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The Garden Network has recently had a great deal of contact with BALI – a relationship which will continue to grow and strengthen in the future. We were given the opportunity for discounted tickets to attend a Robin Templar Williams Masterclass at BALI headquarters entitled ‘Difficult Sloping Gardens’. This proved very popular and rightly so!

Robin Templar Williams in action during his masterclass

I hadn’t previously met Robin – despite the fact that he lives and works quite close to me, but was thoroughly inspired by his ‘let’s get on with it’ approach. We started with some basic design principles using positive shapes and reminded that the design principles for sloping gardens remained the same as for level gardens.

Whether it was the way it was conveyed or the detail of the topic but I felt that I learnt as much about design in one morning as I had in several years at college and since. Part of this though was the new found confidence that came from realising that what I was doing was very much on the right lines but had now been vindicated by Robin’s commanding knowledge on the subject.

As designers our job is to solve problems for clients and when the garden is sloping this becomes an even greater requirement. The key was to follow the basic principles and ensure that you start with a good quality, accurate land survey which then needs careful analysis. Using photos and video to understand the nature of the land. The starting of the design should be of a broad brush approach to check flow and balance of the proposals. By taking a cross section through one or more places you can then test levels and wall heights to ensure the project will work. Some of the best advice was to make sure that you use fellow professionals to survey and undertake any engineering work that may be required.

As with any event like this there is also the opportunity to network with fellow designers and landscapers from around the country. It is often when talking to others like this that you realise that others face very similar problems and challenges to you and that although being a garden designer can be quite a lonely existence there is always a huge amount of support available on tap for the asking.

This event has proved very popular and BALI have organised another day to re-run the training event. There are a limited number of places available so don’t waste time in booking yourself on this very worthwhile course. Link to more details here.

There is also due to be a day that just deals with design basic principles which I strongly suspect will be equally worthwhile and popular! Details here!

Robin runs the successful Garden Design School with Moira Farnham

Meeting before going to the garden it was clear that all was not quite as it might have been! In order that the 25 recognise each other we were invited to wear a button hole in the true spirit of a blind date. All was going swimmingly with assorted flora being sported until one of our number arrived wearing a half eaten digestive biscuit secured with a badly mis-shapen paperclip!

Perhaps I should explain that this gathering was no ordinary outing but a meeting of gardening enthusiasts of various persuasions found loitering with intent on Twitter and the garden we were to visit was Highgrove, the garden of HRH Prince Charles. The biscuit arrived courtesy of James Alexander-Sinclair which somehow saw the topic of conversation move on to cakes.

Now you would have thought that the often vociferous assembled group would be interested in the organic gardens filled with national plant collections especially as we had the pleasure of a carefully selected volunteer guide with three Chelsea Gold Medals to her name to guide us round. However it was quickly established that cakes would be available for purchase in the tea rooms at which point Barbara Taylor volunteered that she had baked cakes for everyone too! Now our interest was truly roused.

Two cakes for one garden visit!

My thanks go to Helen Johnstone for bringing this to life – it was great to see friends that in some cases have only been known online and to re-acquaint with others met at similar events previously.

It was a pleasure to meet Michelle Chapman, Roland and Jamie Paterson, Rob Stacewicz (who won the prize of some hand cream for his airplant buttonhole), Cleve West and Christine Eatwell, Anne Wareham and Charles Hawes, Zoe Lynch, Jenny Woods, Helen Reeley, Lia Leendertz, Sharon (Plantswoman), James Alexander-Sinclair, Simon and Sherrie Suter, Judith (aka Arabella Sock), Dawn Isaac, the shy and retiring Anne-Marie Powell, Kate Bradbury and her friend Abigail, Barbara Taylor and Deb Bird.

Gardens are a great way of enjoying a summer afternoon and the pleasure is multiplied when it is shared with so many with differing views but a shared passion – even if that appeared to be cake and biscuits.

This arrival was stranger still when one of my clients called across to me, having arrived moments before – had I really been driving for 2 hours to a wet field to talk to a client (and friend!) who is barely 5 minutes drive from home? We could have saved ourselves the trouble and had tea at home! It was great to see them and catch up on their garden, which is coming on – and I was reminded that I still owed them some plants that had been unavailable last season! That will be a great opportunity to go and see the garden again so really looking forward to that.

