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The Chelsea Gardens

Today we are showcasing the first two gardens, interesting gardens that attracted us in different ways

The first is the M&G Garden by Sarah Price  a romanticised haven designed for a warm and sunny climate (unlike ours in Ireland) but it with its beautiful terracotta tones, mediterranean plants that celebrates colour, texture, light and shadow.  This is tipped for best in Show.

The stand-out plants in the garden are a pair of beautifully gnarled old pomegranate trees. Their spreading forms contrast with the more upright shape of crepe myrtle (Largerstroemia indica) grown for their attractive bark and showy late summer flowers. Also in the garden is a young cork oak, another common tree of the Mediterranean alongside tantalising glimpses of twisted wisteria stems.

Colour is unexpected and dazzling. The use of  layered planting creates an almost pointillist vision when viewed from afar. A clashing cacophony of deep pinks, lilacs and yellow flowers are held together by swards of grasses.  Dianthus and delicate poppies interweave informal pathways surrounded by low tapestries of ground hugging, scented herbs and the silvery tones of sub shrubs.

Sarah’s initial inspiration behind her design draws on her artistic background. She was influenced by the Claude Monet’s soft, natural outlines; the framing walls and windows of Pierre Bonnard; and the bright use of punctuating colour favoured by the Mexican architect Luis Barragan. She brings this contrasting range of influences to bear on her garden through use of colour, structural elements and planting style.

                   

Although this garden is based on Mediterranean climates and sunnier parts we can still take from this garden and re-create your own haven with cleverly placed planting layers and terracotta tones, Try planting some of Sarah’s key plants like the  Largerstroemia indica, the Wisteria Sinensis and the Cork Oak that will all work in our climate and try an Olive or Fig instead of the Pomegranate, more likely to work here.

       

 

The second garden we are looking at is the much sleeker  but  yet with a modern relaxed feel is the LG Eco City Garden by London based Architect Designer Hay-Joung Hwang.  The LG garden reimagines sustainable living, helping to combat inner-city air-pollution and promote wellbeing.  It represents the green space allocated to one housing unit in a ‘residential apartment’. It integrates our increased dependency on technology with a requirement to be mindful of the environmental issues posed by contemporary lifestyles, as well as to reduce pollution specifically in areas of high population density.

Each household has its own spacious terraces, accessed from the kitchen and designed to receive plenty of sunlight. The plants and trees play a role in the seasonal control of oxygen generation, humidity control, temperature moderation and the reduction of carbon dioxide. Running water provides a filter for noise pollution.  Trees and a variety of other plant species soften the visual impact of the architecture and the whole showcases a closer interaction between concrete, glass and the greener environment. Addressing serious concern about the decline of pollinators and their habitats, the naturalistic planting scheme shows how to incorporate wildflowers, perennials and a looser meadow-style planting into a garden.  A central sunken seating area, colour co-ordinated planting, cool shade provided by a quartet of multi-stemmed trees and impressive use of water all combine to create a restful yet stimulating space .   “Every tree has a different efficiency at absorbing this pollution. Silver birch, maples and pine trees are better at it than oak or willow and we have plenty of trees in the garden.  Moss is very powerful in eliminating pollution too. According to research, 24m2 of moss can remove 500g of pollution every day – the equivalent of 275 trees! Here the moss is integrated into an aquaponic system, with ferns dotted through the design to create volume, rhythm and balance.”

                            

This garden is far more able for our Irish climate and the planting of yellow, oranges and white pallets make this a sunny, cheerful planting scheme for any garden and we can create this with similar plants like Delphiniums, Lupins and trollius amongst others and multistemmed trees like in the garden here are very en-vogue but as always we can keep you ahead of the posse with multistemmed silver birch and Maple as well as some stunning Pines with contorted stems, making them very attractive specimens for any garden.  As for the garden technology well we will bring you the best of the technology for your garden in a feature later in the week.

           

Tomorrow as well as featuring another few gardens we will also be bringing you news of the medals, the excitement is building, do you have any favourites  ?

If you would like to discuss our design service then contact me on the usual contact details or see details here 

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