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Growing Trends
We wrote to some of our friends and colleagues this week to ask if they would listen to our new internet radio show ‘Growing Trends’ on www.cravingtalkradio.com , it’s on air daily at 1pm and 7pm central time. You can also find us on LIve365 if you have the free app, or you can download a broadcast from the site to listen to it as a podcast.
The next ‘Big’ media is Digital radio We made it this flexible, because unlike most radio shows you can hear us anywhere, so the shows time might be great in the USA but a little different in say England 7pm and 1am GMT. – I know we are good but, staying up until 1am to hear Ann & Myself is a bit of a stretch.
Digital Radio, always on, step through and listen now ! What I really wanted to write and say was thank you, thank you for listening, we gained a huge number of new listeners this week, which enabled us to sign new sponsors – yes we need sponsors like everyone else. The sponsors are great, they agree to sponsor us for a modest monthly fee, we in turn give them at least four free interviews a year, and mention them at least once a month when they are not being interviewed.
Listen to our digital library anytime If this sounds interesting and you would like to be a sponsor, drop us a line we would love to hear from you. If you are passionate about your garden landscape and you would like to talk about it, drop us a line
Have you taken a trip to the woods today? The Japanese have discovered that trees give off scents that actually have a calming effect on us, listen to Kelly Daniels ( the picture above is one from her gallery – The Kelly Gallery) talking about this in her interview airing at 1pm & 7pm daily.
I read today that antidepressant microbes in the soil have been discovered, called Mycobacterium vaccae, it’s been found to mirror the effects on neurons that drugs provide.
Which reminds me, I was digging in the soil today and I came across this large black disc with grooves all over both sides, I put it to my ear but I couldn’t hear anything…. if you get time do tune in and let us know what you think, or if you have some suggestions, we want to make the show about the all the wonderful people connected to our industry.
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Are you a passionate gardener ?
Ever since we started our radio show, I’ve come to realize how diverse, passionate and simply fascinating today’s gardeners really are.
Whilst still at school, working in the vacations a friend and I would plant new woodlands in England, we planted well over 1 million trees in that period – of course at the time they were tiny 2+ 2’s ( thats two year old twice transplanted). In subsequent years, I’ve designed hundreds of gardens and commercial properties with the team planting many hundreds of thousands more trees, shrubs, annuals, perennials, herbs, bulbs and corms. The most amazing sight , during this time was , seeing a chap in America transplanting trees ( about thirty or forty actually) some weighing over 650 tons, that were 60ft tall, with a 15ft deep x 45 foot wide rootball – now that is impressive, requiring a multitude of additional skills, not least irrigation some 40ft high into the tree itself!
Over the years we have met some truly wonderful people, who have a real passion, for flowers, or just orchids, or roses, or lawns, or even garden structures.
I remember building a gazebo for a client, who then asked for a copper roof, we then had to weather it so it went green quicker.
Or the client who’s passion was a weed free lawn – he would ‘swish’ the dew off the lawn every night before he went to bed !
Or the client who always tried to ‘scalp’ his lawn – the solution was to quietly add some washers to his mower settings and thus prevent the blades being set to low – not sure if he ever figured that out.
Or rose grower who tended his roses at night using a miners type lamp..
Or a lady who spent more than 8 hours everyday in her absolutely stunning perennial garden.
The one thing in common was that they derived a huge amount of peace and relaxation, working in the garden in touch with nature, it was like the ultimate stress release.
One of our radio show interviews touched on this when we discovered that research shows that woodland trees give of a chemical that we find calming as we walk through a woodland.
The point is they all had a passion that drove them to achieve results most of us would struggle with in all walks of life
In other words they got the maximum achievement out of each and everyday, and the garden helped them recharge their batteries just as a good nights sleep does !
I’ve always believed in attention to detail, striving to find the easiest yet pleasing on the eye finish to areas, using where ever possible natural materials, such as bricks, timber, wrought iron ( if you can find it), etc. to complete projects. When it comes to planting you cannot beat using a color wheel to develop contrasting colors schemes and have them blend with one another to create a complete picture.
If this all sounds familiar and you have a passion for gardening, no matter where, drop me a line and we will try and interview you for our show. It can be as short as a hello or as long as an hour, that’s really up to you.
In the meantime do tune in, as it’s digital radio you can listen anywhere, you will find Growing trends on www.cravingtalkradio.com daily at 1pm & 7pm central US time, or if you prefer using an app were on Live365.
