Thomas Houghton Gardens

My new Logo, Blog and website right this way.....

After completing my garden design course it was time to lavish some attention on creating a more distinct, professional and interesting company image.  My previous 'logo' was far from cutting edge or even interesting.  It had the Ronseal effect ''does what it says on the tin'' but it was boring to look at and easily forgettable.

T.H Landscapes

Garden Construction & Maintenance

I did some research into Branding companies and the sort of work they can offer and the benefits of using these services.  It is often the creativity involved in creating a new brand that is focused on.  True, you need to be creative in order to design an original and intelligent brand.  What is more important however, is the technical process that goes into analysing the market, your product, and the best way to sell the product to your customers.  This was all beyond my powers and I thought it wise to invest in a company that were professionals and knew what they were doing.

This is where Kipper came in.  They are a branding company based close to my hometown of Haywards Heath in West Sussex.  Looking at their previous projects and talking with the owner David Tingley, I really felt they were the company that best understood what I was looking for and could create a brand that was not only exciting and distinct but also right for me and my company.  They have been fantastic throughout the whole process, from development of the logo, through to getting all of my business stationary designed and printed.  The quality of all their work has been to a fantastic standard and is everything and more that I could have hoped for.

It is with great pleasure I can unveil my new logo for Thomas Houghton Gardens.

This blog is now on the move as well.  After creating the new logo and stationary, Kipper have also designed and built my new company website.  After a year and a half on this blog account I am moving to the new website for my blogging!  For all my followers I thank you for your continued reading and hope you join me at....

www.thomashoughtongardens.co.uk

The new website looks and feels great.  It lists the ranges of services we provide and pictures of previous completed work.  It also allows you to contact us if you have any enquiries and follow us on different Social Networks to keep up to date with all that is going on at Thomas Houghton Gardens.

Once again I look forward to seeing you all on the new blog soon and again my thanks go to Stephen and David at Kipper for all their hard work over these past couple of months.  I look forward to seeing you all on the new blog soon.

Regards, Thomas Houghton

Sheffield Park Gardens - a beautiful Autumn visit

As the Autumn Season is well and truly here beautiful days out are becoming less and less frequent.  This morning the sun rose over Haywards Heath in West Sussex revealing a gorgeous, clear and sunny but chilly day.  With not a cloud in the sky and a small gap in my schedule before my next landscaping job, today gave me a prime opportunity to visit one of my favourite National Trust Gardens.  As it is only a ten minute drive away from my home I dusted off my Canon 450D, got in the car and took a well earn't trip to see what pictures I could capture of this glorious time of year.

Sheffield Park Gardens is a magnificent informal landscape garden.  It was originally laid out in the 18th Century by the iconic 'Capability' Brown and was developed further in the early 20th Century by its current owner at the time, Arthur G Soames.  The original garden was based around four lakes that form the main centerpiece of the gardens.  The grand cascade has to be one of my favourite places to get spectacular views accross the main lake.  The autumn colour is starting to appear and you also get a beautiful view back towards part of the original house.  Sheffield Park Gardens is definitely one to visit with the family or that special loved one, with different year round attractions.  There are dramatic shows of daffodils and bluebells in Spring and the rhododendrons and azaleas are spectacular in the early part of summer.  Autumn and winter brings stunning swathes of beautiful copper and aurbun tones from the surrounding rare trees and shrubs.

Anyone looking for more information on opening times and directions to the gardens can visit the new webpage that is currently being worked on to give it a more modern and up to date feel.  Also if you are one of the many millions of Apple i Phone users there is a great little app available from The National Trust that will make finding gardens near you even easier.  

Visit:  http://www.beta.nationaltrust.org.uk/home/item273215/   

 http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main/w-vh/w-visits/iphone.htm 

                    

Happy garden hunting!

Landscaping in West Sussex-Simple Design for a Rear Garden

Another day and another job is complete at Thomas Houghton Gardens, based in West Sussex.   This rear garden benefited from a simple design and it incorporated an idea the client had in mind already.  The brief was simple....

