Fresh Ideas, grown from experience

Where we live and how we live matters. The landscapes around us – rural, urban or suburban – influences how we live, what we take and what we give back. Finding the right balance can be tricky. And the landscapes we inhabit have a huge influence on how we approach the search for contentment – that sweet spot somewhere between ambition, happiness and satisfaction at what we do and what we’ve achieved.

The nature of a place has value
This is true regardless of location. The design of an office building influences mental health and productivity. The impact of how a garden is laid out can produce reactions as different as indifference, lifelong curiosity, wonder, and well-being. Thoughtfully landscaped open spaces around places of work can transform the whole environment for the better.

Carefully planned landscaping can also, quite literally, improve the nature of a place, encouraging wildlife and protecting animal and bird life that are otherwise under threat. Careful, thoughtful landscaping adds value.

Making and remaking
Throughout history men and women have repeatedly remodelled the landscape around them. On our small island it’s very obvious; there are few corners of the country that are not shaped by human intervention. Of course, it hasn’t always been good and that is all the more reason to get it right today.

In the past, landscape gardening might have included the idea of taming the wilderness, but this is not an adequate or helpful description. It’s true, of course, that the great landscape gardeners of the 18th century were shaping nature to their own purpose. But they also did so with great sensitivity, inspired by the natural world. In the 19th century, recognising virtue in managed spaces , ‘model’ villages such as Cadbury’s Bournville brought a similar attitude, albeit with a different focus.

New ideas spring forth
Modern landscape gardening requires a fresh new approach based on experience and expertise. Not only is our understanding of landscape, plants and planting constantly growing and evolving; changing priorities (including adjusting to climate change) means that new designs need to respond to the future as well as the present.

Experienced garden designers can do this, creating gardens that are suitable to their setting and purpose. A great design will bring great joy and pleasure alongside practicality and consideration for the environment.

Get ahead of the game
It’s always best to plan ahead. That’s why winter is the ideal time to give shape to ideas that you had last summer or came to mind mid-December. Planning and organising now puts you in the ideal place to get a project under way when days lengthen and spring is in the air.

Timing matters. Working within sensible schedules gives the experienced designer the edge in terms of flexibility and the best outcome. Even if you plan to have work done next year, not this, it’s still worth getting expert advice now. Rushing rarely works, especially when it comes to a living, growing ecosystem.

Whatever you have in mind, start in plenty of time. Let the designer get a feel for the property and its surroundings, its soil and existing flora and, indeed, fauna. Only with this specialist understanding and perspective will you get the best, fresh designs which marry old virtues with modern inspiration.

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E. Williams Landscapes is a Hampshire based specialist garden design company, expert in creating perfect outdoor spaces. They are a 5-Star RHS Chelsea Flower Show Award winner, with many accreditations and a reputation for imaginative designs that complement any context. They have considerable experience in projects of all sizes, in both commercial and residential settings. They’re known for the care they take to achieve outstanding results and gardens both beautiful and practical.
info@ewilliamslandscapes.co.uk
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