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Growing Trends our new Radio Show
About three months ago, Ann ( my Co Host on Growing Trends) & I were given the opportunity to Host a radio show, we were basically given the chance to create our very own show, we wanted to be a little different, so after much thought and deliberations ‘Growing Trends’ was born, we would both love to hear what you think ? What we could include in the shows?
We’ve been having a ball talking to the most amazing folks in their spaces, they are in our midst and yet we hardly ever see them in this light, we all rush around in our daily lives, heads buried in smartphones or tablets, completely disconnected with the nature that is all around us.
Our guests are all connected by either their garden or the landscape where they work, some are keen gardeners, others technical experts in their field, all are in tune with nature, it’s as if it’s a constant healing process.
“A little oasis in the middle of suburbia.”
( Belinda & Terry’s Garden)
All find time to re connect almost daily with their space, we feel so privileged to be able to hear all their stories and bring them to you usually in their own homes.
Sometimes the recordings will be a little quirky, it’s because we are not in a studio. Some are far away, and we have to rely on the internet, which gives an odd echo from time to time, but talking to folks in Australia, England, South Africa, brings us all together.
“Chestnut growing down under!”
( John Stanley’s Australian outback)
We caught up with John in Australia early one morning.
“In my global work I see new trends in merchandising, display, social media marketing, general retailing, culinary eco-tourism and lifestyle retail”
we will catch up with John again shortly in the meantime.
“Finding happiness in a garden – how it’s done at the Kelly Gallery”
(Kelly Daniels – The Kelly Gallery)
Kelly was just inspirational , almost magical, her photography is enchanting.
You can find us on the internet at www.cravingtalkradio.com , or download the phone app Live365 or you can download Growing Trends as a podcast from the website.
Our upcoming schedule is both varied, fun and very different, here’s a few pictures taken on locations we visited..just wait till you hear the stories…
( half-pint McGee !)
“A simple stunning memorial garden”
” A sculpture park extraordinaire”
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Weekend Landscape & Garden Projects
if you need some inspiration for a small landscape or garden project read on….
We’ve been designing & building dream gardens for homeowners for 40 years now, winning awards, being creative and watching various trends come & go, customers desires and generally listening to clients wishes.
Some have been quite modest… as below.
others rather more ambitious..
Almost all the clients, wanted to complete some of the work themselves. The part they most wanted to do was the planting, either spring, summer or fall bedding, bulb planting, or perennial , shrub and herb planting. Recently we have seen an interest in vegetable growing.
Being folks that listen to our customers , it’s how we win awards, we also understood that we would have to make it much easier for folks, than a traditional planting plan we started out a few years ago to develop a new easy way to layout a planting scheme- we consulted other experts , eventually settling on one method with two products ( one a normal version the other an eco friendly version). inspired we then applied for a patent.( this in itself should be the subject of a blog all on its own)
Last week I am very happy to say we picked up our patent for the “Weekend Garden Kit”, which I have to confess was exciting, a big thank you for all who helped us, of which there were many.
Here’s how it works.
This simple to use system enables you to place the plants & features in the correct position without the need for time consuming setting out or measuring.
By using a grid system , we can add the position on the pot label, it makes the whole process much faster, and less likely for error. – they actually come as part of the kit.
so to set this out all you need is the special landscape fabric and where to plant or place the feature.
The result should then be this
To make this even easier we developed a free app called “PicaGardi” available on iTunes, Google play and Kindle to enable you to see ‘How ‘ an idea might look in your own project before you buy, take a look it’s fun and free and works on Phones and Tablets.
You can download it here www.terratemplates.com
You can either select a picture from your ‘Gallery’ or take a new one with the ‘Camera’ button, then press ‘Ideas’ to see and idea float across the screen, tap it, pinch, scale and place to see how it would look on your project.
If you would like to make some comments or suggestions or just receive more information please fill in the form..
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Growing Trends
I thought it would be fun to share with you, our interview schedule.
We are on air at 1pm & 7pm daily at www.cravingtalkradio.com or you can download as a podcast for later listening.
Our first interview was with Belinda & Terry, this is their lovely garden.
and a more romantic version, the pool is so inviting….
and the famous ‘Zen’ deck, now sanded and restored to its glory…
Our next interview was with John Stanley of John Stanley Associates in Australia, we didn’t talk about his garden as it’s a tad larger than most as you can see – what a view !
