Yardstick in the media

Interview on ABC 2's Australia Wide, 9 May 2006

Producer: Chris Barker

Continuing our series on the Milennials or Generation Y’ers who’re making their mark in the workforce, today it’s two designers whose focus is in the garden. Not that they get their hands dirty!

Transcript:

Pete Adley:
I’m Peter Adley and this is Gavin Lawrence and together we have a business called Yardstick Garden Design and Art.

It obviously starts with a client feeling that they have the need for a garden designed. They have some problems or issues. It is generally we get called in to a tough site where people have trouble dealing with the issues they have in their garden. We try and deal with those problems and give people a practical and creative solution to the issues they have and allow them to use their garden in a better manner so they can really enjoy it.

Gavin Lawrence:
There is a misconception that garden designers actually do the landscaping and gardening but Peter and I decided that we would focus on the creative side and pass the landscaping, the gardening side to somebody else to do.

PA:
Sometimes we will walk into a garden and do a consultation where we will walk in and sit around and talk about the garden and how to improve it for a couple of hours. Sometimes we do a rough sketch. And we do everything through to final plans. And with those final plans we have done very large gardens, small ones but very expensive ones with lots of features and great materials.

GL:
There is a process that we follow to make it easier for ourselves and easier for the client. At concept one stage we talk about special layout, about where things should be; the entertainment area, the bbq, clotheslines etc.

PA:
Essentially the process involves us going there and meeting the client and talking to them initially. Then we measure up the site and survey it so we can draw it to scale. We then sit down and chat to the client and figure out exactly what they do and don’t want, what they do and don’t like what they would like to see what they would like to see. We then take that away and draw it up to scale and then Gavin and I sit down in front of the board and come up with creative concepts essentially. We build it up from there so that the client understands what we have in our minds. It starts off with a rough sketch and then we add more detail to that.

GL:
Then we come back to the drawing board and we look at the colours and textures of plants, different materials, where a focal point should be, things like that. And then we present that to the client and once the clients are happy with colours, materials, plants etc then we move on to a final plan.

We are very passionate with what we do so we make sure that our plans are very detailed so clients can understand the plan view, which is from helicopter view, right down. Also when we pass it over to the landscapers if it is easier for them to understand then it creates a good relationship between the two parties.

PA:
which is probably why we go to so much detail because we want to make its perfect for what we are thinking it should be like and this is often difficult to explain on a plan. We give construction detail as well, as well as the plan, especially for the contractor. And there is also all the plants as well; their botanical names, their positions, their spacing, numbers required, that sort of thing and of course things to help you read the map north point, legends, keys, that sort of thing.

We have to understand the building of the thing, we have to understand how it is built, what is available on the market is a very big thing as well. And understanding material; lengths and width and dimensions so that we can construct things within reasonable parameters so landscapers don’t have to a lot of work cutting and jiggling, fitting things in.
So we of course have to understand plants – all of their names, needs, requirements, their requirement s in a group – their fertilizing regimes for example. You need to have an artistic background as well to understand how things look together, how things go together. There is a huge range. We also need to understand architecture so that we can blend the garden with the house.

GL:
Apart from garden design Peter and I are very interested in temporary installation for festivals. And we have done some work with a festival called WOMADELAIDE

Tania Nugent:
Right now I am standing in the secret garden

GL:
We were asked to create a VIP area where we brought in plants and different features to create a nice environment for the VIP’s to enjoy. And we have been asked to come back so I think we have done something right.

PA:
The great reward is standing in the space that you have designed and it feels right, as opposed to when you look at it on paper and you know it is going to be right, and you have got a clear image in your mind because you have been working on it for so long and thinking about it so hard, but actually standing in a garden that has been built and feeling it and knowing the special relationships are good and feel right is a wonderful experience.