Provost Park Set To Blossom

The Bridge of Allan Community Council have unanimously approved Vialii’s design for Provost Park in the heart of the village. After over a year of discussions and meetings the plans are now ready for Stirling Council and the daunting task of fund raising. But how did we get involved and get to where we are today with the project?…

The new design for Provost Park

How we got to where we are - Pt 2

In February 2011 I wrote a blog post detailing how Vialii Garden Design came into being. The post was getting a bit lengthy so I opted to round the post off and promised to follow up with Part 2. A mere 10 months later Part 2 is finally here. Apologies for the delay.

In a similar vein to the beginning of an episode of that of the compelling, if confusing, TV series ‘Lost’ we shall start by saying in a deep and gravelly voice "Previously on Vialii Garden Design". Then we run through an abridge version of what went before.

I was once an engineer, then I wasn't anymore. I took some time off. I considered differing career paths. Farrier, chef, gardener. I started a garden maintenance business. The business grew. I often wrongly turned down landscaping work. I went to Stirling Castle. I met Jill.

There, I think that's about where I got to last time, isn't it?

Our Review of 2011

Good morning all. You find me on a rainy morning in late December, still in my PJ’s with a large cup of fresh coffee. My healthy breakfast regime has well and truly taken a sideline so instead of the usual bowl of porridge with a sliced banana I’ve been indulging in sumptious pastries. Do I feel guilty? Not as much as you’d think as the pecan plait I’ve just demolished was delicious.

I should be out working just now. We’ve got a packed schedule of garden builds to get on with and due to inclement weather and a stinking cold at the start of December I’m ever-so-slightly delayed so whilst I normally like to enjoy a full fortnights break over the festive period it was my intention to play catch-up in between. Alas, though, this is not to be as this week seems determined to be as wet as it could possibly be. Forecast ain’t good for tomorrow either...

Christmas is now passed and we’re shuffling towards 2012 which marks a suitable opportunity to reflect on the year just passed. It’s been a busy year indeed. An exciting one too.

It’s been my busiest year in business to date. We’ve designed and built more gardens than ever before and, with the help of some new additions to the Vialii team, managed to expand the maintenance operations too. We’re hoping to carry forward the momentum into the new year and continue the steady growth although as you’ll read below this is not going to be without it’s fresh challenges. So without further ado we present out Vialii Garden Design awards for 2011.

Gardening Gifts This Christmas

Shops are selling it, TVs are advertising it and radio stations are playing it. There is no escaping the advancing march of Christmas. Each year pressure is on to find the perfect present, something a little more thoughtful than a selection box and a pair of socks. Fret not, to help you find something special for the gardener in your life, we at Vialii have pulled together our Top 10 favourite gardening products to suit all tastes and budgets…

As Safe As Gardens…

As we at Vialii waddle into our third trimester, our minds are turning towards making our house child friendly. Whilst relegating our trendy shell door-curtains and glass coffee tables to the attic may delight our friends who already have kids who can’t relax round ours for fear of something being broken, it’s made us think about what really needs to be changed for our little one’s arrival. Does Baby Burt really mean that our home has to be all safety measures and no style? Of course not. There will of course be certain common sense action to be taken but your child should be able to share your existing world without too much upheaval (well other than the sleepless nights from here on in!) This of course applies to your garden too. Whilst having a huge expanse of lawn may be perfect for kicking a ball about, is it the answer for creating a space for the WHOLE family? And will it encourage a passion for nature or foster their imagination? How can you encourage social interaction and be educational? Here are our tips to how to create a child friendly garden which is still a beautiful, relaxing place for adults and doesn’t compromise your style...

Faking It

More and more in recent times, clients have been asking us about using artificial turf. It used to be fake grass looked just that – fake. It was more akin to the base for a Fuzzy Felt scene (Google it kids!) and was far from being the building blocks of a stylish garden. These days, there are a myriad of products in the market place ranging from the cheap and cheerful (think old style football pitches) to the luxe end of the market. Many of the qualities on offer look just like real turf – some even have thatch in them to make them look even more real! Now, it’s not for everyone and if you have the conditions and time to care for the real thing we would always recommend that route. A beautiful real lawn is one of life’s real pleasures. Sometimes though, the fake stuff can be the right choice for you. Here are just some of the benefits...

