Garden Open Days 2011 - NGS

Two gardens which I maintain are open to the public on the following days this coming June:

Thursday 9 June Lake House, Northington. Nr. Alresford. SO24 9TG.
Saturday 11 June  12.30 to 5pm

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Sunday 19 June The Cleeves, Haslemere. Surrey. GU27 1DT [THIS SUNDAY!!!!]
11.00 to 5pm

Welcome!

Please browse the blog archive for information about me and the services I offer...

Garden Design Process


To give you a rough idea of the process we go through I have put together this basic guide:

1.    Initial consultation
2.    Site survey and analysis
3.    Concept / Draft plans
4.    Master plan
5.    Construction Drawings
6.    Planting plans
7.    Maintenance schedule

Consultancy and advice


Do you have an established garden and just need help to get it looking it’s best?

I am available for on-site consultancy visits where I can give advice on what can be done to improve things; soil improvement, pruning, pest and disease control.
This advice can simply be verbal or alternatively I can produce full maintenance schedules.

Design


Over the last seven years in my role as a professional gardener I have worked in many, many gardens. I have maintained and implemented many designs, some that have worked and some that have not. I have also produced some of my own planting combinations and ideas.
In my designs I am bringing together all my experience and knowledge from the last 15 years to produce gardens that will continue to flourish year after year. All my designs have the option of coming with a full maintenance schedule ensuring the design reaches its full potential and stays that way.
In 2009 I started a foundation degree at Sparsholt College Hampshire, in garden design, to help me consolidate all my skills and acquire new ones.
My portfolio now contains projects ranging from small landscape planning applications to large country estates.

A Cut Above Grounds Maintenance


For the last seven years I have traded under the name ‘A Cut Above Grounds Maintenance’. To reflect the new direction of the business, concentrating on design and horticultural consultancy, I decided to re-brand in 2011, now trading as Roeder Landscape Design. One of the first gardens I worked in was Lowder Mill in Sussex.

http://www.ngs.org.uk/gardens/gardenfinder/garden.aspx?id=1917

I worked there for about a year, just after the designer Bunny Guiness had redesigned it. I then moved on to maintaining two gardens, Hollycombe House, also in Sussex, which originally dates back to 1803 and The Cleeves in Surrey which I am still looking after to this day.
The current owner, substantially redesigned the majority of The Cleeves, approximately 30 years ago, using the renowned garden designer John Brookes. More recently the planting has been enhanced and a new parterre vegetable and ornamental garden designed by Susan Gurnaey was added just before I started there about 6 years ago. The Cleeves will be opening to the public under the National Gardens Scheme (NGS) in June 2011 for the first time.
Since meeting Susan Gurnaey at The Cleeves I have worked with her in many gardens; in various parts of London, Surrey, Hampshire and Sussex.
As well as maintaining these large gardens I have also undertaken work in many smaller private gardens, which I still do now.
After leaving Hollycombe House in 2007 I moved to work for Lord Ashburton , maintaining his private garden at Lake House on the Grange Park estate, near Arlesford in Hampshire.

http://www.ngs.org.uk/gardens/gardenfinder/garden.aspx?id=12308

I have now been working at Lake House for about three years, bringing it back up to a decent standard after a few years of neglect. It is well worth a visit when it opens to the public in June.

Nursery skills


“Nursery men or women make the best gardeners”
Commercial Hort. tutor at Merrist Wood College
          My time in commercial horticulture has given me many skills, which I have translated into professional gardening.
My previous experience in nurseries involved growing plants solely in containers so my time at Merrist Wood college was valuable in that it taught me about soil – which I believe is possibly the most important part of growing. 
The high level of mechanization and irrigation systems in the nurseries has enabled me to take on the installation of smaller cost effective systems in domestic gardens. This applies especially to drip pipes, which irrigate from under the plant, reducing water loss and fungal disease problems. I have successfully installed and used these in ornamental and vegetable gardens to great effect. 
My involvement with pest monitoring and biological pest control has led me to use these agents in greenhouses for clients very effectively, there for helping to minimize the use of toxic chemicals.

My considerable experience has lead me to become very good at meeting deadlines, and working with commercial pressures. I undertake tasks using the most efficient methods in the most cost effective time and to the highest standard.
As well as these technical skills I also became familiar with all the most common, and some not so common plants, used in gardens today, from bedding plants to herbaceous and perennial shrubs.

The beginning... (introduction to how it all started)


My horticultural career began at the age of 17 when I joined one of the Flowerlands production Nurseries. I had had no previous experience of working in horticulture but I soon relalised I had a keen interest in plants.
  I was fortunate that the nursery was undergoing a program of modernization and this enabled me to help the nursery expand whilst developing my skills. This included spending two years on day release courses at Merrist Wood College and attending trade shows and trials around the country.
In a short period of time I became responsible for many areas within the nursery, particularly the plug production / propagation department which produced over a million seedlings a year using the latest machinery.
As well as propagation, I was in charge of making the change to a fully Integrated Pest Management scheme (IPM). This involved the close monitoring of pest and diseases and the application of biological control agents such as Encarsia Formosa, a parasitic wasp for controlling whitefly. I would also train the staff in pest and disease detection and the use of pesticides.
After four years I left Flowerlands to go travelling. I was beginning to tire of the almost factory like growing methods of commercial production. Before leaving on my travels I undertook work helping to maintain large formal gardens. I found this experience extremely rewarding, as until then I had had no experience of working with the finished products I had been producing for the last four years. It was with CG Services that I realised that I would eventually like to move into landscaping and particularly grounds maintenance.
When I arrived back from my travels on the continent I took a position with Needham Growers Ltd who were part of the Far Plants group of nurseries. After a year I decided the job was not for me and I left to start my own gardening business.

Organics

I follow predominantly Organic methods in all aspects of my work. Employing an integrated approach and exploring all possibilities.


Another reason I wished to move away from commercial horticulture was the use of pesticides and chemical fertilisers. Although fully trained in their use I do not like using them. I will use them if I have to but only after exhausting all other possibilities.
For example when I took over the maintenance of Lake House, the Rose garden and all the Roses where extremely diseased. For the first year I had to use chemical fungicides to control the fungal diseases, which were prevalent. Once I had started to get some control I moved over to using a garlic and sea-weed based alternative, which I now use routinely with only limited use of fungicides.

http://www.astonhorticulture.com/RoseBarrier.htm

 My knowledge of soil leads me to conclude that chemical fertilizers are only a short-term solution and good fertilization requires looking at the whole environmental picture, especially caring for the soil. I also believe we should all be aware of where the fertilizers have come from and how they are manufactured. For more information click on this link:

 

www.livinggreen.info Chemical Fertilizers versus Organic Methods

 

One of the first things I do when I take over a garden is improve the soil by adding organic matter and organic fertilizers.
I nearly always use organic fertilizers, bio-stimulants (such as garlic based solutions) and biological control agents (parasitic wasps) to produce healthy vigorous plants able to resist pest and disease attack.
 

Welcome! [introduction/list of services]

Feel free to contact me for all your horticultural requirements:

       Garden and Landscape Design
                   Horticultural Consultancy
                   Grounds maintenance
                   Fruit and Vegetable production
                   Conservatory planting and maintenance
                   Propagation
                   Pest Control
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woodland planting

woodland planting