Wednesday, January 19, 2011

End of term

It seems just a blink of an eye ago that I wrote this post about starting a garden design course. In fact it has been 17 weeks. Well, since then, the motley group of people on the course have:

  • learnt about the importance of unity and other principles of garden design;
  • tied ourselves up with base lines and offsets in the garden of very patient couple;
  • grappled with design principles in a long, thin garden;
  • wielded a scale rule as though we knew how to use it;
  • shared a common terror of a humble ink pen and felt great when we produced our first inked lines;
  • uncomprehendingly stared at plan designs wondering how on earth we could make them into elevations;
  • gone back to infant school to learn how to colour in without going over the lines.

Our tutor has been a saint!

Monday is assignment hand in day. We have to hand in a base plan, site analysis, measurements, client brief, and coloured plan with elevations. I’ve spent so long staring at 1:100 scale drawings of the garden and trying to get a cohesive design that I never want to see the flippin’ garden again.

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Current view from back door

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Elevation

IMG_7557

Elevation

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The plan

I can’t wait to hand it in now, to get rid of it! I’m fed up of the sight of it, and I expect poor SomeBeans is, too. In a couple of weeks, the next course starts – a step up, and looking in detail at areas of design such as hard landscaping, construction details and plant portfolios. And another poor soul’s garden to design. Bring it on!

11 comments:

Esther Montgomery said...

Congratulations on the beginning and best wishes for the next stage.

The plan looks delightful - it reminds me of the drawings in Percy the Park Keeper.

Esther

Liz said...

Hi,

Congrats on finishing, you must feel so relieved.

I had fun with a scale rule too on our course, only we were designing a building development. God I hated drawing buildings. I like laying things out but cannot stand drawing details like windows, doors and distance between windows and said doors...............
drove me insane.

Good luck with the next stage :)

Helen/patientgardener said...

Well done you, I couldnt do a design course at all. Did you redesign your own garden or do you get given a garden

HappyMouffetard said...

Esther - thank you for your comment, and also thank you for introducing me to Percy the Park Keeper; I wish I could watch him.

Liz - Thanks :) I don't think I could deal with scale rules if it were to draw buildings etc - that requires accuracy, which I most certainly don't exhibit.

PG - Thanks. We had to go and measure a garden that the tutor had found for us, who want their garden re-designed and are willing to have 12 people traipsing all over it for a day. The owners get to look at our designs, but don't have to choose the one they like best, which is just as well, really.

Esther Montgomery said...

Have never 'watched' Percy the Park Keeper - just read the books and looked at the pictures in them. (I'm mentioning this in case his animated incarnation isn't the same as the one in which he poses for the artist).

Esther

HappyMouffetard said...

Ahh - even better. I'll have to have a sneaky look when I next go to the library.

Plant Mad Nige said...

Congrats on your course. I note that the word 'plant' doesn't appear in your summary. An interesting omission, that! Were plants mentioned at all on the design course? (This is probably a mischievous question ;)) )

chaiselongue said...

Well done! Good luck with the assignment and with the next stage of the course!

Janet/Plantaliscious said...

I was rather wondering about the plants too, but I like the look of the design, nice flow to offset the narrow plot. Mind you, I'd be wanting to add more veg beds at the end there!! Good luck with the next course.

HappyMouffetard said...

Nigel - the tutor was keen to discuss plants but not part of the syllabus. In the next course we have to produce comprehensive plant portfolios & planting plans, which I'm really looking forward to. I was surprised about the lack of plant knowledge of some of my fellow students. Mind you, I don't know how to build a path.

Chaiselongue & Plantalicious - thanks. I limited the veg plots a bit as the clients wanted a veg plot that was pretty looking and aren't overly keen gardeners, so didn't want to scare them. There's room to put in extra beds if the catch the bug and want fruit etc.

Quite a challenge trying to incorporate what the clients wanted rather than what I wanted. Not sure I achieved it! But it's just a piece of course work, so I sneaked in a fair few things I'd like in my garden if we had more room.

scottweberpdx said...

Congrats and good luck! The plans look great...I'm always amazed to see plans like that...they look so perfect!