In Perth, we are in a privileged postion regarding water supply.
In effect we have fresh water where there shouldn't be that much. We are on the edge of a huge desert, in a place where it may not rain for months, yet there seems to be no shortage of the stuff. This, as those in the know will tell you, is largely down to the aquifer way beneath the city, which is now being tapped at an extraordinary rate.
A natural resource to be tapped as if it was an oil well, some have said.
But this is no longer an infinite resource. Thanks to massive population growth, that well of plenty is being used up. It cannot and will not last.
Coming from a land that many regard as permanently wet, I am continually shocked by the wastage of water in WA. Despite my Northern European roots, I am well travelled throughout the world and have visited many "dry" lands in my time. Seeing how water is wasted here came as something of a shock. Visit the southern coasts of Spain and gasp in wonder at the barren land turned green by golf courses and parks. Visit Las Vegas, that city in the desert and marvel at a similar scene. This water has to come from somewhere. In Spain's case, it's from the mountainous regions that back the coast. There, rivers run dry & farm land turns to dust as a consequence. In Las Vegas, rivers that were previously torrents, now run dry before they reach the sea.
But because WA is not stealing from Peter to pay Paul, is that any reason to squander this valuable resource?
I'm sure we've all seen the reticulation (irrigation) systems pumping fresh water onto pristine, green lawns......and over paths, and streets and (I spotted last night) even straight down the storm drains. Add to that those that seem intent on ignoring the legislation and watering their gardens on any day of the week, often around 12 noon, which as we all know, is by far the best time to water (or so these people seem to think!).
Is this really the best use of a resource that other parts of the country would be crying out for?
Legislation for water rationing is in its infancy here and currently seems to lack any bite. On the rare occasions that there has been water rationing in the UK (yes, it does happen), people would be prosecuted for abusing the system.
And I'm afraid that's what has to happen here. Unpopular though this will be, the ONLY way that people are going to take the new legislation seriously, is to enforce it and to publicise that enforcement. Which means water patrols, in the same way that Rangers would patrol the streets to keep them safe.
Personally, I try to reduce the usage of water in any garden that I design. But we need plants and those plants need water, so I use plants (including WA natives) that can survive on little water during the dry season.
Water features are a common requirement in a garden design. Nothing is more soothing or cooling, on a hot day, than the sound of running water. Visit the Alhambra Palace in southern Spain, with a climnate very similar to WA, and you will hear the sound of running water almost everywhere you go. But little water is actually on display. Where is it? Well in the handrails of that staircase you just climbed, is one example. It is possible to get the beneficial effects of water without actually using that much.
Consequently, I hope, in the near future, to start manufacturing water features that are specifically designed to keep water loss to a minimum.
And don't forget the swimming pool. Evaporation from pools, of whatever shape or size, can be massive. Personally, I believe that pool covers should be compulsory, in exactly the same way as pool fences are.
And one final word for those that think I shouldn't just blame the gardener. I quite agree. Industry & leisure (both massive consumers of water) need to be similarly policed.
I often wonder why the local golf course needs its sprinklers on in mid afternoon!
Water is a valuable commodity. Please don't waste it !
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Saturday, January 16, 2010
So just how much is this garden going to cost to build?
This was always going to be a difficult question to answer.
In the UK it's comparatively easy. There is an annual publication called Spon's. In that you will find a price schedule for most jobs that you are likely to come across in landscaping, e.g. laying turf, laying stone paving, building walls etc etc.
Most contractors will refer to it when costing a job. Some will charge more than the quoted price (if they are in demand and/or very good at what they do), some will charge less (if they need the work). Location is sometimes a factor, but by and large the quotes that you receive will be about 10% either side of what a designer could sit down and work out themselves as the actual cost.
That simply does not happen in WA.
For a start there is no "Spons" to refer to. There is no recognised fee structure here. As I said to my first client, price is as variable as the wind and I couldn't possibly try to guess what a design would cost to build.
The second reason for this is due to the local economy. For those of you who are from further afield than Australia, WA is based on mining. Mining has been booming for the last 10 years on the back of the Chinese expansion. As a consequence, anyone who fancied a life in the outback, in exchange for a pretty healthy wage packet, could "go work in the mines". Tradies - electricians, carpenters, brickies, cooks have all been snapped up by the mining companies. As a consequence, those that are left (not everyone likes the idea of 12 hour days and 2 weeks on 2 weeks off - often living in a prefab) are often either very expensive or not very good.
So, there is a major skills shortage once the mines have mopped up the best.
