Vialii Review of 2013

Happy new year to all our lovely readers. As we move forward into 2014, we take a moment to have a review of 2013 and some of the highlights for Vialii and the trends that we saw…

Review of 2013: A lovely visit to the Royal Botanic Gardens Edinburgh in 2013

A lovely visit to the Royal Botanic Gardens Edinburgh in 2013

The year of the garden room

2013 saw our clients wholeheartedly embrace the outdoor room. From designer offices to simpler summerhouses we had several clients wanting to introduce outdoor living areas into their gardens. One of our favourites was this custom built garden pod which provided shelter from the rain and prevailing wind whilst still making you feel part of the garden. And with two more garden rooms already lined up for 2014 this trend doesn’t look like it’s going away…

The garden "pod" is a great focal point in this garden as well as somewhere to shelter from the weather

The garden “pod” is a great focal point in this garden as well as somewhere to shelter from the weather

The year “Lulu’s Garden” launched

Our very own Lulu started up her own gardening blog for our sister company Vialii Garden Services in 2013. She puts us at VGD to shame with her regular, fun and educational blogs on all aspects of gardening. Click here to catch up on what’s happening in Lulu’s Garden…

Lulu's Garden Blog

Lulu launched her own blog, all about fun and interesting things to do in (or related to) the garden

The year of the Community Garden

2013 saw us being involved in two community garden projects. Our design of Provost’s Park in Bridge of Allan finally came to life in October and we completed our designs for the Jupiter Urban Wildlife Garden too. It was an honour to be involved in both projects and we look forward to spending time in both gardens in 2014.

The construction of our Provost's Park design got underway in 2013

The construction of our Provost’s Park design got underway in 2013

The year of the Vialii team

Our talented Vialii team sprouted new buds and grew well in 2013. Corrie and Gordon were joined by Neil on the maintenance side while both Connor and Kenny came on board for VGD in 2013. Jill also officially joined Michael working in the business in 2013 and with Lulu busily blogging away, Vialii became a true family business. We look forward to the team growing from strength to strength in 2014.

The Vialii team on a well earned night out

The Vialii team on a well earned night out

The year of upcycling

From a garden in Glasgow featuring lots of upcycled items, our own upcycled products made from old pallets to the “Upcycled Garden” for the Scottish Wildlife Trust, 2013 was the year for making the most of what you had.

Bespoke garden planters made from upcycled pallets

Bespoke garden planters made from upcycled pallets

The year of the garden visits

Well to be honest, every year is packed full of garden visits at Vialii Towers and 2013 was no exception. From Glendoick and Branklyn to Logan and Alnwick we had our fair share of wonderful gardens in 2013, not to mention the wonderful centenary of the Chelsea Flower Show.

Lulu providing a tour of Logan Botanic Gardens

Lulu providing a tour of Logan Botanic Gardens

The year of artificial turf

We laid many new lawns with artificial turf last year – whilst it may not be everyone’s cup of tea, the quality these days is great and can be a wonderful solution for gardens with issues with soil and light and for those with children and/or dogs.

Artificial turf can transform an area where real grass struggles

Artificial turf can transform an area where real grass struggles

The year of the sunshine

OK, the start of the year was pretty miserable but who cares when we get such a glorious summer?! The long, hot sunny days were wonderful for sitting enjoying gardens but also a lovely change when working outside building them too! Here’s hoping to a repeat in 2014!

An escape to the beach in the glorious summer of 2013

An escape to the beach in the glorious summer of 2013

So, there you have it, 2013 in a nutshell (or a blog!) Here’s hoping that 2014 is as much fun.

Happy 2014 everyone.

From all at Vialii

Transformers – Gardens in Disguise! Part 3

You loved Part 1 of our Before & Afters feature. And you adored Part 2 of our garden make-overs. So we are back with the third installment in our ever popular feature on our garden transformations. Below are some of our recent projects with our clients’ favourite feature – the before and after photographs!

A city retreat, Edinburgh

Before: with the old garage removed, the garden needed to be restored

Before: with the removal of the garage, the garden badly needed tackling

Before: with the removal of the garage, the garden badly needed tackling

 

After: two new patios, two water features, a dry-stane seat and new planting all combined to transform this garden into a peaceful haven in the city.

After: garden transformations for the clients and the wildlife to enjoy

After: a garden for the clients and the wildlife to enjoy

A low maintenance garden in Stirling

Before: A waterlogged garden with no focal points

Before: a waterlogged garden with no focal points

Before: a waterlogged garden with no focal points

After: A dining patio, evening patio with pergola, new veg area, standing stone water feature, wildlife friendly planting and artificial grass all transformed this garden.

After: all parts of the garden were now usable

After: all parts of the garden were now usable

A front garden makeover, Stirling

Before: This front garden was really difficult to access and maintain

Before: poor access and difficult to maintain

Before: poor access and difficult to maintain

After: The garden was given a make-over with a sandstone cobble path combining with a curving gravel path and lush green planting.

After: even in a small garden journeys can be created and interest added

After: even in a small garden journeys can be created and interest added

A contemporary courtyard garden, Larbert

Before: This back garden had terrible drainage problems and was overlooked.

a waterlogged and overlooked garden

a waterlogged and overlooked garden

After: A new drain along with fencing, patios, a bespoke water feature and feature shrubs transformed the space.

contemporary fencing encloses this garden whilst still exposing the historic wall

contemporary fencing encloses this garden whilst still exposing the historic wall

If you are interested in having your own garden designed, click here to contact us for a free design consultation.

Thanks for reading.

All at Vialii