Landscape Design & Build
A collection of chapters on a career spanning 40 years of award-winning landscape design and build
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English Landscape LLC
English Landscape LLC is my Landscape Design & Build company.
Here you will find a wealth of ideas, with lots of picture examples of finished projects.
Before and after picture examples , all from almost 45 years of high quality, award winning work.
Sometimes a landscape just seems to ‘pop’ right out at you. You become almost spellbound by its balance and harmony.
This doesn’t happen by chance very often. It is a result of a client choosing the right designer, then everyone working together as a team to create a dream.
Almost a living stage if you will , that constantly changes with the seasons, yet develops into this amazing restful, visual smorgasbord of colour, contrast and functionality.
Today, I thought it might be fun to show some projects under construction, you will notice that most are orderly, very little mess to clutter the picture
( the cleaner you can keep a site the more efficient and the higher the final quality often is).
I hope you enjoy, take a look at some projects here. English Landscape
Chris
Views: 194
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Design and Build
English Landscape LLC is my Landscape Design & Build company.
Here you will find a wealth of ideas, with lots of picture examples of finished projects. Before and after picture examples , all from almost 45 years of high quality, award winning work.
Sometimes a landscape just seems to ‘pop’ right out at you, you become almost spellbound by its balance and harmony.
This doesn’t happen by chance very often. It is a result of a client choosing the right designer and then working together as a team to create a dream.
A living stage if you will , that constantly changes with the seasons, and yet develops into this amazing restful, visual smorgasbord of colour, contrast and functionality.
Today I thought it might be fun to show some projects under construction, you will notice that most are orderly, very little mess to clutter the picture
( the cleaner you can keep a site the more efficient and the higher the final quality often is).
I hope you enjoy, take a look at some projects here. English Landscape LLC
Chris
Views: 2
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Environmentally friendly structural walls
Environmentally friendly structural Timber Retaining Walls
Timber structural environmentally friendly walls were designed over 40 years ago.
They were originally designed to last for around 50 years . We have been designing and building them since 1984.
Recently we were asked to carry out some minor repairs to a wall that had been built approximately 23 years ago, on Long Island
Amazingly well preserved !
Once we had exposed the back face of the wall, it was clear that the timber was almost in the same condition as when the wall had been constructed. You can see here a few examples.
If you are looking for an environmentally friendly, long lasting in expensive wall you may want to take a longer look, if you would like to make the wall truly green, i.e. a planted wall then TimberGrid is maybe for you.
Check out some more information here Walls.
Want to know more just send me an email… chris@chriscoope.com
Views: 240
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Paths in your Garden
Paths have been around awhile.
Granite sett path – these setts traveled from Portugal in the 1800’s as ships ballast and were then used on London’s streets.
They were a very convenient group of sizes namely ;-
- 4 inch x 4 inch x 4 inch
- 4 inch x 4 inch x 6 inch
- 4 inch x 4 inch x 8 inch
These regular sizes enable a module to be used, which makes the overall finished visual much more attractive. It’s also easier to lay – below you see a radius layout using just 4 inch x 4inch x 4inch setts.
Seeing as we have snow today, I thought it might be an idea to talk a little about paths and paving materials. Not all paving is equal as they say, concrete for instance is often more slippery than say asphalt ( there is a standard called CBR – California Bearing Ratio, this is basically a coefficient of slipperiness. Often only used for roadways and cars.)
So lets take a look at some paths
This gravel path works great, except when frost is just coming out of the surface, when it gets very sticky. Gravel paths are both attractive, economical and if laid on a suitable base long lasting, a simple rake and roll often restores the path to its near original state. Keeping on top of surface weed growth is essential.
Paths should be at least 5ft wide to allow a couple to walk side by side..although,in a garden this is often impractical.
This beautiful path leads all the way around the garden, making it a fabulous way to explore the differing views created.
This scented path uses camomile planted within the ‘p-shingle’.
We used old railway sleepers and camomile to create this pathway, the camomile grows and covers the widened joints. When you walk on the camomile a lovely scent rises up.
A more formal gravel path – this is a white limestone and approximately 4ft 6 inch wide – just wide enough for two people to stroll (promenade) around together
Here the path is dressed in graded white limestone, this creates a much more formal garden for the client.
The next is designed in a series of straight lines using a brick module.
Here a zig-zag brick path leads from one section of the garden to another Using stock bricks that compliment the house colours is a good way to ‘link’ a garden design to a house. Walking on a larger sized clean gravel, is both fun due to the noise and a safety feature as you can hear someone or something approaching.
Here we used a larger stone size to add that lovely crunching sound as you walk on the path 
Natural random rectangular stone leading to a bound gravel pathway.
