Geoffrey Carr Award Winning Garden Design

Past Projects Domestic Business Improvement Tree Planting Country Cottage BBC Gardener's World Town Centre Public Space
Domestic
It can be a tricky task for a designer where features such as play space, a patio, water feature, shrubs, flower beds, washing line, shed, shade and a lawn are needed. Finding a practical use for irregular shaped plots, awkward corners and fulfilling a client’s wish for a garden of all year round interest is a real test for a designer. Most recently, I have tackled these problems in a garden on the steep hillside of Chalford in Gloucestershire. It is facing these challenges and finding innovative design solutions to give clients the garden of their dreams that makes working with domestic gardens so interesting and rewarding. Back to top
Business Improvement
One example of this type of project comes from the simple brief I was given by a restaurant owner. I was asked to come up with a design that would optimize the sitting space of an outdoor dining area while making the environment comfortable and safe. Rather than squeeze in as many tables as possible, I opted to provide a less cramped dining experience, with unusual trees for added interest. I also included a brick wall to divide the seating area from the car park and to provide an element of privacy. The result was that the outdoor dining space was used extensively by customers, whereas before it had been ignored. (See photo opposite) It is very rewarding to establish the needs of a business client and then find an appropriate design solution to the problem. Each business has a unique character that has to be identified and incorporated in the design. It is a challenge which I thoroughly enjoy. Back to top
Tree Planting
If a client wants a hedge or tree to provide an instant impact, I would normally recommend planting small, young specimens rather than something older and larger as they establish themselves quicker and grow more vigorously. Indeed, the smaller plants can overtake a more mature tree transplanted at the same time. The photograph opposite shows me installing one of three 20 ft high copper beeches on an estate in Gloucestershire. Back to top
Country Cottage
Picture in your mind’s eye an idyllic, warm summer Sunday afternoon spent in a garden - bright flowers gently nodding to lazily buzzing bees, the air sweet with the thick scent of nectar. Probably the most common and popular garden style that we imagine is the traditional English country cottage garden: lovely to look at in the spring and summer but high maintenance and not much ‘bang for your buck’ in the winter. The trick for the majority of clients is to come up with a design which gives the feel of a cottage garden but is not high maintenance while also giving year round interest. This is precisely what I achieved in the garden shown in the picture opposite. Back to top
BBC Gardeners’ World
I worked at the BBC Gardeners’ World garden for four years (see photo opposite). I believe the intensity of those four years in that particular 2.5 acre garden was worth many more years spent in a normal garden of the same size. During that period I designed, built and planted a range of styles and types of garden that would probably be a lifetime’s work for the average gardener. The experience of working with some of the UK ’s top horticulturalists and designers on a daily basis for four years was extremely influential and of great benefit to me and my subsequent design clients. Back to top
Town Center Public Space
This project was very exciting and very rewarding. I won the contract to design six gardens in prominent public spaces in Swindon town centre, in conjunction with six local charities. I was also commissioned to project mange the build of all six gardens. The brief for each garden was based on the charity’s interpretation of the engineering genius of I.K. Brunel. I had to interpret each brief, produce a corresponding garden design and then solicit support from a local business to provide sponsorship for the particular charity and their garden. Wherever possible I built partnerships that gave added benefit to members of the participating charities. This took the form of offers of work experience, accredited training, preparing and delivering presentations to businesses as well as confidence building and self esteem projects. The photo opposite shows one of the resulting Brunel 200 gardens. Back to top

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