levels for Blue Daisy – firstly, we love the relationships we have with our clients and secondly we love the relationships our clients have with the gardens we have designed for them.  We hear time and again about how our garden designs have changed the relationship our clients have with their gardens and we love it.  Some clients have turned into serious plant-lovers – from a position of steadfast indifference; while others have been transformed into gardeners; still others have talked about complete lifestyle changes where their new garden has become a major new hub of activity and socialising for their families; others have found a new and improved relationship with their homes – however it has affected them we just love that we have been part of those changes through our garden designs.