Tea seeemd the only sensible choice and a chance to ponder the catalogue before setting off to find others that I had promised to try and find. I am sure I could have bought an entire tea plantation for the sum I was asked for for my steaming brew - but needs must… The decision to wear warm clothes and a waterproof jacket was now totally justified and tea consumed I set off on my search.

First stop was the Garden Organic stand manned by the delightful Verity Thompson. It was good to catch up and sparked an idea for further collaboration at The Garden Network.

One of my main reasons for visiting as a Garden Designer is to look at the Show Gardens. Malvern isn’t known as a hotbed for innovation particularly but it can provide some neat glimpses at how other designers approach a garden or planting and I particularly enjoyed chatting with Deb Bird about her garden The Nature of Nurture which particularly struck a chord as I learned much of my gardening from my parents and grandparents. Perhaps one of the most interesting ideas though came in the Schools Section, where  two gardens featured greenhouses made from recycled plastic bottles.

Malvern Spring Show this year also played host the the Bloggers Meet at Malvern and it was great to meet so many people that I had only read articles by.

Huge thanks to Michelle Chapman (Veg Plotting) and Helen Johnstone (The Patient Gardener) for organising it all – great job. Biscuits were sponsored by James Alexander Sinclair (Encounters with Remarkable Biscuits)

with contributions from Yolanda (Bliss) amongst others!

It was also great to chat with Cleve West and Joe Swift who were both very generous with their time – always appreciated.

I did make it round to some of the other stands notably the Wiggly Wigglers stand in the Eco Tent where – as a blogger – we received a copy of a rather wonderful book called Bringing a Garden to Life. The day ended with a meeting with Claudia de Yong who shared some tips on sourcing products for the garden as well as agreeing to contribute content to The Garden Network on this topic, for which she is well known!

The Chris Beardshaw Scholarship was won by Maria Luisa Medina who starts an amazing journey designing gardens at both Malvern Autumn Show and culmintaing in a Chelsea Garden for 2011

The title for the gardens the seven prospective scholars was The Circus and I’ll leave you with this interesting picture of some amazing acrobats who added their performance to the proceedings!

This week I attended the first Hard Landscaping Show, at the Ricoh Arena in Coventry and while my first impressions of Coventry aren’t exactly glowing it turned in to quite a day. It started at the HQ of NFU Mutual on the outskirts of Stratford on Avon. I was generously accommodated in the Farmhouse – my fellow B&B ‘ers were none other than the main board of Directors preparing for a board meeting that morning – it made for an interesting breakfast! NFU Mutual sponsor the Garden Network which I have been running for just on a year now.

As owner of the Garden Network I make an effort whenever I can to get out and meet members. It’s fantastic to put faces to names. These are people that only exist in a sort of parallel universe normally – today I was going to meet them for real.

There were three members present that I was particularly keen to meet for the first time, as well as catching up with a few others that I had met previously. The first meeting was with ‘fenlandphil‘ – who was a real gentleman and clearly passionate about his company making ironwork for gardens. Despite 23 or more years in business he still seemed as keen as mustard to find new ways to promote his business both on and offline – if you need obelisks and garden seats this is the place to go!

My next meeting was with Kerry Jackson. Wow – what a surprise! My expectation was completely shredded! Sometimes we pigeon hole people for reasons that I am not entirely sure. Here was a man so driven and enthusiastic for his work, and it was stunning. He has developed a very strong identity and has won a number of awards for his work – including one at the show. I have arranged to meet up with Kerry again at the Malvern Spring Show to look at the show gardens together – I am really looking forward to that as I anticipate we will challenge each others thinking in a really positive way. I’m also looking forward to seeing some of his gardens ‘in real life’ when I get a chance.

