Boningale Garden Creations

NOW THE WEATHER HAS BROKEN……

I know, I’m tempting fate, but we do seem to be heading into spring- fingers crossed.

We have had quite a busy couple of weeks planting out Pete and Julie’s garden as well as one we built earlier on last year.

Once we had got the frost out of the ground, and the plants had thawed out, that has left us clear to get planting, and finish off.

This is always a nice part of the job, now we are away from the ‘muck and bullets’ of building a garden, we have the opportunity to put some personality into it.

It is very much like putting furniture into a new room, it can all feel a little bare and empty, but once the plants arrive, the whole thing comes to life.

All that’s needed now, is a bit of spring rain, and sunshine, and before you know it, you will be the envy of the street.

We are now taking quite a lot of calls regarding Design, construction, make overs and of course planting schemes, so we are looking forward to a busy season.

Trying to get things finished.

Well, I was hoping for something more positive to tell you, but I am afraid the weather has just about beaten us.

We have had a very lucky run through January, giving us the opportunity to complete the construction side of Pete & Julies garden. All the timber retaining work and steps are in place, the Western Red Cedar deck, (using locally sourced timber from Bridgnorth) is laid, and the new lawn is down, and looks fantastic.

Pete and Julie have recently moved into this new build house, and as you can see, inherited a pretty uninteresting garden, finished in a typically builder like fashion.

The brief has been to maximise the amount of usable seating space and create a garden to potter with. While both Pete and Julie are keen to garden, they don’t want to be a slave to it. So along with the practical issues of retainer walls, steps and seating areas, we have tried to design a garden that is attractive and interesting to look at, as well as relatively easy to maintain.

These first few days have seen a lot of earth moving, followed by the construction of heavy timber retainer walls. These will help establish our levels, and will form the bones of the garden.

Our aim is to have them up and secure early next week, so that the other key elements can be installed around them.

Here’s hoping the weather holds.

Compton Hospice in Wolverhampton

We’ve chosen to support Compton Hospice in Wolverhampton this year, as well as Mary Stevens Hospice in Stourbridge, and are really enjoying working at the Wolverhampton charity, where we are currently helping to create a feature using engraved bricks.

The sponsored brick scheme was launched as part of the hospice’s Raise the Roof Campaign, with the aim of collecting £1 million towards the impressive £3.5 million refurbishment works which were completed at Compton’s in-patient unit last summer.

The whole interior of the hospice building was redeveloped, to include 18 single, en-suite patient rooms, improving patient privacy and dignity, as well as redeveloped day care facilities and consulting and therapy areas.

More than 300 bricks and granite stones have now been sponsored by friends and relatives – raising a remarkable £38,000 – and engraved with the names of their loved ones who have passed away, to act as a lasting memorial to them.

The work already done within the grounds of the hospice, and the refurbishment itself is very impressive, and I have spent some time there recently to help me fully understand what is needed from the feature, and how it will fit into the existing scheme.

We plan to include some planting, for added interest and colour,  and I’m hoping to incorporate some seating, so that people who sponsored the bricks will have a special place to come and sit, and remember their loved ones, and for patients to also use for quiet contemplation.

The feature will be unveiled at a special ceremony to mark the hospice’s 30^th anniversary early in February, so we look forward to showing you the results of our work then.

When we laid out this garden 4 or 5 years ago privacy was not a real issue.

A few years on, however we have been asked to re-visit the garden and suggest ideas for improving the overall privacy of the garden with the desire for something that was in keeping with the rest of this quite contemporary looking garden, this led us to these   Fagus sylvatica (Beech) pleached panels.

They came in as a root ball from a specialist nursery in Holland, and although quite heavy to handle, were easy to plant out.

The great thing about this kind of specimen is that it is an instant fix, and although it may be considered an expensive option, you are paying for around 15 years worth of growth and care to get a plant of this nature.

So, if it’s a practical issue like privacy, or an instant statement you want to make. There are a host of options to choose from, with large and mature plants grown in specialist nurseries all over the UK and Europe.

