Alan came out and immediately had a warm, funny and personable manner. It became clear in a few minutes why a lot of the nation thought of him so fondly. He has a strong plant knowledge and a design technique that is very client centred. Alan's ethos is that he is a gardener who does a bit of design rather than the other way round.
In these days of designers like Martha Schwartz creating bright bleak areas of resin bonded gravel I wonder whose designs will stand the test of time? Whether Alan's or Martha's will look dated in 10 years? I think I can answer it now but I'll leave you to draw your own conclusions.
I saw Martha Schwartz interviewed by Tim Richardson at the Chelsea fringe this summer. At the Q and A afterwards someone asked why she did so little planting? She was clearly flustered by the question and gave some excuse about not getting funding or maintenance. I would imagine her fees aren't that cheap either.
In a recent Channel 4 series with Kevin Mc Cloud she was interviewed about the success of her amphitheatre design on the ex mining town of Castleford in West Yorkshire. Surely if people don't feel included and consulted in their public space they won't feel a pride and ownership of it. Her amphitheatre seemed very popular with local dogs but not many humans! Martha makes the point that just because everyone has an opinion doesn't make them an expert, she's the artist and one of the queens of landscape architecture.
In contrast Alan professes that it's your garden and should be filled with features and vistas that bring you pleasure.
They are both interesting points and as a future designer I will try to find my own path. That may be less fashionably closer to Alan than Martha, but it may be easier to leave my ego at the door into the consultation and gain a real understanding of what the client wants from THEIR garden.
