Is it me or are 90% of gardens I see going through on Twitter, Facebook or business blogs all following the same theme?
Square block painted rendered walls with stone coping wrapped around a dull outdoor seating area with a sofa and chairs, with obligatory brightly coloured cushions, that wouldn't look out of place in a penthouse docklands flat.
Oh, I nearly forgot....there's almost always an outdoor gas fire embedded into one of the rendered walls.
Then there's the planting afterthought. 'I know, let's throw in a few token Verbena bonariensis and a under plant the birch tree with Alliums'.
Boring same old, same old!
It seems that when a design is new and fresh - and yes, rendered walls and outdoor furniture was once a fresh idea - it is quickly copied...and copied....and copied until the idea, it seems, is used by everyone.
Don't get me wrong, some of the gardens I see are very well done and judging from the project photos, the workmanship cannot be faulted.
The trouble is, designers only need a ruler and compass - or Google Sketchup - and a few colouring pencils....imagination isn't a requirement.
Comfort zone blocking expressive imagination
It's such an easy thing copying someone else's theme. It takes very little thought or imagination.
I really want to see landscapers and designers start being individual. Each design, regardless of budget, should be individual to each client.
Planting has to become the driver too. Let's reduce the amount of hard architecture in favour of green architecture. I'd also like to see wood used more - and I don't mean fencing and pergolas.
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