Landscape Juice

BBC Gardeners' Question Time

Following on from its success at Sparsholt College near Winchester, Gardeners Question Time. the BBC's radio four's popular long running program, is to create a new garden in the grounds of the RHS Garden Harlow Carr, Harrogate. The garden will be used to record material for the program and host an annual garden party which, if Sparsholt is anything to go by, will attract thousands of visitors. What will be extremely interesting for gardeners in the UK is the difference in approach to how the north deals with the vagaries of the weather compared to the more temperate south. By... Read more →

Out of Town

When I was a boy (I never thought I would use that expression because I feel the same today as I did when I was 10) I watched and loved a programme on Southern Television called Out of Town with Jack Hargreaves. In it Jack would roam around the countryside looking at life from a countryman's perspective. Then he would sit in his shed and tell us all the stories about it. In a way, because of the era Jack Hargreaves lived in he kind of died with many of the rural activities that he loved so much. Before the... Read more →

Its time to rest on your laurels

If you regularly log onto Landscape Juice, and there is a fast increasing readership, then you might not be aware that I am the fingers behind Perigord Vacance. Whilst I have been in horticulture all of my working life I now live with my family in France. We moved here in 2004 after selling our commercial landscaping and garden maintenance company which I started in 1984. Last year we completed building/restoring an old French peasants house and turned it into a stunning Pigeonnaire. This year is our first full season so I thought I would introduce us to you if... Read more →

New APL website

In the last week the Association of Professional Landscapers has gone live with a re-vamped website. I have to say, despite some improvements in the look and feel, that considering the organisation is representing some of the finest creative minds in the Horticultural business it has to rank poorly for design and presentation. I know the organisation is run on a mainly voluntary basis but if it is going to succeed in challenging BALI dominance it has to get tough with itself and the market the hell out of it. Read more →

Its gardening show time

The gardening year is only in its stumbling infancy but preparations are well advanced for three of this years Flower shows. The RHS Spring Flower Show, Cardiff (20 – 22 April 2007) is a family friendly event and one where all children under 16 are admitted free when accompanied by an adult. The RHS Hampton Court Palace Flower Show (3-8 July 2007) The RHS Flower Show at Tatton Park (18 – 22 July 2007) The emphasis this year is on the young gardener with all three venues providing a fun and interesting day out. First off there is Cardiff set... Read more →

Horticultural Photography

It is not possible to define horticulture in one paragraph. It is an area of commerce in the UK which generates £5billion and a pastime not just for the gentry. That's if gentry exists anymore? To sell horticulture to the masses you need to market it and to market it. it pays to attach a photograph. Horticultural photography is a huge business with a massive demand and the great thing is you can never repeat the same shot. There are so many good photographers in the UK and it would be impossible for me to list them or even pick... Read more →

The worlds gone mad

(This tale best imagined in black & white) It is a late warm May afternoon and Sally is just about to pop to the nursery to get a few bedding plants for her pots to go on the window ledge. It is fortunate that Sally has an 18 month old child because it means you can put the plants in the wire rack below the prams body. There isn't any traffic on the country lane and the only noise Sally can hear is a lone tractor in the field, ploughing the soil ready for some late spring crops. The birds... Read more →

Should I charge customers for my machinery and fuel?

When I first started my business in May 1984 I bought two Honda mowers and not having any business knowledge or experience I didn't charge any extra for use of machinery. I made my profit by literally working 80-100 weeks but I could have made a good deal extra by making a charge for the Honda mowers. To get the job done we often have to invest in various tools and equipment. We shouldn't, however, provide this equipment at our own expense and let clients benefit without compensating us for our costs. Although many clients will want to keep their... Read more →

APL Awards 2006

Congratulations to Landform Consultants, run by Mark Gregory formerly of Landmark Designs, for winning the Association of Professional Landscapers award for 2006 in the over £50,000 category. The garden was designed by the Italian Luciano Giubbilei (who I had the pleasure of working with back in 2004 when I completed a small water garden for an Italian Countess near Farnham. Luciano contacted me after we had just completed the coveted Walled Garden in Chiddingfold for Zetters and he had just left the Inchbald School of Garden Design eager to make his mark) Other Winners For Landscape Construction less than £15,000... Read more →

The Eden Project at the cutting edge

The Eden Project has been a triumph, not just to horticulture and land regeneration but for technology as well. The Biospheres themselves are a civic engineering masterpiece and the whole set up has made Cornwall a number one destination for garden and Eco warriors enthusiasts alike. Technology plays a big part of what the Eden Project is all about and I am thrilled that we now have the facility to watch some of what goes on via live web cams. This was recently highlighted by the early flowering of the worlds largest and smelliest flower, the Titum arum (Amorphophallus titanum).... Read more →