marks hall  -  06 / 03 / 10. Walk around Marks Hall in Essex. The planting was very beautiful in places, next to the lake birches and red barked dogwood are planted, which contrast beautifully with each other and are reflected in the water. In the woodland snow drops were out as where wood anamones and celendines.

"The Walled Garden covers two acres and was built in the C18th. It is unusual in that it is open to the lake on one side. Once completely overgrown and neglected the Trust decided to mark the 100th anniversary of Mr. Phillps Price’s acquisition of Marks Hall by creating a contemporary series of gardens to make this the summer focal point of the Arboretum. The magnificent double border is nearly 450 feet long and the five terraced gardens are designed to appeal to all ages with vibrant planting, which provides a procession of colour throughout the summer. The Duchess of Devonshire officially opened the Walled Garden on 1st July 2003."

The walled garden in winter.

Betula utilis and cornus alba, next to the lake. the contrasting colours really work together.

The walled garden was closed when we went for maintenance work. It is closed every winter as the planting is supposed to be purely intended for the summer. However we took a quick peek and I thought it was a real shame to write it off for half of the year. The beech hedges keep movement texture and some colour the garden and the sinuous curving walls reflect the silver winter light beautifully. I really enjoyed the visit especially after having been in the city for so long - you can really appreciate the changes in seasons in the country.

http://www.markshall.org.uk/map_of_marks_hall

Time lapse similar to the time lapse of japanese knotweed i found on the BBC website. I love the way you can see the days going by, by the shadows. For my final in art foundation I was looking at the way things grow, and I planted beans in a custom made perspex box, so you could see the growth of roots and leaves. In the final exhibition I displayed the perspex box with five canvases and three pint glasses with conkers at different rates of growth. I found the project very interesting.

05 - February - 2010

Brit Insurance Design of the Year 2010 winner was MIn-Kyu Choi with his Folding Plug. below video for 2009 Brit insurance design of the year (winner - unofficial Barack Obama poster, by Shepard Fairey.) Below Alex Newson, the curator of the exhibition at the Design Museum, walks through the exhibition.

http://designmuseum.org/media/item/76046/2502/Dezeen-podcast-Designs-of-the-year-2010.mp3

Insect that fights Japanese knotweed to be released

"A tiny Japanese insect that could help the fight against an aggressive superweed has been given the go-ahead for a trial release in England."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/8555378.stm

BBC story about the introduction of a bug which kills japanese knotweed, which has become a major problem in the UK. I came across it during a project on the Wey and Arun canal where it was colonizing in the closed canals. On the website is a very cool time lapse video showing Japanese knotweed growing over 1m tall in only 3 weeks.

Ecobuild 2010

Earls court.

The usual products were on display this year, and I didn't spend long in the main hall, looking around. I did attend several interesting seminars though, including a series on  Urban planning and the public Realm. This included a series on the following: 'Making space for food', 'Incorporating trees' and 'Can healthier environments be designed?'

 Martin Kelly, managing director of  Capita Lovejoy chaired the series called 'Incorporating trees' which was interesting as he came to give talks on the same subject during a focus week at university, which I found really compelling. I am finding more and more that trees are a major consideration I have whilst designing a Landscape, and that there importance is becoming something that I am quite passionate about. 

"Trees are widely understood to be central to a better environment, and this seminar explores concerns and practicalways to include more trees in urban and peripheral environments, how they can mitigate urban heating, and how to manage their ongoing maintenance."  

The other Lectures which really had an impact where the series called 'Can healthier environments be designed?' in particular a seminar given by Rachel Hine, who is the Assistant Director, Interdisciplinary Centre for Environment and Society, University of Essex. She spoke about The therapeutic effect of nature, and the impacts on mental health, which is very relevant for me, as the title of the CS Essay (dissertation) I am writing at the moment is: Ecopsychology; The effect of nature and Landscape architecture on the human psyche. The research that has been done at the University of Essex by Rachel Hine is really interesting. What really interests me is the suprisingly strong correlation between the decrease in mental health in the UK and the rate of Urbanisation, indicating that people are healthier if they have easy access to green space.