INFORM
ANDREW WILSON MAKING THE HEART SING
ANDREW WILSON CONSIDERS WHAT MAKES GARDEN DESIGN SUCH A BRILLIANT CAREER CHOICE
S
ometimes, as with any career, there are times when things become mundane or repetitive and garden design is no different. Checking a plant schedule or a bill of quantities are not generally the reasons that people come into this field. They are certainly important, but they don’t make the heart sing. I was reminded of this the other day when I joined Gavin for a site visit in Sussex. The weather for one played the game with bright sunshine playing over the rolling landscape of the High Weald and distant views to catch the eye as we aimed to carry out our site analysis and drink in the atmosphere of the place.
afterwards, I was reminded of students who often ask whether I could give them a checklist to standardise client briefing – new students beware. I always say no. A checklist delivers a tick-box response and a standardised way of collecting information – the danger being that the finer points, or
TAKING A BRIEF IS MUCH MORE ABOUT LISTENING, OBSERVING AND REFLECTING AS INFORMATION IS REVEALED From the higher lawn there were views across the rolling landscape. Sloping meadows within the garden were filled with bees and butterflies taking advantage of the drier conditions as we dropped down into the shade of woodland hiding the stream and the odd deer that played in the shaded valley below. We wandered and talked to the clients, taking in this wonderful site as they talked about their aspirations for the place that will become their home. The garden told us everything we needed to know with the bonus that the client wanted to respect and enjoy its character too, rather than imposing too heavily an alien will. Whilst chatting over the site and its brief over a coffee
34 Pro Landscaper / September 2021
Andrew Wilson.indd 34
perhaps the main points, can be easily missed as a result. At this point gardens are in danger of standardisation – something I see far too much of in social media posts. Garden design is also not to be confused with a makeover – an approach that should stay in the world of TV. Too often a brief can become a shopping list. In response to the plea for a list, I suggest that students engage in a conversation with their
clients and similarly interrogate the garden on which they are invited to work, no matter what the size. Taking a brief is much more about listening, observing and reflecting as information is revealed. What are the client’s aspirations, their expectations? How might they imagine the garden and why even have they invited a designer to talk to them and design for them (one of my earliest questions)? Even with a written brief, try reading between the lines or talk further around the subjects raised. These conversations need to be ongoing – a reason that Gavin and I often have a second briefing after our initial presentations. Without this wider view it is all too easy to end up with a shopping list, furnishing a garden with gadgets and gizmos, colour co-ordinated planting, pots and – dare I say it – pergolas. Designers are also in danger of creating something worse than what they started with. It is precisely when we are presented with a stunning piece of landscape as a start point that we need to take stock, thinking more about that lighter touch and a respect for that place and its context. Of course, the garden has to function and work, it has to reflect the personalities of the client, but it also has to sing to the same rhythm and melody of its place. Just listen. Pictured: Meadow and woodland to make the heart sing!
ABOUT ANDREW WILSON Andrew Wilson is a landscape and garden design consultant, director of the London College of Garden Design, and an author, writer and lecturer.
www.lcgd.org.uk
www.prolandscapermagazine.com
18/08/2021 19:14