Have you ever wondered whether what you want for your future garden is really capturing all it could be? Or are you imposing some limitations on it?
Would you like to find out, at no cost or risk, what other alternatives might be possible for your designer garden?
In this article, we explore just what factors, in our long experience, do tend to limit most people's aspirations for their garden. And how you can overcome them. It's another article that draws on our more than 35 years experience in designing and creating beautiful gardens. You might find you can profit from reading it.
The truth is that the starting point for our relationship with most clients can differ enormously.
Some clients come to us with a whole lot of amazing ideas for their garden they are very keen to implement. But most clients actually come to us, with only a few ideas in mind for their garden and trust us to expand on what's possible, because instinctively they know we are likely to have more developed ideas they than have.
Whatever thoughts and ideas clients have when they come to us, the very fact of them engaging us produces something that they simply cannot experience on their own. In fact, no individual person can.
Because of something called 'synergy'. When you Google that word, this is what you find:
The synergy we are talking about here is between the client and the landscape designer.
Essentially, whatever ideas you have, those ideas, plus the designer's ideas equal much more than either of you could come up with on your own.
The MAGIC OF synergy between you and the landscape designer
Having personally conducted hundreds, if not thousands, of design consultations with clients, I am happy to say, I never stop learning from them.
The simple truth is that imagination is not something that only 'creative' people, like designers, have. Many clients come to us with truly fabulous ideas for their gardens. They might have a particular passion for something that makes what they want to create truly unique.
Often I, and my designer, will walk away from the intial client consultation, feeling very inspired by the potential of what is being offered to us to 'co-create'.
When we feel a great connection with a new client and there is an open honesty to the conversation and a real willingness to share ideas, a little bit of magic tends to happen.
It's just like one of those conversations you might have with a good friend, where one of you says something and then the other adds something more to it and then it keeps going back and forth, getting larger or more insightful. Both of you end up 'co-creating' something, an idea or whatever, that you could never have created on your own. And the connection feels awesome, you want to give them a hug.
This is exactly the kind of connection, the synergy we strive for as the essence of our client-designer relationship. (OK, maybe minus the hug!)
So when you approach us, know that we will be open and responsive to your ideas. Because you are ultimately the source of the inspiration for your new garden. You are the one who originated the idea and you are the source of its creation. The ideas you bring to us, are the nuggets we cherish.
Think of us as being the jewellers and you are handing us a beautiful gem. It's rough and unpolished, but already it has sparkle, shine and a lot of potential. Our role is to first find out what you want to do with this gorgeous gem. What are your thoughts, hopes and aspirations for it? How do you imagine it will look in the end, when we are finished with it? We then use our expertise to suggest ways it could be cut and polished to bring out its innate beauty. We want it to shine as a wonder that will be admired by all who see it.
This is where the synergy starts to develop as both parties work on exploring and developing ideas to create the best possible garden. One that allows connection, joy and memorable occasions to be had by all.
Ideas are fragile things. They can come into existence very easily. But they can be snuffed out just as quickly.
If there's one piece of advice we can give you, the best advice, is take care of your ideas. Protect them. Nurture them. Keep them safe.
Have you ever noticed that all it takes sometimes, when you share an idea, is for someone to say "Oh, I wouldn't do that if I were you..." Or "Do you really think that's a good idea". The next thing you know, that thought you had, the one that actually had a lot of potential, gets killed dead on the spot. You pack it away, cobwebs grow over it and you never think of it again.
We strongly recommend, when thinking about or planning your new garden, that you keep and record ALL your ideas. Don't discard ANY, until they've really been properly assessed. Because their worth may not be fully realised until they are fully explored in context.
Over the years we have sometimes felt like counsellors, coaxing out of our clients old, forgotten, half-supressed ideas they "once had" for their garden, but decided to abandon because they thought, or someone else thought, they weren't really a good idea. And sometimes we have to just help a client who naturally shies away from expressing their thoughts, to open up to us and share.
We love seeing that moment, when a half-forgotten or half-invalidated idea dares to reveal itself and suddenly it blossoms into the full potential it always had. Nothing feels better than having your ideas validated and told they are indeed worthy of being pursued.
So don't let your own, or others' limitations hold you back, especially at the beginning. Nurture and foster every thought and idea you have, no matter how silly or incorrect it might seem.
We will treat it with the respect it deserves, we will help you expand on it, and we will help you assess its real potential. So don't kill it before it's even had a chance to live, with your own limitations.,
At Whyte Gardens we understand that a strongly voiced opinion can crush an idea.
Which is why our designers always seek to have understanding of the person in front of them. We always try to communicate in such a way that you, as the client, feel free to voice any thought you have.
We are not designers who seek to dominate conversations with an attitude of being the "all-knowing genius" who enforce their brilliant ideas on clients. This is just not the way we operate. We want you to feel, at all times throughout the process that you can voice your opinion and know that you will be heard.
But equally, we are not too timid when it comes to voicing what our professional experience tells will and won't work, according to space, time or budget.
We want you to very much feel like we are all on equal terms together. That there is a mutually collaborative spirit around the entire project where voices will be heard and listened to.
We always feel that you can tell how the relationship will progress from the initial consultation. If you feel a connection between yourself and the designer in your early communications that is likely to continue. But if you don't feel a connection then maybe it's better to chat to another landscape designer or landscape architect. One who will resonate with you. After all that's what you're seeking more than anything.
One of the things I've observed over the years that can have a big impact on the outcome of a garden is the way you approach the project at the beginning. It's important, I believe, to always 'Think Big' at the start.
Everything to do with the start of the design process should be kept loose and conceptual. It's not the time to get bogged down in details. This is a good question to be asking at the beginning. "Are you wanting a garden where you can hold large family gatherings and be able to cook meals outside?" It's good because it's asking a big question about the overall design scope of the garden.
This is NOT a question to be asking at the start - "Should we include a wok burner on the BBQ in the outdoor kitchen?" This is a question for later on, down the track.
When the project is still in its infancy, best to just focus on the 'big picture". You can worry about the small details later. Because it's these small details that tend to bog everything down if you focus on them at the start.
Also what can happen when we are first developing the brief for the garden if you focus on details is that you can end up self-censoring yourself because of what you think might be an issue or a barrier. It's best to get ALL your thoughts and considerations about the garden out and tabled at the beginning so they can all be dealt with properly. And if there are issues, there can be solutions as well.
You don't want to find yourself thinking things like these: "Oh, I won't mention also wanting a spa with the pool, it would cost too much" or "I'd really like a flower picking garden but I don't have the time for gardening" or, "I've always wanted a hammock but I'd get too much flack from the kids if I had one". These thoughts are placing limitations on your garden's full potential before they've even see the light of day.
So always start with big dreams. Allow yourself to express anything you've always thought, dreamed or hoped for in your garden, no matter how it might not seem possible to you. Because the truth is, that sometimes your designer can come up with solutions that you never realised were possible. But they won't be able to do that if they don't know what you are thinking.
For example, someone always wanted a lap pool in their garden but space is limited. If that wish is shared with a designer, you might get an answer like, "Well, you don't have room for a lap pool, but you know you can get jets that you can swim against and so accomplish the same goal of swimming long laps every day." The dream is still realised, but not as you imagined.
So keep thinking big.
I leave you with one of my favourite sayings, that I love because it says it all:
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