• Re level the uneven lawn that was difficult to mow
• Remove the old gravel island in the lawn and create a raised gravel bed to one side of the plot that gave good views from the kitchen window 
• Create a solid strimming edge around the lawn 
• Replace the old boundary fence with a new taller and sturdier close boarded fence

Here are a few pictures of the job, before, during and after....

Office Treats

As a reward for completing my course at The Oxford College of Garden Design I have treated myself to a few items that will help with up and coming projects for my new Garden Design and Construction business based in West Sussex.

The new 27'' I Mac is a clear choice among designers, architects and any others needing a powerful computer that can handle large CAD/ 3D Design files.  With masses of power it will out perform many of its PC rivals and makes many jobs simpler, quicker and easier, no waiting around for large files to update, or 3D models being apparently cut in half while being edited, which can happen when creating large Google Sketchup files.  The large 27 inch screen also increases your workspace and allows easy viewing of work, and multi tasking with different programmes running together.

As a second weapon to my inventory, I have also upgraded from my Vectorworks Student license to the full version of Vectorworks Landmark 2010.  Although a free 1 year student license trial is fantastic for getting to grips with the software, when it comes to running a business, a full license is definitely required.  It removes watermarks that are created on sheets in the student version and allows you to customise and keep all the symbols and plant information you create.  For more infomation on the benefits of Vectorworks for your business and to purchase your own copy visit the helpful people at http://www.vectorworks-training.co.uk/

My final purchase is Google Sketchup Pro 8.  Differences between the Pro version and free versions are vast.  The Pro version is a lot more intuative and interavtive with other programmes.  You are able to create files and export them between other design packages such as Vectorworks.  There is also the ability to directly import land survey files, saving hours of times and effort drawing up boundaries and trying to correctly plot existing levels, services and existing features.  A couple of neat new features include:

• Model geo-location with Google Maps
• Color imagery and more accurate terrain
• Powerful programme  Layout and Style Builder

To conclude, my new I Mac and computer software that go with it will be great added tools to my buisness, helping with projects both present and future.

Bulldog Hand Tools- Tough enough for the landscapers

Through my years of work Landscaping in West Sussex, I have lost count of the numbers of forks, spades shovels and rakes I've taken out for a days work and have sadly never made it back home.  Whether its a handle snapping because its made of a low quality piece of timber, or the metal weldings have sheared and split, either way the numbers are well into the double figures.  I'm a strong lad and work my tools hard but to add insult to injury the tools aren't cheap to start with so you would expect a reasonable amount of reliability, durability and strength, however this is generally not the case!

But wait, have you heard of Bulldog Tools ?  I hadn't for a number years until someone in the landscaping community suggested I try a new brand of tools known for being robust, hardwearing, reliable and fantastic value for money  My first investment was a Grafting Shovel, with a long metal handle its generally used for digging fence post holes and gets a bit of abuse levering posts and lumps of stone in the ground.  True to reputation this tool has been a fantastic weapon of choice, it has done everything requiered and where previous predecessors  would bend and eventually snap, this tool has kept on going and going!

Since then, Bulldog has become my number one choice for where I go to buy any new hand tools.  The picture above is my two latest purchases the Irish Spade (left) and the Bulb planter (right).  The irish spade has been a fantastic little shovel, when times were tight digging footing trenches by hand, its compact handle and smaller head were pefect for getting in the tight spots where other shovels would have struggled, alternatively its a perfect  little shovel for turning over garden flowerbeds in the home enviroment.  The buld planter is for jobs in autumn/winter when buld planting will commence, this tool will be worth its weight in gold when it comes to planting over 2000 bulbs!

