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?
Motivation
A good friend’s mum sadly passed away last summer. She was a lovely woman who was taken too young and is sorely missed. It
brought to mind however something that I'd neglected to elaborate on in the
first part of this tale. It was the untimely passing of my own mum(1) that
caused me to assess my life choices and ultimately, spurred me on to quit my
engineering job. My mum’s death caused me to think long and hard about what I
wanted from my life and how I wanted to go about it. I asked myself if I was
happy in what I was doing. The answer was no.
In retrospect I now question whether or not
I was thinking 100% rationally though. It’s not a stretch to think that I was
perhaps suffering from some level of depression which would naturally cause me
to question my happiness at work. Whatever the reasons though, the decision I
made was the decision I made and thankfully my chosen path has been more
successful than I could ever have imagined, and in so many more ways than just
financial.
I had started offering garden designs to
clients as freebies towards the end of 2006. I loved the planning of gardens,
studying the practicalities of space and solving the client’s garden issues. I
enjoyed sketching the proposals and then pulling together the final CAD
drawings and deemed it as more of a hobby than a paying business.
In May 2007 I met my now wife, Jill. Obviously,
we share many interests and passions (otherwise the wedding would have been a
big mistake) but foremost amongst these is a love of gardens and gardening.
Prior to us getting together Jill already enjoyed gardening. So much so, in
fact, she had undertaken a Diploma in Garden Design.
We started considering the design of
gardens together and it soon became apparent that we worked really well as a team and that there was potential in
pursuing garden design more formally. We planned things carefully, created a
dedicated website and launched Vialii Garden Design as a separate service from
the garden maintenance business. More importantly, we agreed a pricing structure for
the garden design work. As opposed to offering free designs with the hope that
this would lead to the garden build we opted to offer designs for an agreed fee
with the client having no obligation to use Vialii Garden Design for the build
(although we obviously hoped they would). As it transpires, the process of
getting to know clients and their gardens and, more importantly, having the clients
get to know us has resulted in the majority of our gardens leading to builds
too.
Why we work
Jill and I have found a delightful balance
with our approaches to garden design. As I also build gardens I tend to plan a
garden with a practical mind (sometimes too practical). Jill, however,
approaches a garden with a more conceptual, creative take on things. What tends
to happen is that we meet somewhere in the middle putting together designs that
are both well-planned but have a real style and character. Jill encourages me to learn new skills and to have confidence in my own abilities.
Some four and a half years on now, we have
formally separated the design and landscaping business from the maintenance
business(2). We have designed and built some thirty gardens and have gotten to
know some lovely families along the way. We still love the challenge and
process of garden designing and still take immense satisfaction upon completion
of a build. We’re constantly looking for ways to stretch ourselves, in both
design and landscaping. We still get nervous when we present initial concepts
to clients and are delighted that our proposals really hit the mark.
The future
In the immediate future, our lives are
going to be turned upside down with the arrival of our first child (and Vialii’s
latest apprentice!) sometime in January. It’s another challenge that we’re both
relishing and cannot wait for the adventure to begin. If that wasn’t going to
make us busy enough we hope to continue the steady growth of all facets of the
business. We’re hoping to recruit new team members for both the maintenance and
landscaping side of things, a new van needs to be purchased and we’re setting
targets to continue to grow the businesses steadily. It’s all very exciting. I’ll
try to keep you posted on how we get on.
Ta ta for now,
(1) Elizabeth Ann Maxwell Burt was 54 when she succumbed to the
ravages of kidney cancer. I still miss her terribly...
(2) On paper, garden maintenance and garden landscaping are fairly
similar but in practice they are distinctly different business models which necessitated the separation of the businesses.
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