A very big topic for a little blog but worth mentioning if only to perhaps help with those looking how best to incorporate art into their landscape design.

When I started designing 10 years ago I was immediately drawn to the idea of how art and in particular custom art could enhance a clients landscape. At the time however most people’s idea of art in landscape design consisted of concrete animal statues. However gradually it became a more acceptable idea that original art had a place outside of gallery’s and in people’s own landscapes. These days this interest has morphed and been accelerated by the wide availability of steel laser cut light panels, roof panels, screens etc.  and as a result every landscape designer can become an artist. And while it’s great fun, like any strong ingredient it must be handled carefully or risk throwing off the whole dish

More than ever cleints are looking to maximise the return from their landscape designs and one way to ensure a better return on outlay is to employ some high impact, low cost design ideas to upgrade  a landscape. A note of caution, like anything else, you get what you pay for. If you skimp on product or build quality this will be refelcted eventually in how your landscape holds together over time (thanks to Link Edge for the image)

I wrote about the risk of skimping on product last year. By product I was referring in particular to lighting and furniture but you could include planters, water features, BBQ’s etc. The point I was trying to make was that unless the product you’re looking to invest in is specifically designed for the landscape it’s not going to survive. The wash up from this will be disappointment and further expense to replace with something better suited (image courtesy of Cosh Living)