Whats Bulldogs secret to sucess I hear you ask?  Well their range of shovels, forks, spades and many others tools are nothing less than you would expect from this company thats been in buisness for over 200 years.  The use of high quality materials in production combined with years of expierence create and end product head and shoulders above the competition.  They cater for all types of people whether your a hobby gardener, a landscaper like myself or even in the public sector working with underground services like electricity.  Bulldog have many different ranges of tools to suit everyones needs.  Visit their website http://www.bulldogtools.co.uk/ for everything you and your garden could possibly want.

Rear Garden Rejuvenation

This rear garden had been given no love or attention for a long time.  This small space had mainly been used as a play area for the clients children.  However as the children are both growing up and no longer need a garden to play in , the clients wanted to reclaim it!

An awkward and meanly sized second terrace interrupted the feeling of the garden and created more un useable space shrinking the garden further.

Natural stone paving with brick on edge was used to revitalise the old patio.  The area where the raised terrace used to be was re leveled, allowing for an area to locate the BBQ away from the main dining terrace.  Throughout the rest of the garden the shrubs were trimmed up and flower beds had a mushroom compost mix added.  Edges were re defined thanks to the laying of a new lawn.

(Don't worry the football goal etc was re homed to the garage)

Bring Me The Horizion - Suicide Season

Bring Me The Horizion - Suicide Season

Bring Me The Horizion - Suicide Season - Cut Up

.....Its a girl!

Paige Wilcock -Born Wednesday 19.05.2010 6.1lb

Congratulations to my friends Dan and Becky on their beautiful little baby girl, nice one guys!

Garden Design & Construction West Sussex - Boi Project

A 3 story town house with North facing garden in West Sussex. Apart from early morning and late evening sun this garden is prodominantly in shade, cast from the house.  Due to this the lawn was patchy and would hold water for long periods of time.  The client was looking for a paved area to allow for better evening dining, and due to lengthy stays away from the home, was also looking for something with minimum maintenance.

The lawn was replaced with Indian Sandstone Paving, and close to the house a new drainage system was installed to collect and control the water run off.

A small town garden

The clients were looking to replace their old patio that had sunk and broken up over a number of years.  Being a small town garden we reduced the patio in size slightly as it was dominating the garden.  This also allowed the clients children a bit more valuable playing space. 

We replaced with a new natural stone paving to give the area a cleaner and more modern feel.  A recess cover was installed to allow to an un sightly manhole to be hidden in the lawn.
A new panel fence was also erected to replace and old fence that had seen better days.

Quit while your ahead...again!

TH Garden & Landscape Design...modern day hero?

Hello to all and Happy Easter. Spring is finally here! This is a just a quick blog to highlight the latest advertising campaign aimed at raising my company profile....my friends thought it would be a good idea and thanks for all their efforts! Please click on the link below and take 2 minutes out of your busy schedules to enjoy this video!

Bon Appetito!

http://en.tackfilm.se/?id=1270830808406RA79

Thomas Houghton Garden & Landscape Design,West Sussex

Sustainability bubbles....

The perfect partnership!

This week my new toy arrived..... in the form of a 3D Connexion mouse. To to be used in conjunction with popular 3D modeling programs such as Vectorworks Landmark and Google Sketchup. What are the benefits I hear you ask, well here are three reasons to make you consider buying one....

1.Increase Productivity: When working with one hand, you can either navigate your model or select commands. With a 3D mouse you can do both at once saving you valuable time.
2.Enhanced Comfort: Up to 50% fewer mouse clicks by spreading the workload across both hands.
3.Design Performance: Whether you’re working on a sketch or a complex 3D model, the superior navigation experience encourages levels of model exploration that are crucial to avoiding frustrating and costly design errors.

3D Connexion Mouse - http://www.3dconnexion.co.uk
Google Sketchup - http://sketchup.google.com/intl/en_uk/

Project Two Complete

Project 2 finito!Status update..awaiting final marks for Project 2, Timlines and Hardlandscape/Bespoke Portfolio

Project 2 Part 1 Complete Colour scans

As promised a couple of months ago here are the colour scans of my Project 2 work....still waiting to recieve my mark hopefully sometime this week. Enjoy.