The third person was again quite a surprise. Claudia de Yong is well known for her water gardens – not least when she triumphed at Hampton Court, winning a Gold Medal and  the Tudor Rose in 2006 for her garden hotsprings. When you meet what might be described as garden design royalty, it is difficult to know what to expect. My fears were totally unfounded and we chatted for several hours about garden design, encounters with others and how we ran our businesses. The rapport that developed was interesting and demonstrates the benefit of networking. Although we might technically be regarded as competitors, we actually started looking for ways that we could enhance each others businesses through collaboration.

All of the people that I met will be beneficial in helping me develop my ideas and further extending my knowledge and personal network. So much for gardening being lonely then! By seeking out others you can enrich your experience and gain knowledge that will help you get even greater enjoyment out your garden and your life! So who’s up for meeting at Malvern?

John is a hugely influential garden designer who was designing gardens before it became fashionable to do so and in so doing developed methods of designing that are widely used today by a great many garden designers. I am a big fan of his grid system and it forms the basis of many of my garden designs.

John was speaking to the Oxford College of Garden Design at St. Hugh’s College Oxford on Thursday 11th March, 2010 and I travelled there to hear him speak. I was immediately taken by his genuine warmth and passion for garden design. John has been designing gardens for many years and he has clearly lost none of his enthusiasm.

What was also fascinating was that he treated the assembled audience as fellow designers, talking with us as opposed to ‘lecturing’ at us, which made it all the more real.

It was fascinating to discover his sources of inspiration – perhaps unsurprisingly coming from theatre, artists and sculptors of our day, in the way that other creative people draw their inspiration. It is this connection with and understanding of people that helps make his gardens believable. Apart from the money, it is those people that keeps him interested in continuing to design gardens.

His key tips, which are valid for anyone wishing to pursue garden design as a career, were to write down your justification, understand why your design ideas work or not! Build your contacts, you never know who might be helpful to you in the future. Photograph like mad, capture as many images of gardens as possible and let people know that you are around.

I certainly advocate his advice and as I develop as a garden designer ceratinly heed his words. As owner of the Garden Network building contacts is clearly an important part of my agenda and keeping a blog is a great way of writing regular articles about topics that interest you. What better opportunity then to combine these by meeting someone like John Brookes, taking some photographs and then sharing your experience!

John Brookes has written many books on garden design and owns Denmans Garden in Fontwell, West Sussex.

Blanche Surman, Affinity Marketing Executive at NFU Mutual comments, “We are thrilled to become official insurance providers of the Garden Network. NFU Mutual recognises the need to play an active part in community life and reach out to country-based groups and organisations like this one. We hope that Garden Network members will find the relationship of real benefit.

Tim Matcham, Director, the Garden Network said, ”The Garden Network is very pleased to be working with NFU Mutual to provide comprehensive home, garden and other insurances to the Garden Network members. “Regardless of location, country or city, NFU Mutual can provide the same excellent coverage. NFU Mutual is well respected, has a proud heritage and is able to deliver the quality insurances and service that Garden Network members and supporters expect. Our association is all the more exciting because we share the same values of excellence and environmental concerns.”

Such great news for the Garden Network – the network that is growing places!

I went with my Garden Network hat on – not really knowing what to expect! Here is my first take on the event – there were 63 stands in total so I won’t be able to cover off everyone but these are some of the innovations that caught my eye.

The recurrent theme on many of the stands was, encouragingly, growing your own and organic gardening.

First up came the Vitogrow

 from Greenhouse Sensation – this was one of a number of products that was encouraging us to all grow your own food and combined a good-looking container which self watered the plants! A simple idea that means your crop won’t dry out – so if, like me you don’t remember to water your containers as regularly as you might, then this might just be what you are looking for! The pack comes with suitable nutrients and instructions. They also offer advice and a guarantee of success. They also had on show a solar-powered device for growing plants without soil – known as hydroponic – the power simply recirculates a nutrient rich solution over the roots.

Another ingenious product came in the form of a Polanter – best described as a holey drain pipe with a leaky pipe through the middle!

Again aimed at minimising water loss during the watering process and encouraging us to grow plants including fruit and veg. It attaches to a wall and performs a similar function to a hanging basket. Watering is simple, straightforward and uses minimal water. Simply attach a hose to the water inlet at the base and wait until a few drips appear.

