4 minute read
Solutions4Gardens
from Potton April 2021
by Villager Mag
Over the past year, the government’s ‘Stay at Home’ directive has made many homeowners keen to improve their living spaces. Gardens have never been more important as people come to appreciate the healing power of nature. The trend for extending the home with a beautiful ‘outdoor room’ has meant local garden landscaping company Solutions4Gardens has been busy. The Villager talked to owner Mark Woodman about the impact the past year has had on the company, trends, and future projects.
“In March 2020, we didn’t know what was going to happen” says Mark “but in the end the past year has actually seen us do lots of new things. With so many people confined to their home, they want to be able to make full use of their outdoor space so we have seen a lot of investment in gardens.” Part of the reason for the company’s demand is that as well as being able to take a customer’s ideas and turn them into an attractive, practical design, Solutions4Gardens can undertake all the necessary work using the highest quality products to a professional standard. With nearly ten years’ experience, they are Marshalls Accredited Landscape Contractors for installing paving and patios, and Accredited Trex-Pro Decking specialists. Trex, a recycled composite decking material which is both attractive and hard-wearing, has seen a surge in popularity over the past year. Much of the wooden decking which was installed around a decade or more ago is now coming to the end of its natural life and Mark is seeing customers replace this with Trex as it is easy to maintain, doesn’t rot, is non-slip and comes in a range of mix-and-match natural-looking colours.
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“Customers increasingly see the garden as an extra room and Trex goes particularly well with the current bifold door trend because we can use it to seamlessly blend the outdoors with indoors, making your deck an extension of the house” explains Mark. “We can also do matching balustrades or modern balconies, complete with lighting. We saw a considerable increase in the number of decks we installed last year.” Garden design remains an important part of the business. The company has recently begun a collaboration with a local graphic designer who can turn their designs into a video walk-though for the customer. It’s a new service Solutions4Gardens offer that helps customers who find it difficult to visualise a 3D design on paper. With this new service, the client can be taken on a walk through their new garden to fully appreciate the look and flow. It is especially good for larger, garden transformation projects. Solutions4Gardens usually has short term availability for small garden landscaping jobs, but typically works on larger projects that need booking in well ahead. The company currently has projects lined up until autumn of this year. However, Mark advises people who are thinking about having work done on their garden to obtain quotes and start the consultation and design process now. “It can be a long process” says Mark. “For example, we spent months on a large project in Hitchin where we started consultation in January, began the project last summer and finished in September. It’s important to get yourself onto our books now if you are considering a garden project in the next couple of years.” Available throughout the winter months, Solutions4Gardens is unusual in that the company never works on more than one project at a time, so a customer can be confident of having their full attention until the job is finished. They are a single point of contact, meaning that they undertake and manage the whole project from start to finish, from product sourcing to legal environmental waste disposal. The customer is therefore not left with any extra responsibilities or additional charges. The past year has also seen Solutions4Gardens become well acquainted with COVID-19-secure practice. Working outside, Mark concedes that the risk is small. Nevertheless, current practices mean they cannot go into people’s houses or accept refreshments at the moment, and if they are going to be on site for long periods of time, they will hire a Portaloo if necessary. “Hopefully we have played our part during the national COVID effort. We don’t do anything to cause unnecessary potential risk” assures Mark “including suspending our operations during lockdown periods.” Despite the company’s opportunities for growth, Mark is keen for Solutions4Gardens to remain small and retain the personal relationship with its customers that it has become known for. “I like having a small team of trusted people that work well together and share common values” Mark explains. “We are completely in control of the product quality and build that way.”
If you are interested in any aspect of improving your garden, please contact Solutions4Gardens using the details below or visit their website for more information.
