Peter Thomas to Niall Hobhouse
Thank you for inviting me to what was a very entertaining and thought provoking evening. It is certainly the first time I have been hissed by such an illustrious company.
The idea that a garden designer might not actively work as a gardener seems to evoke quite strong reactions at times. Perhaps its because we neither boast the status of architects/landscape architects, nor do we feel the need to boast the presence of dirt under our finger nails. Although many garden and landscape designers begin their careers ‘in the potting shed’, and indeed many still do actively participate in the building and maintenance of gardens, your presumption that you need a ‘gardener’ at this early stage may be I feel restricting.
Your mother seemed to strongly disagree with my notion that at the end of the day my clients ‘own’ the gardens I design. That is not to say that I don’t feel a continuing connection with the gardens I design. I merely assert that part of my function as a garden designer is to bridge the gap between my clients and their gardens, to create a connection which allows them to enjoy the space created. Where that leads is a personal journey.
The small number of submissions you have recieved so far may be connected with the way the competition is framed. There is an implication in the competition guidelines that you are looking for a live in gardener to ‘fill’ the spaces. I know from listening to you last night that you are seeking to caste your net far wider than that in the search for ideas. My own perseption of the situation is that you would not have gone to such great effort if you were not searching for your own ‘way into’ the garden as its owner. I hope that the choice of a successful plan will not be unduly biased by the need for a live-in gardener. If you have the right connection with the resulting design, a suitably qualified gardener to service the garden will in all likelihood find you.
As a potential competitor, I am more interested in your feelings about the space. You have already made what appears to be a lunge at the project borne out of frustration at the layers of history which were powerful, and visibly deteriorating. I would have enjoyed the challenge of searching for a useable thread that could provide some historical linkage. Nevertheless, nature and designers abhor a vacuum so even if you do nothing, your garden will at least be colonised and reclaimed by the living landscape in which it is located.
As a garden designer, I applaud the opportunity you are offering and as you said last night, if I dont like FOA’s layout ‘See if you can do better’ is the challenge!