Some landscapers can pretty much charge what they like, because they have a surfeit of work because the work that they do is of a good quality. Others, I have on good assurance, are simply crap at what they do.
Landscaping, unlike building, is unregulated here. Anyone can do it without any qualifications, licences or experience. And don't think being a member of a trade organisation is any recommendation. It isn't.
This is also true in the UK amongst tradesmen. Some that are not very good, often push to get into a Trade Organisation, hoping that a badge on their adverts and publicity will be taken as a guarantee of quality. Unfortunately it doesn't always work like that, but at least you have someone to complain to when things go wrong. Whether or not anything is done about it if you do complain is another matter.
This was confirmed to me when I put my first design out to tender. These quotes were not even for a complete garden, but for about 2/3rds of the build.
The first company didn't even bother submitting a quote. I chased them by mobile, landline and email and I never got a reply!
Company no. 2 quoted $50,000. A little over what I was expecting, which was $40,000.
The last company submitted just under $100,000!
With such a disparity in quotes, what chance has a designer got in costing a design for a client before the design is completed and put out to tender?
As a newcomer, I can't help feeling that the people here are getting ripped off by some tradesman. But then I don't have the mentality of a boom economy where most people have money (in some cases an awful lot of money!) and don't mind so much about the cost of things, because they can afford it.
In the boom period to 2007/8 the quality of some building work was appalling. I have a friend whose house is falling apart around him because the quality of labour and the quality control was so poor due to lack of skilled labour.
So the moral, please don't ask me to guesstimate the cost of a project. I can give you a rough idea but, when contractors charge what they think they can get away with, it really is anybody's guess.
So where do I go from here?
Setting up my own contracting company, I think.
At least that way I can dictate budgets as I design, rather than have them dictated to me after the design is completed!!
In the UK it's comparatively easy. There is an annual publication called Spon's. In that you will find a price schedule for most jobs that you are likely to come across in landscaping, e.g. laying turf, laying stone paving, building walls etc etc.
Most contractors will refer to it when costing a job. Some will charge more than the quoted price (if they are in demand and/or very good at what they do), some will charge less (if they need the work). Location is sometimes a factor, but by and large the quotes that you receive will be about 10% either side of what a designer could sit down and work out themselves as the actual cost.
That simply does not happen in WA.
For a start there is no "Spons" to refer to. There is no recognised fee structure here. As I said to my first client, price is as variable as the wind and I couldn't possibly try to guess what a design would cost to build.
The second reason for this is due to the local economy. For those of you who are from further afield than Australia, WA is based on mining. Mining has been booming for the last 10 years on the back of the Chinese expansion. As a consequence, anyone who fancied a life in the outback, in exchange for a pretty healthy wage packet, could "go work in the mines". Tradies - electricians, carpenters, brickies, cooks have all been snapped up by the mining companies. As a consequence, those that are left (not everyone likes the idea of 12 hour days and 2 weeks on 2 weeks off - often living in a prefab) are often either very expensive or not very good.
So, there is a major skills shortage once the mines have mopped up the best.
Some landscapers can pretty much charge what they like, because they have a surfeit of work because the work that they do is of a good quality. Others, I have on good assurance, are simply crap at what they do.
Landscaping, unlike building, is unregulated here. Anyone can do it without any qualifications, licences or experience. And don't think being a member of a trade organisation is any recommendation. It isn't.
This is also true in the UK amongst tradesmen. Some that are not very good, often push to get into a Trade Organisation, hoping that a badge on their adverts and publicity will be taken as a guarantee of quality. Unfortunately it doesn't always work like that, but at least you have someone to complain to when things go wrong. Whether or not anything is done about it if you do complain is another matter.
This was confirmed to me when I put my first design out to tender. These quotes were not even for a complete garden, but for about 2/3rds of the build.
The first company didn't even bother submitting a quote. I chased them by mobile, landline and email and I never got a reply!
Company no. 2 quoted $50,000. A little over what I was expecting, which was $40,000.
The last company submitted just under $100,000!
With such a disparity in quotes, what chance has a designer got in costing a design for a client before the design is completed and put out to tender?
As a newcomer, I can't help feeling that the people here are getting ripped off by some tradesman. But then I don't have the mentality of a boom economy where most people have money (in some cases an awful lot of money!) and don't mind so much about the cost of things, because they can afford it.
In the boom period to 2007/8 the quality of some building work was appalling. I have a friend whose house is falling apart around him because the quality of labour and the quality control was so poor due to lack of skilled labour.