Perhaps the most expensive form of path, the steps are laid in natural random rectangular stone, which is expensive to purchase and time consuming to lay..
Natural stone steps It was a hot day when they completed these steps….
Probably the best material for steps To finish with some of my favorite materials. I’ve always tried to use natural materials on projects as the colour does not fade with time, they are often long lasting – if laid correctly. They always look soft and blend in so well with the surroundings..but natural comes with a significant cost increase..
A quick word about patios, if you are using the patio for entertaining a normal table with four chairs requires an area of approximately 10ft 6 ins ( 3m) x 10ft 6 ins (3m) to accommodate the table and chairs.
Laying small unit sett paving of almost random size in a radiating pattern requires skill and patience…. Do send us a comment or a request
Views: 54
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HortCuisine
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Hello world!
How it all started, my first job.
It’s been very many moons since starting out early one morning to work ‘in the woods’ near
my home in Caversham, Reading.
Leaving the house at 6.30am, with a hoar frost on the ground, piling into the back an Austin van, joining three others who were much more able than 14 year old me.
My mum would pack a lunch for me and added a thermos flask of hot soup.
Matt, the foreman greeted me, introducing the rest of the crew, Wilf an older gentleman
with a very gruff appearance, Aleric a much younger, very well educated fellow, David, who was my age
and the son of the boss. he was also my friend.
We were only driving about 15 miles to a small village called Checkendon where the boss owned a small woodland – around 20 acres of mixed hardwood planting.
We arrived at the five bar entrance gate, the area looked like an over grown field. Then driving down a small track, that stopped at an old rectangular concrete building with just a door, no windows. Everyone piled out, and headed for the building, inside were a selection of ‘v’ shaped planting spades, a bunch of ranging poles and a large pile of plastic bags with various bare root tree species inside.
The plan this day was to complete a mixed hardwood woodland planting. The planting distances were 5ft row separations with 5 ft planting gaps.
Views: 12
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The Cancer Survivor’s Garden Companion
Ann and I were fortunate to interview Jenny Peterson, just after her new book was published. Jenny is an amazing, extremely positive lady who is an inspiration for us all.
A Garden that Heals.
Pittsburgh, Pa. (October 5, 2015): When Jenny Peterson was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2012, it rocked her world. Her cancer treatment was hard, emotional and often deeply depressing. But Peterson, a garden designer and Master Gardener, did not let the cancer diagnosis define her. She used her desire to garden and dig in the dirt again to pull her out of the darkness. And she discovered that gardening is good medicine –for the body, mind and spirit.
The Cancer Survivor’s Garden Companion:
Cultivating Hope, Healing and Joy in the Ground Beneath Your Feet
(St. Lynn’s Press, January 2016) tells Peterson’s story and explores the therapeutic benefits of this vital “earth connection,” including inspirational profiles of other cancer survivors, both men and women, whose gardens became their partners in healing.With gentle empathy, beautiful photographs and easy how-to steps. Peterson shows others how to create their own backyard haven for healing – a personal restorative garden – with well-grounded guidance about diet, exercise, mental focus and spiritual renewal. Her book adds a fresh voice to the growing fields of horticultural therapy and therapeutic gardens.
What others are saying about The Cancer Survivor’s Garden Companion:
“Jenny’s tips for incorporating gardening into your life for mind, body, and spiritual health are ingenious!
What other authors are saying.
As a cancer coach, I will definitely be suggesting this book to my clients.” – Susan Gonzalez, BSN, CPCC, co-author of 100 Perks of Having Cancer Plus 100 Health Tips for Surviving It, and editor of The Savvy Sister blog
“Jenny’s beautiful book reminds us all that life can be found in the healing, meditative act of gardening. By lovingly tending a garden, we can learn to nurture ourselves, restoring our mind, body and spirit in the process.” – Ray Anne Evans, Executive Director, Breast Cancer Resource Centers of Texas
“Jenny’s connection with gardening, garden design, and simply being in nature remained strong throughout her cancer diagnosis, treatment, and recovery. In fact, it was part of what helped her through. And now she is helping others to learn from her powerful experience.” – Naomi A. Sachs, Founding Director, Therapeutic Landscapes Network; co-author, Therapeutic Landscapes: An Evidence-Based Approach to Designing Healing Gardens and Restorative Outdoor Spaces
The Cancer Survivor’s Garden Companion will teach readers how to use the garden to heal, find hope and feel joy.
About the Author.
Jenny Peterson is a landscape designer and Master Gardener specializing in xeriscaping and small urban spaces. She is a cancer survivor who found hope and healing in her garden, even during the darkest days of chemotherapy and radiation. In the process, she made deep connections with the cancer support community, including physicians, nutritionists, bodywork practitioners, psychologists and spiritual counselors.
