Get The Look – Episode 1 Tuesday 23rd June 2015

Episode one Walsall – Get the Look

Mode paving – Bradstone £55-65 per sq metre
Outdoor Photograph – CanvasRus £421
Wooden tepee – Just Wood Leicestershire £575
Artificial green wall – Vistagreen £540 per sq metre
Water Wall – Water Feature Company £6,500

Mode Paving – Bradstone £55-65sqm

With this garden we really wanted to bring the inside of Nina’s home to the outside. There is a very clean, contemporary feel to the interior of Nina’s house, so we decided to carry this through into the garden with the use of these beautiful pavers, kindly donated by Bradstone. This is a new range from Bradstone and is available in 20mm thick pavers in two stunning finishes, each with four attractive shades. We chose the Mode Porcelain Collection in ‘Graphite’ as it is cutting-edge in style and takes modern sophistication to a new level.

The profiled pavers have a stone-like appearance with added mica crystals for eye-catching appeal. These crystals give the pavers that extra bit of sparkle and compliment the ‘star’ theme in the garden. The dark colour of the graphite also provides a beautiful contrasting backdrop for the lush plants and other materials we used in the garden.

The pavers were laid on top of a compacted sub base in the same way as normal floor tiles. A layer of cement secured the pavers in place and tile spacers were used to give that accurate contemporary look. There are two patio areas in the garden; one for the main dining area right outside the French doors of the house, and the other a cosy outdoor lounge area for Nina to relax in, admire her garden and remember her late husband Gareth.

These beautiful Mode pavers cost between £55 – £65 per square metre. You can find more information on this product from the Bradstone website. www.bradstone.com

Outdoor Photograph – CanvasRus £421

One of the main obstacles in this garden was the vast expanse of brick wall which ran around the entire boundary. The garden felt very closed in and the eye was drawn to the bare red brick walls.

As Gareth had planted a tree in the garden and was a passionate Greens Space Manager, we wanted to bring an aspect of his much loved parks into the garden. We found out that Gareth’s favourite tree was a mature Willow tree (Salix alba) so we thought why not put a large outdoor picture covering the wall behind Gareth’s memorial tree and give the illusion of space behind it. CanvasRus stepped in to help and produced this amazing picture printed on canvas suitable for exterior use.

The area of wall we wanted to cover was quite large and the picture had to be broken up into 9 equally sized frames – 9 x 750x600mm canvases. The canvas was coated with a laminate which makes the product weather proof.

The picture was put in between two large brick pillars to help give the feeling of entering a park through gates. It also gave the garden a feeling of space and that all important personal touch for the family.

If you want to know more about this product please go the CanvasRus website at www.canvasrus.co.uk

Price for this product was £421.00

Water Wall – The Water Feature Company & Norstone £6,500

As the garden was dedicated to Gareth as a memorial space, water was a key element to give the space a tranquil and reflective feel. The only problem is the garden is small and Nina has three young children, which meant we could not put in a traditional pond or a water feature that took up too much ground space. So once again the vertical plane came into play.

The Water Feature Company came up with a design of a cascading water wall feature that was also a bench to sit on. Norstone was the company which helped with the cladding of the feature. This cladding can also be used for many things other than water features, so if you have an unsightly wall that that you want to make a feature of you can use this type of cladding.

The feature was put on one of the largest walls of the garden and the beauty of it was that it became one of the main focal points, drawing the eye down the garden and giving the illusion of space. The reservoir for the feature was completely safe for children too as it was enclosed and the children could not fall into the water. This meant Nina could relax while the children played. The feature was put close to Nina’s lounge area to give a relaxing sound of water after the children have gone to bed and she admired her special garden.

To find out more on the water feature please go to the Water Feature Company at www.thewaterfeaturecompany.co.uk

To find out more about the cladding please visit Norstone website at www.norstone.co.uk

Price: £6,500

Artificial green wall – Vistagreen £540per square metre

Walls, walls, and more walls; that was the name of the game with this garden. Another large brick void to do something with. Climbers, mirrors etc are well used in gardens but with Nina having three young children, we wanted to give her something more interesting but low maintenance.

Vistagreen are a company that produce the next generation in artificial green walls. The panels they produce are designed by London horticulturalists and florists. The green panels are made up of UV certified artificial plants and come in a range of different styles all named after British counties. Each panel is different from the next as they are made by hand and unless you get really close up to the panels, you cannot tell they are artificial. The plants are attached to a metal frame and cable ties are used to secure the foliage. Once a panel is complete, you use the simple attachment clips to suspend the panels in the desired place.

The great thing about these panels is there is hardly any maintenance and you don’t have to have the right environment for a living green wall. If you have a dark corner that nothing will grow in, indoor or outdoor, why not use this product. And as they are UV certified the look will not fade. The plants will never fade with the seasons too.

Now Nina has the look of a fantastic green wall all year round and it won’t eat into her important time with the family.

To find out more on this product and the company, please visit their website www.vistagreen.com

Wooden tepee – Just Wood Leicestershire CIC £575

With three young children to handle, Nina needed an area for the energised kids to run around. With all our gardens we wanted the children’s play zone not to feel separated and be a part of the garden and to enhance the space in a gender neutral way. The inspiration of park life once again came into play here. A very natural feel was required to bring that park feel into the garden. A tepee made from recycled pallets was the plan of action to achieve this as it fitted well with all the other elements we made from pallets in the garden.

Just Wood Leicestershire CIC was the perfect company to approach to build this item for the show. This company specialises in building child friendly products out of pallets – so no splinters in sight!

The tepee offered the perfect gender neutral play structure for the three children. It added a nice bit of height in the garden and along with the small trees, wooden toadstools, long grass and wild flowers, the park feel really was in this area for the children. Stars were cut out of parts of the tepee as some Native Americans believe that when you die your spirit goes into the sky as a star. This was perfect as the three young children were told that daddy is now a star. We added some colourful cushions to finish the tepee off and the children now have an inspirational space to play.

If you would like to see what else Just Wood Leicestershire CIC can do, please visit their website www.justwoodleicestershire.org.uk

Price: £575