John Brookes says he's been battling for thirty years to 'bridge the curious schism between horticulturalists and designers'.
I hope it's a battle he's not going to win: in my view, it's a division that many designers are happy to maintain because I think they feel that they are a class above but if it were to succeed, I fear for the consequences for others.
Brookes talks in the Telegraph about a recent reception held by the Royal Horticulture Society (RHS) to commemorate thirty years of the Society of garden Designers (SGD) and how he observed 'the public' - isn't that an interesting turn of phrase? seems to infer that members of the RHS or SGD are even above normal citizenship - 'looking at the photographs, what occurred to me was how much they still prefer the pretty, romantic locations and their plant associations'.
Continue reading "The schism's in design, landscape and horticulture" »
Mark Gregory has had just over five weeks as the new chairman of the Association of Professional Landscapers (APL) and made contact with me here at Landscape Juice after I questioned whether it will be 'same old same old' during his tenure.
Mark and I spoke for just over and hour on Friday morning in what turned out to be one the frankest discussions I've had with anyone from either of the UK's landscaping and horticulture associations.
Mark talks candidly about how dissatisfied British Association of Landscape Industries' (BALI) members, under the leadership of Alan Sargent, broke away to from the APL and why he wishes he was 'mature enough' to talk Sargent out of the move and encourage him to sit down and work out their problems and how the APL is not able to operate without the financial support of the Horticulture Trades association.
Continue reading "Exclusive interview with APL chairman Mark Gregory" »
Mark Gregory is the Association of Professional Landscapers' (APL) new chairman and comes into office promising change as the APL goes into a new phase of development.
In his first interview since taking over the role from Adam Frost, Gregory told David Curtis of the Landscaper Magazine (October issue - read online) that the APL has to move on and address the needs of its members.
Gregory, however, offers very little by the way of assurance that there has yet been any kind of direction agreed and it's rather disturbing for the APL's membership to continue to hear how the association is still only researching and looking into forums and social media - despite a brand new website less than two years ago, APL members still don't have an in-house method of sharing information and exchanging documents and ideas on a one-to-many basis.
Continue reading "Mark Gregory takes APL chairmanship but will it be 'same old same old'?" »
I'm just loving the new atmosphere surrounding government and especially the latest 'Big Society' initiative.
I wouldn't agree with everything the new coalition has said or wishes to implement but I share in the overall ethos of cutting through the sticky mud of bureaucracy and empowering more ordinary people with tools that allow them to make decisions on issues that directly affect their lives or the communities in which they live.
For those who work in or have an interest in horticulture or landscaping - and crucially who have followed Landscape juice for the last five years - will be witnessing, at government level, something that I've been advocating and predicting for a long time.
Continue reading "Horticulture's 'Big Society' will put pay to top down control" »
The landscape and horticultural industry is at a major cross-roads.
Angered and motivated by recent news that the British Association of Landscape Industries, the Association of Professional Landscapers and the Society of Garden Designers, is to form a coalition, I have been working in collaboration with a land-based analyst, to complete a draft report [see below] into the current state of the UK landscape and horticulture associations.
Continue reading "An analysis of the current position of land based industry practitioners" »
Have you been following the Google news concerning its search engine censorship in China?
In the last few days, Google has issued a statement saying that it had been a victim of sophisticated and sustained cyber-attacks launched from the Chinese mainland and as a result, it can no longer censor search results passing through its Chinese based servers - it has now diverted all of the Chinese search traffic through its Hong Kong servers instead.
Continue reading "Landscaping associations suffering 'Great Firewall Wall of China Syndrome'?" »
The recession has forced a change of emphasis from material wealth to a much more earthy existence - gardening and landscaping is surely benefiting from its return to basics?
However, I feel the market is creating its own garden design bubble that could lead to many aspiring garden designers becoming disillusioned and falling out of love with gardening and landscaping - not to mention financial loss and the prospect of a saturated supply chain and a lack of willing buyers of their work.
The danger appears to be coming from the hard-sell of the high-end garden design package and not enough emphasis on delivering usable, sustainable, conservative and workable garden schemes.
Continue reading "Is 'high-end' garden design heading for a fall?" »
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