Ann the “Gardening Girl’ is from Nebraska. Chris is a transplanted British landscape consultant.
Two Projects we Designed & Built
Together, we have many years of experience. We have both spent much of our working lives designing, building and managing beautiful landscapes.
Creating and managing these wonderful landscapes is lots of work. It is a fun, very rewarding occupation.
Our work has encompassed, small and large gardens, roof gardens, city parks, streets, shopping centers, schools, golf courses, museums, estates even the odd museum and royal palace.
Press Day at Chelsea
Using many traditional materials. Such as natural stone, water, metals, bricks and timber.
Or incorporating more modern materials, such as glass, fiberglass, lighting, mirrors, and irrigation.
Treated Timber Trellis prior to staining
Working with nature is often a challenge. The weather frequently disrupts how a project progresses.
Materials sometimes act in unpredictable ways. Achieving a constant quality finish is the true art of the craftsmen.
Moon Gate
We invite you to come take a look with us. See what is possible.
I was taught from an early age that :                           “Quality is remembered long after the price has been paid.”
Landscape Knowledge Is all about people. People who are passionate about their environment, their gardens & landscapes. Along with the experts that helped to create them.
Ann & Chris discuss traditional landscapes. Trends, techniques, plants and materials from across the globe. Our many years of experience has produced a wealth of knowledge. As well as pictures and ideas for you to enjoy. We have included a growing list of interviews with colleagues and other experts.
Here are some examples of what you can find within these pages :
We all have moments that become pivotal in our lives. Setting us on a course that sets us on the journey to …….
Mine was learning to sail around the age of 9 years – well 8 years if you include the first time I went sailing. In what appeared to be a very slow gaff rigged, slow sailing boat.
Being shipped off to boarding school at a tender age. My father was a merchant ships Captain.
The school had a lake with a mixed fleet of dinghies. I learned to sail first in a Cadet – a small but lively dinghy you could race. Of course, we did with some success.
The school also had quite faster ‘Enterprise’s ‘ which provided a very pleasant afternoons racing, not to mention quite a workout…
Progressing to 420’s a much more modern design and an impressive workout. I preferred to helm, flying around on a trapeze whilst fun was a sure way to get soaked.
On leaving school, the opportunity to sail diminished somewhat until a friend who Ocean sailed invited me to crew on a Contessa 32, suddenly sailing became serious, a superb yacht with great handling characteristics, a rather steep new price back in 1979. A vessel still going strong today..
Field Hockey
When sailing wasn’t possible I played grass Hockey across London for over 25 years…it was a different level of energetic playing from September until April with tournaments across Europe in the summer, my favorites were trips to Hamburg and Amsterdam, although I did arrange one to Lyon which was a little different.
On moving to the USA in 1999, it took me a little while to rediscover lake sailing.- Lakes here are much larger , with commensurately larger sailing boats. It’s way more fun and convenient.
Sailboat Racing
Sailing over the weekend, a pastime that is both enjoyable, exciting, fun and yet very calming. The winds were as always very variable, around 10 mph gusting to perhaps 20mph – sufficient to heel our boat, driving her forward quickly.
“Stiletto” – our Capri 25
The question is – how long can you keep the cocktail upright?
On a more peaceful run down the lake we talked about ‘Those Moments that stand out in your life”
Sedate Sailing
We still own ‘Stiletto’ but have added a rather more salubrious Catalina 28. ‘Quinley’ has many more creature comforts as our ages march onward. A galley, showers, a wheel, bimini, open transom, inboard diesel power, hot and cold pressurized water. all manner of instruments. Recently new sails and a bowsprit…
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Work
When we reached work moments, some were amusing. I was asked to write them down. So here are a few. Let me know what you think ?
During college days we, that is the student committee – I was Social Secretary, liked to produce lighthearted pranks from time to time. Being Social Secretary it fell to me to help create, vet and often implement said pranks..
We often had outside groups visit the college for talks, or demonstrations or even just to visit.
This particular day, the Women’s Institute was coming for some reason, the day was warm and sunny, so the night before we decided to ‘decorate’ a crab apple on the lawn just outside the main house.
When the coach arrived the next morning the ladies were confronted with a new strain of ornamental fruiting tree – “The Spaghetti Tree” was fully covered with over 20 lbs of the very best spaghetti, soaked for 10 mins and boiled until soft enough to adorn the tree. The tree was also attracting a large colony of birds who took particular liking to the delicious fare.
Many pictures were taken of this phenomenon as a sign explained the tree only fruited once every 12 years !
This spurred on to more things horticultural, so a few weeks later yet another plant was discovered , this time outside the refectory a paving slab had been pushed up and a new strain of oak tree had emerged – Quercus australis inverta was indeed a site to see, this Upside Down Australian Oak Tree had it’s trunk buried in the ground with a full compliment of roots spreading out to a height of 5ft.
Some years later I came across this amazing tree…the Andansonia
Ann & Chris have been busy preparing a new series of podcasts for you all to enjoy.
We have interviews with experts in the field of sustainability, recycling, food production, hydroponics and aquaponics. Our list of author interviews is growing all the time, we’ve recently added children’s book authors connected with nature.
In our second interview discussing the changing market for Garden Centers.
Ann visits Paris, France to talk to Valerie Langendorff, President of a Women’s Garden Executive Club.
Valerie looks at Garden Centers from the ladies perspective in France. Her ladies group have identified a number of interesting trends..
Women make 70% of the purchase decisions.
Currently 90% of Garden Centers are managed by men.
Their Executive Club have developed an annual awards program judged by women.
