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…
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 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 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 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 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
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
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
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
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
Vialii Review of 2012
As we venture into 2013 it’s time for a step back and a review of 2012. 2012 was an enormous year for Vialii Garden Design. On February 2nd the business was given an injection of youth and vitality when we welcomed aboard our newest ‘recruit’, our baby daughter Lulu Ann Burt.
A Japanese garden we designed and built in 2012
Life with Lulu
Lulu’s certainly livened up the business side of things although it has got us wondering what we did with our time before Lulu came on the scene. There have been adjustments to the way we operate but, to be honest, these have been for the better. Prior to Baby Burt we would utilise a lot of spare time doing business stuff. Now we prioritise our family time but ensure that we work cleverly with what other time we have in order to keep the business thriving.
Designing Gardens
Designing gardens allows us to meet some lovely people and this year has been no exception. Everybody is different as is every garden we have been asked to design, but the common theme has been an enjoyment of gardens and a desire to enjoy them more.
It’s been an incredibly busy year too with some twelve garden designs commissioned and nine garden builds undertaken which has been a challenging but rewarding. The weather hasn’t been particularly kind (1) and has hindered some of our projects but most of our challenges have been set by ourselves.
Our design for an Arts & Crafts garden in Perth
We have been commissioned to design gardens that have presented their share of difficulties in their own right whether they be sloping ground, incredibly boggy or out-and-out jungles (or all three in the case of one garden!). We have also endeavoured to stretch ourselves by included elements into our gardens that aren’t necessarily the most straightforward to build but represent a great solution to a particular problem.
The details at Glenwhan are superb…
Visiting Gardens
It hasn’t all been work though. We’ve visited our fair share of gardens too with our favourite probably being closely contested by An Cala on Seil Island near Oban and Glenwhan Gardens in Galloway.
Lovely wire sheep keeping the grass down at An Cala
All in all it has been a bumper year and we hope it continues. We’d like to thank all our clients for entrusting us with their gardens and we hope they enjoy using them as much as we enjoyed designing and building them.
Looking Forward To 2013
Looking forward to 2013 our plan is to build on the successes of previous years and grow the business further and we’re looking forward to the challenges that come with that. We’re keen to bring motivated and skilled individuals on board in order that we can reduce the turnaround times on garden builds. Plus we’re honing our processes in the design office too.
We’re both excited about this year’s 100th anniversary Chelsea Flower Show and are confident it will be one of the best yet. Having missed it in 2012 due to Lulu arriving in town we are super keen to get there this year. It has it’s detractors and we can understand some of the criticisms it receives but it’s an amazing garden spectacle and is truly inspirational. We love it!
The Vialii Garden Design team!
Most of all we’re looking forward to spending more time in our own garden with our little Lulu. She spent a great deal of last year just watching us garden but this year we’re going to get her mucking in. It’ll be a blast!
May this coming year be a prosperous one for you all.
Speak soon,
Michael, Jill & Lulu
1. This may be regarded as the understatement of the year but we endeavour not to bemoan what our climate throws at us too much. We live in Scotland after all and with that comes weather. As they say “There’s no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothes”.