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trees – crown raising, topping or training

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There should be no question of whether one ‘tops’ a tree. Trees should first be selected based upon a horticulturally educated basis. That is the right tree for the right place rather than a choice based on price. In practice generally – the shorter time a tree must spend growing in nursery to become a saleable plant the cheaper it is. Cheaper does, particularly in the case of trees does *not* mean better value.

However, when that tree you bought comes back to haunt you, the oirish thing to do is to ‘top’ the tree. No! I say.

The problem with this is that the auxins or the growth hormones will not not push to the growing point [tip] of the tree but down and then out the sides. Thus one ends up with a tree that takes up too much space and results in the appearance of an overgrown bush. That’s not bad practice, if you own the Phoenix Park…

When trees are quite young – I start pruning them early because I want movement of light through them. I want them [in theory] like a telegraph pole and then to start to produce foliage above that point. For fruiting trees this would be extremely different but they generally should not grow so tall and you also need to be able to reach the fruit. For a while they will look a little ‘scrawney’ but long term wise – it is the best thing to do.

The reality is also that if the mass/ weight above which the branches start – is greater than that below – then eventually it will not be supported by that below; the branches therefore will shed weight [more a theory of gravity] and the tree will naturally drop limbs. Imagine giving a ‘jockey back’ to ten people and trying to walk – they will start to fall off or you will be brought down! So in ‘crown raising’ early on, a thicker girth [the width of the stem] is encouraged; one which will support the branches above and inevitably less work of a chainsaw like nature will be required later on. It is I suppose training a tree rather than solving an issue.

I should therefore need nothing more than my secateurs for the first few years. Mine is a felco no. 30. The swiss [made] army knife of the horticultural world. Very deserved of a mention because with these you can replace every single piece individually – when the spring goes – one replaces only the spring. I have this one about eight years now… as you can see!

My advice: choose the right tree for the right place with a good idea of what type or style you like. Buy good healthy disease free stock ensuring that it has its plant passport where necessary. Take good sound advice – don’t mind Mary Maginity and the book she bought that says…. Garden Centres and gardening groups [et cetera] will give more relevant free advice that is probably more specific to you and your exact requirement.

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Small Gardens – good design

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The key to ‘good’ small garden design is to make the most of your small space or to make it look as big as possible.

The first step in this is to eliminate symmetry ‘that can tell me how big your garden is’ [by just looking at it from a window] and also to use the brightest colours possible to increase light movement and therefore enhance the feeling of space and movement around you.

Consider it a little like a bathroom [?!!] ie. a small space. The smaller the space the smaller the tile, the brighter the colour and also the brighter and airy it becomes!

The second step is to ensure that the distance between fixed features and/ or hard surfaces is that of a meandering nature ie. it takes ‘time’ to get there visually or they fade to the background so as not to take precedence over those things that give a sense of distance [ie. black/ dark].

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Be careful not to want to cram too much into that space. I know you might not like white; or you want a water feature or decking and ‘I want and I want….. and can we not?’ – the answer is always ‘but of course!’ But if the question is how do I best spend my budget to get the maximum return [both monetary and aesthetically] then you may feel it a good idea to take an experienced garden designers advice. That said client is king! I always suggest that for my free advice I can always give you a full refund!!

At the end of the day – gardens should be fun and the process for both me as a designer and also for the client should be one not of stress but of excitement. I know I have spoke about costs before but generally speaking [in conversation with a fellow garden designer yesterday] one should allow about €100 per square metre not inclusive of ‘fancy stuff’.

Consider it a little like buying a car. Can you buy one for a five hundred euro ? would you?

Other information on garden design:

If it’s not on this list. You can leave a comment and ask or take a browse through the categories list [over there on your right].

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Bespoke 17th Century Gazebo

brackenstown gardens file - peter donegan landscaping
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Recently the gardens of Brackenstown got the ‘peace de resistance’ that [in my heart] it so much deserved. The gazebo was installed 2 weeks ago in the centre of the tranquility garden after almost eight months since it was first considered. The funny thing I suppose was that within three days it was fitted, installed and painted as if it had been there all its life. When it is found difficult to believe that the life of the structure is one of such youth, I suppose it could be said that the job has been done and done extremely well. It is bespoke, the only one in the world and hand made, the old style way.

Credit when taking on a project like this must go primarily to ‘any’ client who has that ‘je ne sais quoi’ and forward vision to trust in a designer to bring something like this to fruition. I shall rephrase, when one does not know what the final outcome will be [obviously] and one has never seen ‘one’ before, it can be, difficult if you chose; only in the sense that if you are a ‘I need to see it first’ kind of person. If not, bespoke features for a garden are one off, special, specific, of true splendour and yours [and yours only].

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the pink boat – the finalé

peter donegan.... wondering sometimes why I didn't choose an easier garden design

when I started this journey some people laughed. I was happy they smiled, how or why is irrelevant I suppose. Maybe some people thought I did this garden for some alternate reasons or other [?]. I didn’t. I had no sponsor. I had no money. I just had a dream to create. I still have. I also have the greatet friends who were willing to help me and drop everything just to see this journey complete. I call them the thank you so so much list and to you all, I am eternally greatful.

I just wanted to bring recycling to its ultimate level and show it didn’t need to be all dirty, muddy and somewhat hippy-esque to be involved in. I think I did? The response from the public was overwhelming! It almost made me cry I was so happy, because of their [your] response. It was also a child-like vision and like a sort of ‘drop dead fred’ style thing in my mind. I hope it never leaves me. But I still felt that the garden wasn’t really ‘accepted’.

I can’t describe the feeling when Rick spoke to me live on the airwaves. Not so much that but the response from the public, in their thousands. Thank you all. [I’ll publish this list after; it really deserves a post to itself].

And so it was narrowed down to one call from Siobhán from The Electric Picnic. She explained to me that the pink boat, my dream, would have a home for life where people could meet, a landmark of sorts. Respect and an apt retire had been found. A final resting place… and in my head I pictured this video… I think it summises the journey of Pour l’amour de Jeux from its creation and how it felt inside my mind at its journeys end… thank you.



UPDATE: siobhán has donated 2 VIP passes to ELECTRIC PICNIC. The money I will get for them will go towards my trip with the garden of hope & the Niall Mellon Township – make me an offer….. ?

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the pink boats berth-day bloom 2008[9]

the video…