The Albrighton Moat and Gardens is a local charity, offering facilities for disabled people of all ages, helping them to build self-confidence and improve physical and mental well-being through a variety of different activities.

What do you do if you want off-road parking, but don’t really want to pave your front garden, as this can leave you with other problems besides somewhere to put the car.

A recent survey by the Royal Horticultural Society and Horticultural Trades Association found an alarming number of front gardens have disappeared under concrete and paving, which is leading to increased risk of flooding and raised temperatures.

In the West Midlands, the report showed that more than a fifth of front gardens have now been turned into parking spaces – but this does not mean that you have to compromise on your green space – or your green ‘credentials’ for that matter.

Have a look at the front garden above, which I helped to create for one of my clients, Joy.

She had asked for an extra parking space, as the raised lawn she had was too small to really do much with, but she still wanted the garden to be green and inviting.

My solution was to use a recycled material for the parking space – a consolidated gravel, which does not kick up easily,  but which is also porous, therefore not creating the run-off problems associated with paved or concreted areas.

The gravel is laid deep, and compacted down to provide a stable surface, but one which still absorbs water.

We also created some interest with the shape of the space, and attractive fencing and planting, thereby transforming the garden into both a useful and pleasant green area.

Venturing out on to your garden decking at this time of year can be treacherous, depending on the boards you have.  The damp conditions have a tendancy to turn them in an ice rink if you don’t regularly sweep and clean them.

Thankfully, it’s not a problem my customers have, as I use a locally-sourced timber which looks fantastic, is sturdy and hard-wearing, and due to the finish of the wood, does not get slippery in the wet.

The photos show a project we completed this summer at the Oddfellows pub in Shifnal, Shropshire.

The landlord wanted to extend the outside seating area.  This was obviously going to be a  heavily-used area, and needed to be a surface children could play on too.

The wood I opted for was Western Red Cedar, which is grown in Herefordshire, and processed at a saw mill in Bridgnorth, so it has remarkably few miles to travel, which is great for its green credentials.

The reason it does not get slippy is due to the rough finish I asked the saw mill to give the boards.  The wood has a really tight grain, which means it doesn’t splinter, so is still great for youngsters to play on.

It’s pressure treated, to ensure a longer life, robust, durable, and produced locally – I have been using this timber for the last five or six years and am delighted with it, as are my customers.

And as you can see from the finished job in Shifnal, it looks great.

We’ve just completed a  project with a lovely couple who’ve lived in their three-bed semi for 25 years, and had reached the point where they felt their garden needed a new look.

Ian and Joyce were looking for a garden which did not take a great deal of effort to maintain, but which still had plenty of green,  utilised the space better, and had an extra seating area at the end of it to make the most of the evening sun in the summer.

We discussed all of these elements, settled on a realistic working budget, and set to work transforming the space.

Obviously, the planting is very new, but I’m really looking forward to a revisit in the spring, to see the plants when they start to burst into life.

They will help create a wonderful natural screen around the patio area, and colour through the borders to complement the green lawn.

Here’s some more photos of the finished project.

Photograph courtesy of the Express & Star.

I had the great priviledge last week of visiting the Mary Stevens Hospice in Stourbridge, to present them with a cheque for £1,000, which we raised through our plant sale.

I have spent a bit of time at a children’s hospice recently, having rebuilt our Shrewsbury Flower Show display garden at Hope House in Oswestry after the show.

Though they are quite different from each other, both are wonderfully inspiring places, where the staff do some unbelievable work.

It’s hard to believe that it’s all done through fund-raising and relying on people’s generosity.

So thanks to everyone who came along to the plant sale and helped raise such a great amount, and please continue to support your local hospices whenever you can – they do some great work.

The picture shows me meeting Joanne Griffin, a day patient at Mary Stevens, and Yvonne Elgerton.

I’d also taken along a plant to put in the hospice’s sensory garden.

May I also say thank you to Janet Jones, from the hospice’s fund-raising department, who sent Boningale the following item, which now has pride of place in our office.

Mary Stevens Hospice Charity