Peterson co-authored Indoor Plant Décor: The Design Stylebook for Houseplants (St. Lynn’s Press, 2013) with Kylee Baumle. She lives in Austin, Texas, with her fiancé, 19 chickens, two dogs, two quails and a goat.
You can listen to the interview here : Interviewing Jenny Peterson
If you would like to purchase the book : The Cancer Survivors Garden Companion
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Views: 146
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Grandy’s Long walk – The Bibbulmun Track, Western Australia
Ann and I had the pleasure of interviewing Linda Stanley after she had completed this 1000km walk.
Linda undertook this walk on her own, it took the best part of 8 weeks to complete and more than three months to prepare for.
Linda isn’t your average walker by any means, she suffered some serious injuries breaking her back in an accident. Being a somewhat determined lady she set about challenging herself to literally get back on her feet again.
We interviewed Linda in her new home, a beautiful chestnut farm in Nannup, Western Australia just after the launch of the children’s book she wrote about her journey.
‘Grandy’s Long Walk’ is written for young children, superbly illustrated about her walk.
Linda wrote the book out of a concern that children today spending less and less time with nature and more and more time in front of the small screen. She hopes to encourage more children to get outside and discover the same senses of wonder and joy of nature that she had experienced on her long walk in the forest.
You can listen to her telling us all about this amazing journey below.
We were so curious about this really long walk that during our research we found some youtube videos of other people who travel from all over the world to walk this track.
Darren is one such person, he created a video and kindly gave us permission to include it in this article. His video is just a part of the walk, you can view it here Bibbulmun track video Darren is raising money for Diabetes you can see his web site here Darren’s website
There is also a specialist web site filled with information for those who want to plan their own walk..The BIbbulman Track
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Views: 74
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The right-sized Flower Garden
Kerry Mendez has a passion for gardening, in her latest book “The right-sized Flower Garden” she discusses how to develop a garden that you can manage, often this will reduce the amount of work involved. As she explains it’s all … Continue reading
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Views: 79
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Growing Trends interviews Bill Sosinsky on his recent trip to China
Hello everyone, we hope you like our new logo ?
We have some great interviews planned for the next few months.
Our first is with Bill Sosinsky , CEO of Energime University. Bill has recently returned from a trip to China. He talks to us about how the Chinese are adapting, planning and coping with the enormous growth the country has seen over the past few years.
Cities of 5 – 10 million people built in under 10 years !
This type of growth brings staggering infrastructure issues or as Bill says ” This is a big deal !”
The interview is one of those must listen to events… we all have seen or heard of the Great Wall of China, a quite amazing feat of building, as seen here.
I wonder how many of us can comprehend the current building program?
100 million homes in the next 5- 10 years…!
That’s almost one third of the total housing in the USA
Truly a monumental task of ingenuity, engineering and collaboration, Ann and I were just amazed talking to Bill about the growing issues they are trying to solve.
We will have two parts to this fascinating interview you can listen to the first part here….
We would love to hear from you with ideas or suggestions on programs, either fill in the form below or just send us an email to info@grotrends.com
Ann & Chris
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Views: 102
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Trends in European Garden Centers
Ann is in Paris, France talking to Valerie Langendorff, President of a Women’s Garden Executive Club.
Valerie looks at Garden Centers from the ladies perspective in France, her ladies group have identified a number of interesting trends..Women make 70% of the purchase decisions.
Currently 90% of Garden Centers are managed by men.
They have developed an annual awards program judged by women.Ladies nights are arranged in the Garden Center
They have an award for the most women friendly Garden Center.
They have discovered that women like innovation more than men..
You can listen to this fascinating interview here or on iTunes
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Views: 84
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If I were opening a Garden center today
Garden Centers have evolved over the years, there are Independent Garden Centers often in a local neighborhood, there are larger groups with multiple locations.
Many of the big box ‘Do it Yourself stores’ have larger and larger ‘Garden Center’ sections.
The question recently has been where are they all heading.
So Ann asked Sid & John – “If I were to open a Garden Center today what would be your recommendations?”
Sid Raisch
CEO of Horticultural Advantage (www.AdvantageDevelopmentSystem.com) , providing business expertise and extensive leadership training to small to medium horticultural businesses, primarily retail garden centers and selected wholesale suppliers.
John Stanley.
International retail guru is what people call me. Specialising in helping retail businesses to grow their bottom line and expand their market base. I work in 26 countries with retailers of all sizes. My expertise ranges from conference speaking to hands on management consultancy. My specialist retail areas are in perishable retailing – anything that will not last long without loving care on the shelf
Sid and John discuss future trends for gardens, garden centers, and our urban environment.
This fascinating , very informative interview is going to have you thinking.
Send us your thoughts to Growing Trends
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Views: 100
