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As a garden maintenance company we specialise in season long care for all aspects of the garden but occasionally we are asked to undertake projects that take us down a slightly different road.... This is John's story.
Bespoke all the way
Of course, all our services are bespoke because every garden is different and needs a tailored service. However from time to time we are asked to undertake a project in order to transform a space or whole garden.
We are keen to point out that we are not landscape gardeners nor designers but we are a team with a lot of experience, ideas and enthusiasm that, when working with the imagination of a client, can transform an idea into reality.
When is a plan not a plan
We first visited John in late 2020 after we had been recommended by a garden designer who was too far away to help him. We sat down to discuss his ideas but it became apparent that he did not have a clear plan and needed more than we could perhaps offer.
We felt that John needed a designer to help further his ideas but he was keen to make a start so we offered him a couple of days labour, towards the end of the season, to start clearing the old and unwanted trees and shrubs. John was going to be the voice whilst we supplied the bodies to further his dream.
John's garden had a lovely outlook but all he had to look out onto was a wasteland that once housed a very ugly above ground swimming pool.
Having pushed back the neighbours very overgrown laurels and removed the sand, John decided that he wanted a deck at the bottom of the garden, somewhere to sit and enjoy the sunset. Installing a deck is not something we would normally do but as a couple of our team had done this sort of thing before, and John was still having trouble finding someone to do this, we said we would undertake this next step to help him along.
John chose the deck he wanted and we sourced the materials for the frame beneath. As the new season got into full swing low and behold, John had himself a spot to sit, armed with a G&T or two, to watch the glorious sunsets.
But John was not planning to let us go just yet...
Not content with his lovely new deck, John announced that he had found a chalet that he wanted - as it was a little windy down the bottom of the garden. Could we help with that too?
We really were stepping away from our usual work here but as the chalet was in kit form we thought, why not! As it happens it was erected with great ease, thanks to our highly (multi) skilled team.
Softened with a few plants we were sure John was now well and truly sorted... But no, he had found more....
John was on a roll and presented us with what was our biggest challenge.
John had decided that, as lovely as his chalet looked, it seemed a little 'out of place' just stuck on the decking. He told us he wanted it framed in some way so off he went to find a solution.
The next call from John really did throw us a curve ball and it certainly tested our skills because John asked us to install a balustrade around the decking. This along with some additional planting - much closer to our comfort zone - finished this part of his project off nicely.
Fortunately our project with John was not just confined to this end of his garden as we also renovated other areas of the garden and during the course of the two years that followed our initial visit, we have also been able to maintain everything too. It is very satisfying for us as a team, to be able to not only help the client realise their dream but to be on hand to help keep it in tip top condition.
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