So the moral, please don't ask me to guesstimate the cost of a project. I can give you a rough idea but, when contractors charge what they think they can get away with, it really is anybody's guess.
So where do I go from here?
Setting up my own contracting company, I think.
At least that way I can dictate budgets as I design, rather than have them dictated to me after the design is completed!!
So many new things to learn.....
Having trained and traded in the UK in Garden Design, I arrived in Perth in 2008.
Anyone who has moved long distances, let alone emigrated, will appreciate the turmoil that such a move can cause. It took me months to sort out accommodation, transport as well as all the technicalities of starting your own business....website, business cards, DL flyers, newspaper ads, tax number, business registration etc etc.
April 09 - I was pretty much ready to trade...ready for my first customer and just in time for Garden Week 09 in Perth, which is about as near as WA will get to the Chelsea Flower show....although it has more of a summer fete atmosphere really.
Garden Week provided some good publicity thru the newly formed WALDA (Landsacpe Design Assoc) stand. Members had also been given free stands in order to build show gardens. Almost the first time that this had happened. Unfortunately, I was too late to participate in the show gardens.
I had a couple of leads for design work from GW 09, but neither came to anything.
May - I was asked by a local Health Centre to design a planting plan as part of a planning application with the local council. It had to done by a qualified landscape designer or architect. I submitted a quote. I made it low coz I needed the money !
It went to someone else...who I later learnt had no design qualifications at all. This, I guess, could actually void any planning application made using plans by an unqualified person. I note that, 8 months on, nothing has been done to this garden.
First lesson - not everyone who calls themselves a garden or landscape designer has any design qualifications whatsoever. Some having qualifications and/or experience in horticulture. Some are contractors who SAY that they can design. Most of these people really don't have a clue about design. Very frustrating.
Rule 1 - Make sure your designer is qualified to do what he/she says they can do.
May to September - Many outdoor trades seem to go into hibernation at this time of year. I know one guy who goes on holiday every July and August, because nothing happens here. Consequently, despite having a website up and running and forking out hundreds of $s for advertising, I didn't have one enquiry! I was really beginning to despair by mid August. Money spent and nothing earned.
I volunteered to renovate a relative's garden. I really enjoyed it too. At that time of year the weather is just right and even when it rains it's usually only a brief shower. I even considered doing the job part time, when the design work wasn't happening. And garden renovation could easily lead to garden design work.
Only, I've now paid the price of doing long term manual work when I'm not used to it. One bad back and one wrecked shoulder and forking out $s to a physio to try to put it right. I'm still in pain 3 months after finishing the job, so bang goes THAT idea !!
September - I had 3 enquiries in a week! One has lead to a full design job, one is on hold until 2010 and one went nowhere !
Since then I have had a number of jobs, some in the more prestigious areas of Central Perth. None have been built yet. Many clients seem to want to do their own thing when it comes to building. Which is fine. They have paid for a detailed outline plan, a planting plan and plant list and, where appropriate, construction diagrams. They are free to do whatever they want with them...though I still hope to see the finished projects someday!
My first design project is due to be built in Feb 2010 and should be finished by Easter. It'll be the first completed project to go on my website.
Things I had to learn -
1. It's usually landscape design rather than garden design.
2. Due to WA quarantine laws, there is not the choice of plants available here that you could expect elsewhere in the world. Besides, not many plants could survive here anyway. 'Exotics' are mainly the standard "Mediterranean" plants such as strelitzia, plumbago, oleander, geraniums etc.
3. 'Hardy' does not necessarily mean frost hardy. It can mean wind and salt tolerant, to name but two.
4. The climate varies between long, hot dry summers and cool, VERY wet winters. When it rains here in the winter, it is positively monsoonal ! ....although I often have breakfast outside, even mid-winter (yes, I mean when it's not raining!). No frost at all along the coast and only a few days of frost inland...sometimes only 10 miles inland...and also up on the scarp. Salt laden winds near the coast in winter.
5. Non-Australian Natives are called 'exotics'.
6. WA has more plants native to that state than all the rest put together...so man is there alot of new flora to learn! I'm building my own database of WA Natives a...as well as all other plants available here.
7. Perth has 5 main soil types. Most of the soil here is limestone sand. It is highly alkaline. It has no nutrients and no water retaining qualities. It often forms a skin and water just runs off the surface. Go up onto the scarp and it's solid granite with very little top soil. You might as well be gardening on the moon !
