Landscape Juice

Chelsea Flower Show judging crisis gets Andy Sturgeon in a flap

"Without high profile sponsors Chelsea is sunk and without a reliable judging process sponsors will lose interest and so will designers like myself"

This is the warning from garden designer Andy Sturgeon after he revealed that judges at the world's most famous flower show gave out a gold gong to a garden that didn't deserve it.

Apparently a suitably experienced judge wasn't on hand and, in Sturgeon's words, "the tried and tested judging process partially failed".

Writing on his blog, Sturgeon says that Cancer Research UK have pulled out after nine years after it was revealed they would have won a gold if it were not for the failure of the judging.

Sturgeon calls the new point scoring system for 2012 a 'knee jerk reaction', following several complaints.

Richard Miers on route to a striking garden design

The out of season flowers we are seeing may give a lift to borders this winter, but their curiosity factor is seldom enough to attract us outside.

What can do this, according to Richard Miers, garden designer, is added structure and water and enjoying the resulting interplay of light and the reflections and sounds from the water.

"Structure is important because winter is a long period of time," Richard said.

"So when the herbaceous flowers have died down, the earthworks, hedges, topiary, walls, avenues and ponds take over, meaning there is still something to look at."

In other words a garden must pull us out into it from every window or view.

"The low level of the sun creates fantastic shadows that are constantly changing and draw you out into your garden however cold it may be," Richard said.

Janine Pattison designs an English garden for editor Tamsin Westhorpe

Editor of English Garden magazine Tamsin Westhorpe, had only been in her new house in Heredfordshire three months before clearing the site and planning a new garden around her 18th century manor house.

Tamsin has brought in garden designer Janine Pattison to help her create a garden that's not only a usable family space with room for children and dogs to play but also be a place of business where gardening folk may be entertained too.

The great thing for us is that the entire process is being uploaded to video so we can watch progress as the garden is designed and developed.

45 Commando Marines memorial gardens opens in Arbroath

"I have got immense respect for what the 45 Royal Commando Marines do.

"For me designing the memorial garden has been one of the best things I have ever done. I think you've got to support our armed forces they deserve it. It is so important to them that people in the UK show them support and I am just happy that in a small way I have been able to do that," said Toby Buckland.

Toby Buckland, British gardener, designer, TV presenter and author, has designed gardens for the poet laureate Andrew Motion, the author, Tom Sharpe, has been a BBC Gardener's World presenter, RHS Gold winner and is opening a nursery in Devon, yet he has been deeply moved by working with the 45 Commando Woodlands Garden Trust, the Memorial garden project.

Toby Buckland spoke to Carol Miers about his design for this military memorial garden, opening on 11/11/11 in Arbroath, Scotland.

The heritage of the Garden Museum goes green

It was proving difficult to track down the Garden Museum, until I asked a passer-by who opened up their sat nav and pointed me on my way, writes Carol Miers.

I was meeting Jess Turtle the museum manager and fascinatingly, the burgeoning museum is inside its own de-consecrated church.

Will garden design find its oeuvre?

Did post-modernism have a garden design element asks Tim Richardson in the Telegraph?

Inspired by the exhbition at London's V&A, Postmodernism, Style and Subversion 1970-1990 Richardson's thinking reflects the current desire to locate garden design within artistic movements as a creation on a par to the great masters, architects, musicians and film directors.

He is not alone, the Garden Museum plans to develop a design archive to frame garden design within a gallery context.

Where the wind blows a garden blooms

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It can get a bit breezy in the Pennines when you are 1,000 feet above sea level.

This was just one of the challenges The Handmade Garden Company faced when working with a client on a project that drew inspiration from the surrounding hills.

Explore the architecture and landscape of Rome in 3D

Rome's history spans over 2500 years and regimes from the early kingdom, through the republic, the empire, and later as the heart of the Catholic faith in the Vatican city, each has made their mark on the current urban architectural landscape of Rome.

Now, with the release of thousands of new 3D buildings for the city, you can explore the blending of the ages in layered construction of Rome from within Google Earth.

Read full post in Google Sketchup

Take in the view with a LandCarpet

Have you ever stood on the top of a hill, looked out over the rolling fields and thought 'I'd love to take this view back home with me'?

What does a designer, landscaper and gardener have in common?

The answer: a garden.

It seems, however, thereafter any similarities and connections might end.

In all of my thirty years working in the garden world I've noted a tendency to maintain a distinction and never the twain shall meet.

My interpretation is possibly best described in this adaptation of the famous John Cleese, Ronnie Barker and Ronnie Corbett 'the men on class' sketch (watch it here).

Garden designer: (flowery shirt and perfect fingernails) I look down on him (Indicates landscaper) because I am designer.