Ladies nights are arranged in the Garden Center – in our earlier interview we heard that a Garden Center in Switzerland had ‘Pole Dancing’ nights for ladies, as a way to exercise !
They have an award for the most women friendly Garden Center.
They have discovered that women like innovation more than men……
You can listen to this fascinating interview here or on iTunes
It’s not often you find a garden that was founded in 1673.
The Apothecaries’ Garden.
Ann was on a trip to Europe recently and dropped in on the beautiful Chelsea Physic Garden on the side of the River Thames in London.
The gardens purpose was to train apprentices in identifying plants. Located close to the river Thames created a warmer microclimate, significantly increasing the many non-native plants that could be grown.
In 1700 the garden had started an international botanic garden seed exchange system, which continues to this day.
The gardens cover some four acres. They are leased on what is known as a peppercorn rent in perpetuity.
They are with out doubt one of London’s secret ‘gems’ and thoroughly worth a visit.
The gardens mission ” Linking people with plants and nature”
The interview starts with Ann talking for around 8 minutes to a group of school children on a field trip, the gardens have over 100 such visits a year.
Ann then talks to Michael a very knowledgeable and extremely helpful member of staff. We kept all the typical inner city sounds on the recording – the enthusiasm of the children is very heartening.
Integrated pest management is the preferred method of bug control…
They have a project called “Shelf Life’ it is just an incredible way to show children where their food comes from
A few years ago I read a paper about how grasses ‘moved’ to music, then I read about the effects of harmonious sounds on plant growth.
Just using white summer bedding is very effective in such a large garden
Why do I mention this, well a few weeks ago we were talking about Tesla and his discoveries, which led us to talking about vibrations, sound waves, force fields etc., then a strange thing happened.
Ann and I interviewed a wonderful lady landscape architect Jan Johnsen, about her new book “Heaven is a Garden” we talked a little about how at a very young age she discovered during a science fair competition – which against all the odds she won – the effects early morning birds singing have on plants. The sound waves, which are similar to a violin stimulate a plant to open its stomata taking in carbon-dioxide to help it grow quicker.
Fushia
Jan has written a new book called Heaven is a Garden, it’s a really fascinating and informative read. Jan has ‘connected’ the dots so as to speak, between the natural world and our emotions. How the Four Winds are important when laying out a space,the careful use of curves, and my favorite Golden Rectangles and the Divine Proportion. – Phi is the mathematical proportion ( 1 : 1.618) we see in every natural form. Using this proportion ensures a sense of harmony in any outdoor space that contains it. I’ve always tried to use these proportions in my designs.
Jan then talks about Trees – natures rechargers as she puts it… The Celts called it shunnache, the Hindu tree devas, and Greek dryads…the Japanese consider the health giving properties of trees the basis of a medical therapy called ‘ forest bathing’ .
Jan then discusses the magnetic attraction in a Zen garden – rocks in these gardens reflect a deep understanding of the geomagnetic properties of stone and its impact on a place.
“A rare moment of peace in the perfect haven of a garden brings us renewed harmony with nature”
A little more adventurous, next to a small pond.
Today as the weather here in the Mid West is again unusually British – it’s ‘Raining Again’ I thought it might be fun to see what happens when you oblige a client and work in the rain..
The destination for the path
So the four are indeed ‘Wet’ at first, it’s really counter productive as it takes even longer to clean up the mess created and even longer to return a site to attractive…
Ok your turn !
and after a little horticultural magic…this project featured in ‘ A Vision of Britain’
After working a little magic !
Here’s another one :-
Using a 4in1 bucket on a bobcat
This one required weeks to dry out before we could even start to develop the hard play surface inside the stockade.
This next one was really challenging.. how the builder left the site..
Before
How we left the garden sometime later.
Brick edged, bound gravel wearing surface
If you would like to subscribe to this series please just complete a contact form or send us an email to chris@chriscoope.com
We will be producing an ebook that will have many more observations , ideas , examples from the past 30 years of landscaping.
“A rare moment of peace in the perfect haven of a garden brings us renewed harmony with nature”
A Growing Trend – is coming on a plant safari with us, to find those plants you need for our ideas…. it’s fun, it’s friendly and it’s great exercise….
First another in our series of before and after garden pictures –
Survey time in the garden
Completed project, with garden ‘opened up’ and pool filled in.
It’s amazing what a little planting can do..
or maybe like this…
How do I do this ?
Today’s pictures highlight the benefit of having a good designer when it comes to making changes…. You can see the ‘Before’ and then the ‘After’ in the pictures.
First the walls and steps are constructed
then the terrace and walls are constructed, finally the lawn and landscape.
Adding colour to a garden brings it alive !
We’ve started to take a ‘Hands On’ approach and show clients how to buy plants, how to place them and then how to plant them for maximum effect… it’s fun, it’s friendly and it’s good exercise now its time to enjoy …..
“A rare moment of peace in the perfect haven of a garden brings us renewed harmony with nature”
Ann and I are going to produce a series of short daily articles that highlight
“A rare moment of peace in the perfect haven of a garden brings us renewed harmony with nature”
Today’s is a roof garden.
Some years ago, well alright 30 years ago we were asked to design and create a roof garden for a packaging company,
We had always designed to a module which enables you to replicate easily. In this case we took molds of rock faces and made some fiberglass containers that were deep enough to act as planters. This extra depth enabled the plants to really take root and grow, it also prevented the roots from interfering with the roof’s drainage system
Send us an email to Landscape Knowledge.com if you would like to be added to our mailing list of interesting articles
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