This week has been idyllic, we’ve been working on 4-5 garden projects the we will be starting in the next week, all very different and individual so we’ve been brainstorming new ideas, we work well like that as a team. Its great to be able to do that, it ensures that your designs aren’t all too similar.

We have still been a little taken aback by the response to our new Nursery Park & Design Studio and the launch went so well that it has a knock on effect and we are still getting calls and requests for interviews and it just amazing. What that has meant is that we have had several more high profile projects to work on as well as some really lovely residential projects and in those we have had to go looking for additional plants to supplement what we have on the nursery so it called for a trip to Italy to order new stock for the rest of the year.

We don’t usually have the luxury of going to Tuscany in the summertime, usually its a cold January or February when we go and its just as cold there as it is here if not sometimes colder. So it was unusual but fantastic that we got the opportunity to head in July and our friend gave us the use of his villa just outside Pistoia where we have our partner nursery. Another luxury was the option to bring our two younger kids with us so that I din’t have to organise sitters, who is where when, activities, homework and all the things that go with being a working mum, working away. So I didn’t know myself heading off with Ian and the two girls to sunny 30 degree heat and lots and lots of plants to chose from. We picked so many beautiful Specimens , lovely shapes and plenty of espaliers to keep us stocked up for the rest of the year. The purchasing was interspersed nicely with lovely Italian food, an occasional glass of cold Italian wine and plenty of cooling down in the pool, just heavenly after a day on the nursery.

Arriving home early Monday, a little later than expected after a Ryanair delay we got back to be thrown back into the thick of it but armed with lots of plant images for the designs and web and social media sites. The plants start being delivered by the end of this week and we can’t wait to get those unloaded and displayed (or straight out to their new forever homes in plenty of cases)

Now I am getting ready for another special night for us at Naas Racecourse, who we partner with in lots of ways and we have the Caragh Nurseries Handicap as part of a fun packed evening of racing, BBQ and music in the last of their summer meets, we are delighted to be meeting with some of our clients and colleagues to celebrate what has been another great season for us and we are so looking forwards to showing off lots of our projects and we are just putting the finishing touches to our latest photoshoot and videos of some of the recent ones including a roof garden and another stunning hotel garden at one of our local hotels, hope to share that with you next week. Until then enjoy the lovely weather and your garden!