8. The predominant building material here is limestone. Limestone bricks, limestone blocks, limestone paving, poured limestone (mixed crushed limestone and concrete). It's everywhere! And boy can it be bright when the sun comes out (which is most of the time). But it's one good quality, when it comes to paving, is that it doesn't get as hot as other materials.
Anyone who has moved long distances, let alone emigrated, will appreciate the turmoil that such a move can cause. It took me months to sort out accommodation, transport as well as all the technicalities of starting your own business....website, business cards, DL flyers, newspaper ads, tax number, business registration etc etc.
April 09 - I was pretty much ready to trade...ready for my first customer and just in time for Garden Week 09 in Perth, which is about as near as WA will get to the Chelsea Flower show....although it has more of a summer fete atmosphere really.
Garden Week provided some good publicity thru the newly formed WALDA (Landsacpe Design Assoc) stand. Members had also been given free stands in order to build show gardens. Almost the first time that this had happened. Unfortunately, I was too late to participate in the show gardens.
I had a couple of leads for design work from GW 09, but neither came to anything.
May - I was asked by a local Health Centre to design a planting plan as part of a planning application with the local council. It had to done by a qualified landscape designer or architect. I submitted a quote. I made it low coz I needed the money !
It went to someone else...who I later learnt had no design qualifications at all. This, I guess, could actually void any planning application made using plans by an unqualified person. I note that, 8 months on, nothing has been done to this garden.
First lesson - not everyone who calls themselves a garden or landscape designer has any design qualifications whatsoever. Some having qualifications and/or experience in horticulture. Some are contractors who SAY that they can design. Most of these people really don't have a clue about design. Very frustrating.
Rule 1 - Make sure your designer is qualified to do what he/she says they can do.
May to September - Many outdoor trades seem to go into hibernation at this time of year. I know one guy who goes on holiday every July and August, because nothing happens here. Consequently, despite having a website up and running and forking out hundreds of $s for advertising, I didn't have one enquiry! I was really beginning to despair by mid August. Money spent and nothing earned.
I volunteered to renovate a relative's garden. I really enjoyed it too. At that time of year the weather is just right and even when it rains it's usually only a brief shower. I even considered doing the job part time, when the design work wasn't happening. And garden renovation could easily lead to garden design work.
Only, I've now paid the price of doing long term manual work when I'm not used to it. One bad back and one wrecked shoulder and forking out $s to a physio to try to put it right. I'm still in pain 3 months after finishing the job, so bang goes THAT idea !!
September - I had 3 enquiries in a week! One has lead to a full design job, one is on hold until 2010 and one went nowhere !
Since then I have had a number of jobs, some in the more prestigious areas of Central Perth. None have been built yet. Many clients seem to want to do their own thing when it comes to building. Which is fine. They have paid for a detailed outline plan, a planting plan and plant list and, where appropriate, construction diagrams. They are free to do whatever they want with them...though I still hope to see the finished projects someday!
My first design project is due to be built in Feb 2010 and should be finished by Easter. It'll be the first completed project to go on my website.
Things I had to learn -
1. It's usually landscape design rather than garden design.
2. Due to WA quarantine laws, there is not the choice of plants available here that you could expect elsewhere in the world. Besides, not many plants could survive here anyway. 'Exotics' are mainly the standard "Mediterranean" plants such as strelitzia, plumbago, oleander, geraniums etc.
3. 'Hardy' does not necessarily mean frost hardy. It can mean wind and salt tolerant, to name but two.
4. The climate varies between long, hot dry summers and cool, VERY wet winters. When it rains here in the winter, it is positively monsoonal ! ....although I often have breakfast outside, even mid-winter (yes, I mean when it's not raining!). No frost at all along the coast and only a few days of frost inland...sometimes only 10 miles inland...and also up on the scarp. Salt laden winds near the coast in winter.
5. Non-Australian Natives are called 'exotics'.
6. WA has more plants native to that state than all the rest put together...so man is there alot of new flora to learn! I'm building my own database of WA Natives a...as well as all other plants available here.
7. Perth has 5 main soil types. Most of the soil here is limestone sand. It is highly alkaline. It has no nutrients and no water retaining qualities. It often forms a skin and water just runs off the surface. Go up onto the scarp and it's solid granite with very little top soil. You might as well be gardening on the moon !
8. The predominant building material here is limestone. Limestone bricks, limestone blocks, limestone paving, poured limestone (mixed crushed limestone and concrete). It's everywhere! And boy can it be bright when the sun comes out (which is most of the time). But it's one good quality, when it comes to paving, is that it doesn't get as hot as other materials.
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