Countryside La Vie Magazine

Asummerhouse or garden hideaway will provide an attractive addition to your living environment, but to maximise the benefits, you must consider its position and overall impact within your garden setting. Scotts of Thrapston, leading manufacturers of summerhouses and gazebos has provided some useful tips and considerations that will help you create the perfect garden hideaway to meet your requirements, whilst making best use of the space you have in which to work:

Find the right position in your garden and a summerhouse or garden room will make full use of the warming sun, keeping you snug from the wind and giving you the best view of your outdoor space.

Depending on the time of day you hope to get most use from your summerhouse, sight it to capture early morning or early evening sun, so you can escape and enjoy the room at your preferred time, to fit in with your lifestyle.

Consider its main use. For a studio, a shady spot would offer a more comfortable working environment, whereas a summerhouse would need a sunny spot.

Some companies, like Scotts of Thrapston, offer summerhouses especially designed for corners, so if the purpose of the summerhouse is to enjoy the garden surrounds, this option will enable you to enjoy a panoramic view. Alternatively, a summerhouse with rotating base will allow you to chase the sun and change your view as often as you require.

Consider location of windows and doors and position for best views and ease of access accordingly. If you are storing belongings inside you should consider security, such as casement windows and lockable doors.

Consider access for builders to prepare the base and for the installation of the summerhouse, do you need to inform neighbours or ask them for access?

When measuring the space for your summerhouse allow for any nearby overhang in its design. It is recommended that you position the building, ideally 1 metre away from any adjacent boundaries, allowing for the installation and future maintenance of the structure. If requiring electricity to be supplied to the summerhouse, consider the practicalities of cabling and seek professional advice from a qualified electrician.

Prepare the area by cutting back or removing any nearby shrubs and trees, remembering to allow for future growth. This will enable the building to be correctly installed, and prolong the life of the roofing material.

Consider the garden design - the best summerhouses are integrated into the design and highlighted as the heart of the garden. The use of paths, steps and archways to link to your building make the experience of walking to the summerhouse even more appealing.

For more advice and further information please telephone
01832 732366 or visit www.scottsofthrapston.co.uk

At the end of Rutland Water lies the attractive village of Empingham. With its friendly pub The White Horse with welcoming log fires, and its useful shop Barbara,s Stores and Rutland Hair Works the hairdressers and its attrative houses grouped around its 2 main streets,it is a most appealing place to visit. The beautiful old church forms a splendid hub and is much loved by passing visitors, especially those who have decided to do a round of Rutland Water on bikes.

The Church St Peters of Empingham sits very well on its knoll above the main, steep village road and is as impressive a vista one could ever wish for. The architectural beauty of the tower is quite breathtaking. It has become famous for its excellent Christmas Tree Festival which takes place at the beginning of December and which draws the crowds from far and wide. The place is packed with decorated trees, each one somehow expressing the personality of its owner and for a weekend this place demonstrates what a lively enterprising community can do. Last year the Festival raised approximately £3,000 for the church funds.

Muriel Hall said It is a wonderful ocasion as everybody smiles. She said she looked around and there was not a sad face in the church. The enthusiasm rubbed off on everybody.

Bridal couple Tammy Furse (co-director of Vincente Spa in Oakham and owner of Up The Garden Path in Oakham Market Place) and Jonathan Taylor both residents in the village itself decided to turn the church into a woodland glade and asked Mary Fairholme from Corby Birkholme a most talented flower designer to do it for them.

Approaching the church 2 huge topiary trees set in galvanised steel containers prepared the way to enter the enchanted wood. Inside, it was amazing, huge tree trunks were arranged in groups of varying heights and topped with giant church candles also in groups. Long trails of ivy hung down the trunks giving the impression that the branches had grown situ. And all around them and over them wonderful little pots of cyclamen in scarlet and pinks made their own vivid splashes of colour.

The pillars were hung with giant swags which were echoed on the pew ends and they were filled with dark reds and raspberry pinks and graceful tall wicker baskets spilled arching sprays of the same coloured flowers as did the candle stems on the registry table.

The same colours continued at Burleigh House where the reception was held. Huge arrangements graced the tables in the wonderful dining room and on the huge table in the Kitchen.

So well done to Empingham Church for its brilliant ideas and to all those who put it into practice.

Contacts Church wardens
Steve Hall 01780 460448
Nick 01780 460354

Flower Designer and Arranger
Mary Fairholme 01476 550 630
Taken from Rutland Revisited July 2002