There were some other great products from Access Garden Products

and Forest Garden again on the Grow your own theme,

These include small greenhouses and cold frames suitable for even small gardens.

These all tie in very nicely with Garden Organic’s new campaign called One Pot Pledge - aimed at getting enthusiastic gardeners to encourage a friend to try growing an edible plant for the first time and acting as a Gardening Guru to help them with their new experience. I have signed up to this and would be delighted to help anyone who is venturing out for the first time. I’m starting off with a Question and answer session at The Neston Country Inn on 11th February 2010 – I’d love you to come and join in for some fun! Contact me if you would like more details.

I’ll be adding my thoughts on other aspects of the show soon.

Realising the value of these networks and getting a huge personal buzz from helping to connect people, Tim Matcham has recently invested both time and money in optimising his return from networking and has some great success stories to tell.

‘People mocked me when I first adopted Twitter, the online micro-blogging site’, recalls Tim, ’You are wasting your time there can be no business benefit from a social networking site’.

Convinced they were wrong he set about proving that you could indeed make Twitter work for your business.

As an ardent Networker, Tim has recently purchased the Horticultural Networking site – The Garden Network. This brilliant site offers everyone, with any interest or passion in gardening to meet up with other likeminded people – and although it is UK based they have a growing contingent of overseas members. Absolute beginners can ask burning questions about how to get started, while more experienced members are on hand to offer advice and share ideas on garden design and exhibiting at the prestigious RHS Shows.

It seemed a natural opportunity to use Twitter to help promote The Garden Network to a wider audience and help the members get even more value from the site.

Selecting a key Garden Network member who is designing a show garden at the prestigious RHS Chelsea Flower Show for the charity Demelza House Hospice, a children’s hospice in Kent and suggesting that the gardening fraternity on Twitter might like to get behind her and wish her well in her endeavours.

Jo Thompson was delighted at the response that came. One of Tim’s followers was the metal sculptor Steve Blaylock – and he made a very generous offer of donating a piece of sculpture for the garden which could then be auctioned off after the show to raise money for the charity.

Jo had been an admirer of Steve’s work but without the power of the Garden Network & Twitter the association would never have been made.

This story has a twist – success it seems does indeed breed success – Steve has been invited to take part in a sculpture exhibition being organised by a friend of Jo’s!

If you are going to Chelsea next week keep an eye open for Jo’s garden Demelza on stand RM13. We wish her every success.

It seems then that networking can be hugely successful, and if you have an interest in gardening too then make The Garden Network a place to solve your gardening problems.

1. Some people are definitely worth following. The power of their network of followers can work for you. This is not by direct selling but through referrals to people who share a common interest or goal.

2. I have noticed quite a few people who seem to be willing to contribute little in the hope of hitting the big time. I find these characters stand out like a sore thumb and I easily avoid them.

3. Twitter has opened my horizons. The world is my oyster. I can create opportunities for my business. I can communicate effortlessly on a global platform. The possibilities are very exciting.

4. And it’s not just about Twitter. There are a number of add-on features known as API to give you additional functionality programs.

o Tweetdeck lets you manage your followers more effectively.

o Twitter PWR lets you to list unlimited URL links; all connected to you.

o Twitterfall lets you to link in to current hot topics.

o Twibs lets you list your business.

o Tweetlater lets you schedule Tweets for future publication. There are also some fun applications like Tweetstats and Twitpic for uploading pictures.

5. Twitter is starting to make business sense. In less than a month I now have 250+ global followers. I have seen a MASSIVE increase in traffic to my blog and website. I have been requested for appearances to act as an ambassador for garden designers, open school sensory gardens, and as a guest blogger on several influential blog sites.

When I set this against the current economic situation my world looks positively rosy! Have I ‘sold’ anything through Twitter? No. Do I intend ‘selling’ anything through Twitter? Absolutely not! But I can share free advice with an appreciative audience and offer help to those in need of assistance. Will the community benefit? Will I benefit?

I feel like I am already making a difference and I love it! Do I feel more positive and confident about the future? Yes!

Has Twitter played a part? I leave you to be the judge.