LATEST TRENDS IN GARDEN DESIGN “BACK TO THE FUTURE”
Above: Chelsea Flower Show 2008.
Contemporary way of living, frantic tempo of life and general lack of personal time, combined with growing consciousness of protecting the environment, opened a growing need, but also an window of opportunity for the designers to offer new trend in garden design.
Over - worked modern man needs more than ever a space created to rewind, meditate and relax. There is no time and more often then not (especially in the cities), no space to go for the long walks. Nature is further and further from us with every new estate, office park and shopping centre.
On the other hand, with fast exchange of information and growing knowledge about world around us, we are more au fait of the growing fear and concern for our environment. We are learning to be conscious of changes in our local surroundings, but also in a general sense of our influence and role in saving our planet.
Furthermore, not all the people are lucky enough as to have a space around their place of living, to be able to recreate the nature by having it being carefully designed to accommodate their needs and requirements. What about people living in the building apartments or town houses without back or front garden?
And, what about time that we lack, that precious time we spend in traffic commuting to work and back every day? Not much time for maintaining the garden, happy evenings spent gardening with favorite music in the background.
This is an assortment of specific demands and necessities garden designer have to take into account in designing this type of garden. Not an easy task, but an excellent challenge!
Skilful garden designers are resourceful artists. They should be able to collect all the information and details: both those that can be used in design’s advantage, and those tricky one that have to be overcome with clever solutions.
Resulting design is personalized, creative and innovative. I gave it an inspirational, but I’m afraid, not original name: “Back to the Future Garden”.
“Back to the Future Garden” is garden of the future we wish for ourselves: place and life sheltered from toxicants and deterioration that currently threaten our environment, space that would be inviting both to people and wildlife. Garden we would be able to use as a place for meditation, place where all our senses are awakened and active. This would be a garden which would resemble past, unspoiled nature, but with a modern twist; balance and harmony between modern man and pure nature.
Above: Hampton Court 2008.
Here are some ideas and tips in creating exact garden for the right circumstances, needs and wishes.
Gardens for wildlife
- NOURISHMENT: Incorporate in the design a native shrub that blooms and produces berries to provide food during winter months. This will attract wildlife throughout the year;
- PROTECTION: Make a place for wildlife to take cover by adding dense shrubs, thickets, evergreens, or rock walls;
- NURSERY: Add a birdhouse or a frog pond to provide a safe place for wildlife to raise their young.
- WATER: Create a rain garden or build a pond, or try something simpler like adding a birdbath.
- SUSTAINABILITY: Eliminate chemical pesticides and fertilizers from gardening routine. Using mulch around plants will help reduce the water and fertilizer needs.
Above: Hampton Court 2008.
Above: Hampton Court 2008.
Above:
Blooms 2008.
Above: Blooms 2008.
Gardens for meditation
A meditation garden implies a sense of seclusion and personal space. A place where one can relax, reflect, unwind, ponder new ideas, and contemplate in peace and quiet. Inspirations for this type of garden are famous Japanese and Chinese gardens. Japanese, Asian, and Oriental style garden plans generally follow several basic design principles. Reduced scale, enclosure, angle of view, borrowed scenery, balance, and symbolism.
Above: Hampton Court 2008.
Garden of senses
Associated with previous group, these gardens often contain elements, plants, or oddities that are placed to stir the senses and imagination into thought.
- SIGHT: Decoration and furnishings of interest and unusual finish, color, texture and use. Beautifully or unusually shaped trees, details that would energize one’s mind and provoke thoughts. View of moving water, or reflection of light and color made by reflecting pools and ponds. Outdoor lighting elements, highlighting and changing shapes in the garden, creating diversity and interest in garden during night as well as during daylight. Candles in the wind.
- HEARING: The sound of moving water; wind chimes in the corner; rustling of the leaves, bird song. And, why not, background music coming from carefully hidden speakers.
- TOUCH: Hard landscaping materials finish and texture. Accessories in the garden, such as cushions, comforters and throws, pebbles in the bowl. Plants with smooth or rough bark, leaves with interesting texture, soft flower petals.
- SMELL: Fragrant plants: herbs or flowering plants with scented flowers. Potpourri in the bowl, incense sticks or scented candles. Some might prefer barbeque and palette of fragrances it brings.
- TASTE: Fresh fruit on the garden table, or fruit trees and shrubs planted in the garden. And of course, dinning outside.
Above: Blooms 2008.
Above: Blooms 2008.
Living walls
A green wall is a wall, either free-standing or part of a building, which is partially or completely covered with vegetation and, in some cases, soil or an inorganic growing medium.
They are also referred to as living walls, bio-walls, or vertical gardens.
Living walls are perfect solution for covering an ugly boundary or house wall, if the aspect of the wall is suitable, of course. They are also effective resolution for small horizontal spaces with a large vertical one (balcony of the apartment, for example), where there aren’t enough space to place big containers which should hold enough soil to supply for the plants.
Above: Hampton Court 2008.
Green roof
A green roof is a roof of a building that is partially or completely covered with vegetation and soil, or a growing medium, planted over a waterproofing membrane. It may also include additional layers such as a root barrier and drainage and irrigation systems. Container gardens on roofs, where plants are maintained in pots, are not generally considered to be true green roofs, although this is an area of debate. Some uses of green roofs:
- They provide amenity space for building users — in effect replacing a yard or patio;
- New space is created to grow fruits, vegetables, and flowers;
- Green roofs reduce heating (by adding mass and thermal resistance value) and cooling (by evaporative) loads on a building — especially if it is glassed in so as to act as a terrarium and passive solar heat reservoir ;
- The urban heat island effect is reduced;
- Roof life span is increased;
- Storm water run off is reduced;
- Green roofs act as a pollutants and CO2 filter ;
- The soil and plants on green roofs help to insulate a building for sound; the soil helps to block lower frequencies and the plants block higher frequencies;
- Filter pollutants and heavy metals are kept out of rainwater ;
- Wildlife habitats in built-up areas are increased.
Above: Green Roof
Above: Green Roof
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