'Designs' testimonies

Graham and Ann Coyle

Four years ago we had an extension built and the soil dug out for the foundations was dumped in our garden. It looked like what it was, a building site! Paul suggested that we could use the surplus soil to level off the slope that had always been a problem to us. He created a terraced garden with a series of turfed steps which lead to a patio, summer house and raised wildlife pond at the top of the garden. To the side we have room for a small vegetable plot and compost bin. We asked for a low maintenance garden and this has proved to be the case. Composted bark mulch over a garden membrane keeps the weeds down but makes further planting easy. The initial planting done by Paul has filled the borders and only requires basic trimming and pruning to keep it tidy. We have colour themes in different sections of the garden which provide a year-long display. Before Paul’s work the garden was under used and very hard work to manage. Now it is easy to manage and we have plenty of time to enjoy the space that it provides. We were delighted with his creative ideas and impressed by the way in which he realized them.

Catherine Bates

We asked Paul to help us out with our front garden last year. We had moved in to the house the year before and the front garden had been tidied up for sale by the previous owners, but was really very uninspiring. We are not very experienced gardeners, so gave Paul quite a free rein with the design. We have a very long front garden with a large bed all the way up the left hand side. Paul designed the planting areas, and also rebuilt a low stone wall and erected a wooden arbour. We were completely delighted with both the design and implementation of the garden, and have had very many compliments of it. Paul and his team were very professional and did a wonderful job.

Maggie Hall

Maggie Hall and Sarah Waddington discovered, and caught the vision for, the Forest School initiative at Bishops Wood. However, until the Brook School in Barbourne moved to the River School site in Claines, they could see no way of bringing it about. The excitement grew as Jenny Doyle from Bishops Wood came to see the beautiful natural setting in which the River School stands and encouraged them to apply for a grant to develop the dell. Undeterred by difficulties and inspired by development officer, Alison Newman, who likened the dell to a ‘secret garden’, they were able to invite three contractors, including Artesian designs, to tender for the work. Paul’s sensitivity of design and imaginative contract proposals won the grant, being best tailored for their needs. When Paul first started work on the Forest School it looked like the wild woods from Wind in the Willows. The rounded sunken area named ‘the dell’ was originally a clay pit and was so taken over with nettles and scrub it was hard to enter from any angle. Paul’s first task was to clear those thickets and then form pathways to create easy access without loosing the adventure of finding a ‘secret garden’. “That it is becoming a reality is so hard to believe but such a delight to see”. It is a joy to see Maggie and her team so excited and encouraged.