The Cream of Cornwall

(and we don’t mean the clotted variety)

The temperate climate in Cornwall means that it’s a haven for sub-tropical plants and creating horticultural delights. On a recent adventure to the South West we couldn’t resist sampling some of these gardens. We couldn’t fit in all the gardens, too many for our short visit, so we carefully chose five to explore…

New shed project

Our garden, whilst largely completed last year, has still got a few areas needing addressed before our full design can be realised. One of the bigger, outstanding items has been a bespoke shed to be constructed in an awkward space around the back corner of the house. This area has become a bit of a dumping ground which is rather unsightly, as I'm sure you will agree. The new shed will eventually house all our garden tools etc and maybe a bike or two and will liberate some valuable space in my already overfilled garage.

A dumping ground....

The plan for the shed is to have a pent style living roof. Due to the irregular size of this corner of the garden I am choosing to construct the shed myself. It'll also help me use up some of my excess timber stock that I continually seem to acquire at the completion of garden build projects. I have also acquired some lovely canadian oak pallets which will form the main structure of the shed. The picture below was the state of things at the end of the weekend. I'll post updates when more progress is made.

The shed structure takes shape

Chelsea Flower Show 2011 - Here are a few of our favourite things...

So, another year and another Chelsea Flower Show. And what a show indeed! With more show gardens and gold medals than last year, a revamp of the Courtyard Garden section and a return to Chelsea for some of our favourite designers we knew it was going to be a good one. So here is our run-down of some of our favourite parts of Chelsea Flower Show 2011 (and a few weird bits too!):

Aspirational Garden Purchases...

It’s been a long winter folks. A very long winter.

Indeed I would risk saying that we have yet to see the last of this winter. As I write this it is still early February which traditionally is when we should normally be getting our chillier spells. In fact we had a bit of a blizzard this morning although as hard as it tried, and it did try, it has quickly been eradicated.

It’s a dull time of year. Even though there are some early signs of spring, they’re not nearly big or bold enough to buoy the soul and get you smiling properly. Opportunities to get out in the garden are not hugely frequent. The weather’s rubbish and it seems every time you pluck up the courage and gather up the momentum to venture out it some vengeful cloud has it in for you and starts to strike you down with rain, hail and sleet. The general mood in the country isn’t great either. We’re still dragging ourselves through an economic downturn which appears to have no end in sight and there’s a package of public sector cuts that we have yet to fully appreciate the impact of. In addition, it would appear that you have to be the chairman of Shell in order to comfortably afford filling up your car. The outlook is just plain bleak.

This got me thinking of ways to cheer myself up. A few of our

Vialii Garden Design - How we got to where we are...

I was laying some Indian sandstone slabs the other day and in a moment of quiet reflection and whilst I gave my lower back a brief respite I got to thinking about how I ended up doing this? How did I end up not just building gardens but designing and building gardens? Before I go much further I would like clarify that my idle pondering was in no way negative. It wasn’t a case of my tired mind and midriff screaming “how the hell did I get HERE!” as grey rain poured down. It was more of a “I love what I do” kind of wondering as the winter sun warmed my face(1).

Anyway, how did I get here?.

Vialii Review of the Year 2010

From this

To this..

It’s Sunday and I’m very tired this morning. I had a particularly laborious day on Friday manhandling several tons of Indian sandstone to points closer to where they are going to be needed someday(1) and the physical effects have stayed with me longer than they usually should. 

I don’t mean to sound like a bit of a whimper as I normally shrug off days like that with a shower and a cold one but, due to worst December weather on record in Central Scotland, I am no longer at my Adonis-like physical peak. Five weeks at the laptop just doesn’t constitute a fitness regime regardless how vigorous you type things.