New website takes off!!

Today, after a few hectic weeks (including Christmas in between) trying to have everything ready, I am really proud to announce that our new website is finished and live.

It has taken a little while as there were so many things to set up, but the guys from livebooks have been really helpful and the process has been easier than I thought.

Please, do have a look at it and let me know your thoughts and opinions. I would really love it. There are plenty of platforms where to contact me, whether it is on this blog itself or on the newer social networks like Twitter or Facebook.

To come next month some new flyers to distribute in the area to let everyone know about the new services we are offering, from planting advice to garden design and site management, but until then, I hope all these new technologies help me to start taking off.

New Job, New Blog!

If you are here for the first time, welcome to my new Blog!! This will be the place where writing about my projects, thoughts and everything else related with my garden design business. I hope you like it and participate with your comments. If you are reading this for the second time though, sorry for that, but you know how all this works, so thank you as well for visiting.

Well here we are, about to start a new month and with some very good news to talk about. The first and of course, the most important one is that since last Wednesday I am officially employed again and working with a former student of the OCGD. Being now one the most well-known and recognized garden designers in London, Charlotte Rowe has offered me the opportunity to work at her practice 2 days a week but with the real possibility to increase these to 3 or 4 days a week once 2011 arrives.

I can not deny this is a very good way to push myself into the garden design business, as that will add more design experience to my "construction & management" knowledge and at the same time, will give me some more time during the week to work on my own projects. First week was good, starting a design for a new roof terrace and preparing some SketchUp views to show the client this week but obviously, more to come once I settle myself into this role.

And talking about my own projects, the evolution of the works at the Fulham Community Garden at Fulham Palace Road has good pace. Some more volunteers came last Wednesday and kept going with the clearance of old greenery, digging all roots over and leaving the area almost ready to apply new compost and manure next week. Yes, and that is more good news, we have got already fundings for the purchase of all the compost plus half of the plants needed, thanks to a couple of businesses nearby and some other individuals (either living or working in the area) that have given funds towards the project. Still a little bit more to raise though so again, if you feel you would like to help, please get in touch with me.

Community Project in Fulham. Any help is welcome.

Today I am going to talk to you about a Community Project I am collaborating with in the area where I live, Fulham.

A few weeks ago I was contacted by a local developer with the idea (maybe a little unrealistic one) of improving the look of a quite devastated piece of land for a better use by the whole community. The area itself, opposite to the Fulham Palace Garden Centre, has been left without maintenance for several years now so everything in there is overgrown, full of weeds and in really bad conditions, something that promotes the place to be seen completely unattractive and unsafe when it gets dark.

After a couple of meetings to better know how the Project was going to be managed I decided to put my hands on it as much as possible, as the main idea was to contact volunteer people to help with the labour while trying to collect money through donations from shops and businesses nearby to supply plants and other materials needed.

The first point though is to improve the general look of the place, clearing all the creepers growing on the external fences to then chop down most of the overgrown and old shrubs, as the only thing they are doing at the moment is to hide the views of the garden from the streets and shade almost all of the area. And that is exactly what the first group of volunteers have been doing today, with the help of the Community Payback Scheme from the Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham and some other anonymous volunteers. Here you can see a couple of pictures taken during the day but tomorrow I will tweet some more so you can really see the difference.

Works will continue every Wednesday morning for the next 2 to 3 weeks, so the area can be cleared of roots, tree suckers and rubbish for then, condition and improve the existing soil with some new manure, compost and fertilizer. But where do we want to get with all this? Well, here is I come into action, as I have prepared a small but interesting design to plant up an area of 65 m² approx. which we are all expecting improves the general perception of this garden and therefore, its use by all the people living in the area.

The problem as you can all imagine is the money, as the funds at the moment do not allow to even buy the first complete lot of manure/compost. As previously said, we are in talks with shops and businesses in the area, will have a meeting tomorrow with The Fairbridge Garden Society and the closest neighbours seem really interested but at the moment, that is all we have got. So if you feel having an idea to help or want to donate towards the purchase of plants, please feel free to contact me through this blog or e-mail me instead. Any help is welcome!

Planting Guide: Shrubs.

Already back in London after a well-deserved week of holidays in Barcelona that has allowed me to charge batteries after a really tough year.

With this post I pretend to start a series of them related with plants, from perennials to climbers, trees, etc. giving some advice and suggestions that might be useful for everyone. From gardens already built with some maintenance or improvement needs to completely new ones that are going to be designed, these tips can be used as a helpful guide.

To create structure and shape in the garden, shrubs are the first plants you should think of, as these provide foliage, flowers, fragance and fruit so with careful planning you can have all-year round interest. Shrubs can be planted at any time of the year as long as the soil is not too wet or frozen. Once you have decided which plants are going to be used, think on the principles of Design, that is Continuity, Unity and Rhythm, so there is a link and a feeling of balance among all the plants.

 Note: All images from Google Images. No copyright breakage intended.

Before planting and as a general rule of thumb, clear the area of weeds and dig a hole twice the size of the pot, adding some slow-release fertilizer to improve the growth during the season. Once the shrub is planted water well and keep watering more than usual for the next few weeks until established. If you are planting in a dry spot, make a slight depression around the plant to ensure water gets into the soil and roots. Some suggestions depending on the final placement or use of these shrubs are:

1. Autumn foliage & fruit: Acer palmatum "Osakazuki" (Japanese maple), Amelanchier lamarckii (Snowy mespilus), Chaenomeles x superba "Crimson & Gold", Cotinus coggygria "Royal Purple" (Smokewood), Pyracantha "Saphyr Orange" (Firethorn), Spiraea japonica "Goldflame", Viburnum opulus "Compactum".
2. Ground cover: Ceanothus tyrsiflorus var. repens, Cotoneaster dammeri, Hebe "Emerald Green", Pachysandra terminalis "Green Carpet", Vinca major.
3. Flowers & fragance: Buddleja davidii "Peacock" (butterfly bush), Choisya ternata (Mexican blossom), Daphne mezereum, Elaeagnus angustifolia, Syringa vulgaris.

Note: All images from Google Images. No copyright breakage intended.

When choosing your shrubs, take into consideration that small shrubs are easier to grow and more successful than larger plants and remember that while you may buy a small plant, it will grow over the next few years. To look after your shrubs, during the first years water well during dry periods and add some general fertilizer to the soil every spring. Pruning can be required on some shrubs, so check the plant label for information or ask your local nursery or garden centre.

Finally before the first frosts, move any tender plants in containers into a conservatory or greenhouse, protecting as well any plant of borderline hardiness with a 15 cm. thick layer of bark chips or any other mulch on their base. Evergreens keep their leaves throughout the winter, but if the weather is really tough drape a protective fleece over newly planted shrubs.