Blue Forest treehouse at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2024

One of the trade stands at RHS Chelsea worth a look every year is Blue Forest's. Back again on the Main Avenue, the company will be presenting a two-storey garden treehouse (which they're calling an "entertainment tower"), co-created with landscape architecture experts Randle Siddeley Limited.

For 2024, they will be featuring in particular edible plants and fragrant botanicals which will complement the treehouse bar and entertainment deck which will offer smashing views over the show. There's also going to be a ground floor children's section with swinging seats.

“We are thrilled to unveil the Botanical Treehouse at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show,” said Andy Payne, Founder and MD of Blue Forest. “This project represents a true collaboration between nature and design, and we are delighted to once again be working with the prestigious Randle Siddeley to create something truly spectacular.”
 
This year, as ever, RHS is at Royal Hospital Chelsea in London May 21-25.

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Wednesday posts are sponsored by Booths Garden Studios, the UK's No.1 supplier of zero maintenance and portable garden studios

Garden office photography studio

An interesting case study from Cosy Garden Rooms, the Roberts Twin Photography business based in Hastings, a five day build. Roberts Twins Photography is a professional photography business run by twin brothers Stuart and Lee which specialises in family, pet and wedding photography.

Stuart and Lee wanted a space from which they could grow their business. They were split between working from home, on location or hiring a studio by the hour, and wisely went down the garden office route (see images above). It measures 7m x 4m with durable Boothbay blue Hardie board cladding, a concrete foundation, floor to ceiling windows, central double sliding door, and overhang on two sides with remote sensor downlights.




"A garden room was a cheaper alternative than having an extension on the house," said Stuart. "I really wanted to grow our business and having a studio of our own, somewhere we could do our photography easily without all the massive outgoings of rent was the next key step for enabling that growth.
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"By having our own studio we were able to grow our business and do all the things we wanted to do, i.e. newborn photography and dog photography, families, etc. I can practice new ideas, work on our editing in peace away from my busy household. Our newborn photography can sometimes see us with clients for four hours, this wasn’t cost effective when renting a studio by the hour. ​I can do whatever ideas I like now, whenever I like, no big overheads, no booking slots.

"I now have a place that is cool in the hot summer and nice and toastie in the winter. I can use my studio all year around. Plus, it’s not only a studio but also an escape, a study, a dining room at Christmas for the whole family, a party room for New Years Eve, a poker room for myself and my loud mates; the list goes on – it’s brilliant!"

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Malvern Garden Buildings offer a premium collection of garden buildings, displayed at 11 UK showsites.

Workers and bosses have different views on working from home productivity

A new survey from YouGov indicates that not everybody has the same beliefs about productivity when working from home. It shows that 60% of those who work from home are more productive there than in a 'traditional' office environment, with a quarter saying it makes no difference, and just 17% saying that they get more done when they go in to work in an office.

On the other hand, bosses are rather more split - a third agree that working from home is more productive, a similar figure believe the opposite. When it comes to themselves working from home, 44% say it's the better place to work...

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Monday posts are sponsored by Cosy Garden Rooms, the UK's No. 1 bespoke garden room designer and builder.

 

Friday Finery: treehouse garden office

This week, a delightful treehouse garden office from treehouse specialists Cheeky Monkey.

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Friday posts are sponsored by Warwick Buildings, manufacturers of outstanding quality timber buildings. Click here for more information.

Garden studios at at Malvern Spring Festival 2024

While Chelsea is the biggest beast of the garden show season, there are plenty more great shows elsewhere around the county which showcase interesting garden offices and garden buildings. Here are a couple from this year's Malvern Spring Festival (May 9 - 12) featuring models from Malvern Garden Buildings.

Pictured top is Concrete 2.0, a show garden from garden designer Ian McBain of Tythorne Garden Design which features the company's Flat Roof Studio. With eco-friendliness and reclaimed/recycled materials at its heart, the garden is designed for a young professional couple and who also want to work from home in a garden office. “The paving is purposely shaped to lead towards the studio, and the planting has been designed so that it will ‘ground’ the building and surround it with texture, colour and interest,” said Ian. “I really like the clean and contemporary feel of the garden studio. It is an attractive, practical and comfortable space, perfect for the Concrete 2.0 garden.”

Also worth looking out for is the Grand Appeal Garden (pictured above) from Bristol garden designers  Suzy Dean and Isabel Devaney of Ammil Garden Design Studio who will be making use of a bespoke Woodland Lodge for their family-friendly creation. According to Suzy: “The garden building helps to bring a family together surrounded by nature, whatever the season and whatever challenges they may be facing. It’s their safe haven. The barn style cladding and shingle roof really complement the rustic woodland styling of the garden. The inside is cosy, while the veranda allows you to be immersed in the garden whatever the weather.”

 

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Wednesday posts are sponsored by Booths Garden Studios, the UK's No.1 supplier of zero maintenance and portable garden studios

 

 

 

Beautiful Proctor & Shaw garden studio

The Shedworking interns saw this property in Clapham, London, advertised on Wilfords and were naturally immediately taken with the view of the back garden. The garden office pictured actually mirrors the style of the oak bay window in this rear room, and is in a pleasant south-facing garden with fire pit and lawn. It's on at around the £2 million mark, but then you also get a five-bedroom house built around 1910 and sensitively redesigned by awardwinning architects Proctor & Shaw thrown in to sweeten the deal.

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Malvern Garden Buildings offer a premium collection of garden buildings, displayed at 11 UK showsites.

New 'Young Sheddie' category introduced for 2024 Shed of the Year

The 18th iteration of the world's leading shed competition Shed of the Year is now open for entries with a brand new category, Young Sheddie of the Year.

This means that those aged 18 - 25 can share the sheds they have bought to life, whether used for work, play, or a place to chill. Young Sheddie of the Year is also an opportunity to showcase creations brought to life by multiple generations in the family.

The new category is one of seven that entrants can pick to be in with the chance of winning an all-new prize. Alongside £1,000 in cash and £250 worth of Cuprinol products, this year’s winner will also be awarded an exclusive overnight stay in a relaxing nature resort. 

Head judge and founder of the competition Uncle Wilco said: “It will be very fascinating to see how the upcoming summer of sport events might inspire the entries in our pub and entertainment category. We’ve seen a growing number of participants using recycled materials and making more sustainable choices when it comes to creating their sheds – these are factors we’ll consider closely as we select finalists for the Nature’s Haven category this year.
 
“I’m also extremely excited to see the submissions in our new category. Last year, we crowned Archie Proudfoot our winner – he submitted his shed [pictured top] into the then-recently introduced Most Colourful Shed category. His fresh approach and vibrant use of colour made him a worthy winner.”

Cuprinol Creative Director, Marianne Shillingford added: “We’re equally excited to introduce the Cuprinol Young Sheddie of the Year category to the 2024 competition. It’s a fabulous way for the younger generation to express their unique personalities and unleash their creativity on a grand scale; this is our opportunity to meet the artists and architects of tomorrow!”
 
Categories for Cuprinol Shed of the Year 2024 include:
    1.    Young Sheddie of the Year
    2.    Most Colourful Shed
    3.    Simple but Effective
    4.    Budget
    5.    Unexpected/Unique
    6.    Cabin or Summerhouse
    7.    Nature’s Haven
    8.    Pub or Entertainment
    9.    Workshop or Studio

Entries for this year’s competition will close at midnight on May 31, 2024.

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Monday posts are sponsored by Cosy Garden Rooms, the UK's No. 1 bespoke garden room designer and builder.