2010

Garden Design & Construction Award 2010

We were delighted to have been nominated and to receive an Award of Merit at the Association of Landscape Contractor's of Ireland Awards Ceremony in October.  The first image shows from left to right;  Ms Michelle Gildernew MP MLA (Minister for Agriculture & Rural Development), Kevin Baumann (Landscape Contractor), Gary Foran (Garden Design), Michael Cronin (Client), Keith Crawford (ALCI President).  The second image shows the garden and a view across the lawn to the split level water feature.  Behind this the raised synthetic golf green complete with red marker flags can be seen.  Tucked into one end corner, an elegant white gazebo provides a tranquil place to relax and enjoy views of the whole garden.  Natural stone was used to create attractive raised planting beds that contain an interesting mix of shrubs, perennials and bulbs.      

2009

While we have continued to design private gardens nationwide throughout 2009, the year has also seen us carrying out more of the practical hands on planting work associated with our designs, which is an expanding area of our business.  

In June we were delighted to receive an award of Silver at Bloom in Dublin for our garden entitled ‘Harmonium’.  A contemporary garden, inspired by the life’s work of artist, philosopher and humanitarian Sri Chinmoy (1931-2007) whose creative output expressed his aspirations for a world founded on oneness and harmony, and his hopes for the happiness and fulfilment of each and every human being.

The garden’s theme of harmony was crafted into each of our design elements - our water sculpture and circular glass mosaics captured and echoed our drop motif, as did the ripple effect in our paved areas. Added to this, carefully chosen materials, soft planting, subtle lighting, contemplative artwork, uplifting poetry and music were all brought together, offering the visitor the chance to reflect on what harmony meant to them in their own lives and in the world around them.

One notable design feature was the use and demonstration of the effectiveness of swales in a garden, as one way of dealing with the increasingly prevalent problem of storm water runoff from paved surfaces that can cause flooding in urban environments.