What we did talk about was trends in edibles and concerns over bees, you can hear both on Craving Talk Radio.com, we are due to revisit John in Perth again shortly.
Coming up soon is :-
Kelly Daniels lovely garden,
and here is some of her superb photography.
Then we have:
Dwayne Hoover the Horticulturist at the Kauffman Memorial Garden in Kansas City we caught up with Dwayne early one morning – 6am to be precise, the team was starting to put together the summer bedding.
Then it’s Jenny’s turn and her Fairy Room at the Celtic Ranch along with ‘Half-pint McGee’, who will soon be your little heart throb…….
Then it’s the turn of the Nelson Atkins Museum in Kansas City,
and the lovely sculpture park. You have to be strong to play badminton here !
and my favorite the Henry Moore collection…
this next amazing sculpture is some 56ft tall..
to read more about our rather different programs visit www.grotrends.com
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When weather plays a part
As it seems for some of us climate change is playing havoc with our normal weather – for some way too much rain, others nowhere near enough and yet others both but at the wrong times along with huge temperature variations. I thought it might be an idea to show you some projects that eventually turned out quite well despite the conditions we encountered during construction.
The thing to remember is, that they took longer to complete, longer to establish and usually they cost much more because the folks building them could only work in short time sections.
This first project was constructed on very heavy wet clay, here is the site as we saw it when we started work.
here is the site after we have been working a little while. Almost ready to put the finishing planting, turfing in etc,.
Here, during an inspection, the plants have established and the grass is growing well, you would never know how bad the conditions had been. Happily this project won a number awards for us.
This next site was similar… in this case we recommended the owner take a few long weekends away, whilst the garden looked so bad, actually we also wanted the housebuilder to leave so we could apply a finished landscape, without him running equipment over the finished work.
and so it slowly took shape..notice it’s somewhat tidier looking..
The trick is to let the ground dry out, drain where necessary, and what ever you do, do not over compact the sub surface where planting and lawns are due to be.Also as soon as possible get the site clean and tidy and keep it that way, the client usually has had enough after about week 8 of these very distressing looking pictures., fortunately In the end it looked just like any other project.
perhaps nicer than some..
We found that if management spent a little extra time with the client in these situations, it wasn’t long before the project was back on course, with a happy client and a happy workforce.
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Herbs & Edibles in the landscape.
As youngster I remember going blackberry & wild raspberry picking in the hedgerows in the country lanes near where we lived in England. Then later after I was married we would holiday in the Jura mountains in France each year, where we would hike a few days and find the most amazing tiny wild strawberries and a blue berry ( makes the most amazing Tarte au Myrtilles) with the most intense flavors. All washed down with a delightful Crement du Cerdon slightly sweet sparkling wine.
In England we would often pop down to the local ‘Pick your Own’ and gather raspberries, strawberries and sometimes gooseberries when in season.
Which was great fun, especially as we could test taste a few along the way….
Today there is a much bigger demand for growing your own at home, due in part to a return to more natural activities ( getting lost behind a small screen is ok, it’s not very energetic, and it’s probably a strain on the eyes) . A lot of today’s youngsters would like to know how to grow plants. Many younger adults are seeking to help them, whilst us old-en’s have the knowledge.
The trick is, as always a balanced approach, until you feel confident enough to really ‘go for it’
Can you see the edibles in the picture below?
Of course if you happen to have the odd Châteaux just lying around you could always develop something on a rather more grand scale..
Sadly unless you happen to be a Hedge Fund manager, Politician, CEO of a public company or Daddy was very generous this approach is beyond most of us.
So with this in mind we have started to develop a rather novel approach, tailored to today’s rather busy folks and designed to grow with you as they say. First however, try something quick easy and useful, a Deck or Patio vertical herb garden. – just growing a few herbs is both fun, educational and beneficial.
Once you are happy with the herbs, then start being more adventurous, depending on the space available you can start a larger edibles garden.
The next phase, slightly larger edible area will be our next blog, along with ideas on how to implant within the landscape.
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Interview spots
We thought one of our interviews should be on board a sailing boat, after all it’s about as tranquil and peaceful as
a lovely garden – unless like yesterday it was blowing at about 40 mph ( then it requires a little more skill and a lot less sails)
First however our next interviews are going to be fun.
The first is in an absolutely amazing sculpture garden, that has 13 Henry Moore sculptures among a host of others that are equally interesting. Sculptures are fantastic for creating a interesting focal point in a garden, leading the eye from one part to another as you travel through the garden and it’s story unfolds. Sadly sculptures like these superb Henry Moore’s are beyond most folks budgets, although a number of firms make very acceptable stone sculptures, urns and statues.
The next is with a truly traditional organic vegetable grower, this is a growing trend as we discover more and more information about some of the effects of GMO seeds and the long term effects of today’s insecticides & pesticides.
The opportunity to design, develop and use the garden landscape is now more important than ever, with the erratic climate swings we’ve been experiencing, growing your own vegetables is both economical, generally healthier in many ways, and fun.
Schools are beginning to realise that not only is it a learning resource but also a huge cost saving when it comes to providing nutritional foods for the kids to eat – the kids learn where their food comes from, how to grow it, and then how to prepare and eat it – a truly win, win , win situation.
With the advent of vertical gardens, and mixed planting in pots, it’s possible to grow herbs and vegetables even on the smallest of spaces, all you need is light, protection from extreme heat and cold and of course water.
This herb pot is quick & easy to create and will last most of the summer.
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Growing Trends internet radio
Yesterday was the launch of our new internet radio show, it’s really all about people, how they make a difference to the environment they live in, how they have created their very own paradise, landscape or garden space, where they retreat to recharge their batteries after a hectic working day.
Each has it’s very own charisma, all are different, personal, delightful and special, Ann and I are very grateful to these wonderful people opening their truly amazing spaces to us, to interview them.
You can find us at www.cravingtalkradio.com – Growing Trends, we hope you will enjoy each visit with us. Please do, drop us a line at info@grotrends.com ask a question or request we visit you, or like us on Facebook – Growing Trends where you can see more pictures of the garden landscapes we visit each week.
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Growing Trends is now on air
So folks now you can get to hear our dulcet tones along with our pretty pictures and design ideas.
Our very own internet radio show is available to all , you can find us at www.cravingtalkradio.com the show is called Growing Trends, and broadcasts at 1pm and 7pm central time. Ann Miller & Chris Coope are the Co Hosts.
Do take a moment to listen, and by all means send us a note at info@grotrends.com – a nice note please ! or even a question, you never know we may be able to answer it for you.
On the other hand if you have an interesting landscape we could interview you..
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Growing Trends our new internet radio show is going to be on air very soon
Growing Trends on Craving Talk Radio – www.cravingtalkradio.com
The preparations are all done, we’ve been working flat out on interviews, not too mention how to be heard above the noise of a garden landscape – it’s amazing how birds, ponds, sirens, planes, wind, dogs & cats make noise. No just kidding, they all add that true ambiance to a garden landscape.
We are so lucky our guests are interesting, knowledgeable, fascinating, often busy people, who find a huge amount of relaxation and enjoyment from their gardens, they all experiment with plants and vegetables, most have pets, they all absolutely love spending time in ‘their space’.
It is a real privilege to be invited into their space with them to conduct these interviews. Ann and I really appreciate the time they have given us to bring some remarkable interviews to you on Craving Talk Radio – www.cravingtalkradio.com.
We have a really exciting lineup of interviews from around the world, all with a sense of humour, knowledge, fun and we think informative.
Trends like miniature gardens, growing vegetables and herbs in amongst traditional planting or in pots, not just in a traditional garden but also on decks, roofs and other smaller spaces.
Our schedule will be available shortly…if you would like to ask us a question or have an unusual garden landscape drop us a line at chris.coope@grotrends.com telling us more and we will get back to you.
We will also be talking about ‘How to ‘ features, which will help you plan and develop your own space.
Ideas & trends from around the world, with expert views and advice, and of course light hearted banter from Ann & Chris
We hope you will enjoy our show…
Ann & Chris
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There really is something special about some gardens.
We had quite an experience last night, that is Ann my co-host on Growing Trends ( our new radio chat show) . We were interviewing another creative lady business owner, in her beautiful, tranquil garden enjoying a glass of wine. It was like being transported into another place, time flew by, the conversation was about connecting with nature and the calming effect a well thought out garden creates. We exchanged examples of experiences, a few anecdotes and then took a tour of her 10 acres. The more we find garden landscapes like this the more I want to film them at the same time !
I wonder is it possible to capture the moment ?
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