Project Overview 2. Front Garden in Notting Hill

The second garden on this series is a rather small front garden in the Notting Hill area which we finished in May last year. A very simple but effective design which included sawn york stone paving, an iroko storage area and buxus and taxus hedges. 

Note: All images and copyright belong to Siddeley Landscape Designs Ltd.

Floriade 2012

In summer last year I had the great opportunity of visiting FLORIADE, the "World Horticultural Expo" that takes place in Holland only once every 10 years. This time was in the little city of Venlo, next to the German border and I have to say it was a truly sensational experience.

Never too late for posting a few pictures to remind me of those 3 amazing days, hope you enjoy them and who knows, maybe you can start planning your visit for the next one in 2022!!

Project Overview 1. Roof Terrace in Kensington

As some of you might know it's been almost two years that I work for a landscaping company called Siddeleys.

Given that during this time this blog has been gradually abandoned, I thought on showing you some of the gardens we've built during this time. In the future I would like to show you pictures of the ones that are in the construction stage too and hopefully keep this site moving.

The first one on this series is a roof terrace we built last year in the very heart of Kensington in London. No access through the house meant that all the materials had to be craned. Bespoke timber planters and furniture with an elegant touch on the planting.

Note: All images and copyright belong to Siddeley Landscape Designs Ltd.

Garden Inspiration: Pots.

If there is something that can add that extra touch to any garden that is the addition of pots and planters.

These can be made out of almost any material you can think of and to match the style of your garden, whether to be modern or traditional. There are plenty of options out there, so make sure you choose good quality products that add extra value to your designed garden.

Image source & copyright: www.ateliervierkant.com

Image source & copyright: www.uniquegardendecor.com 

Image source & copyright: www.gardenlife.com.au

Image source & copyright: www.alan-hayward.co.uk 

Image source & copyright: www.urbisdesign.co.uk

Image source & copyright: www.ateliervierkant.com 

Image source & copyright: www.oxfordplanters.co.uk 

Image source & copyright: www.rotoluxe.com 

 Image source & copyright: www.jardinsroisoleil.com

Image source & copyright: www.moderngarden.co.uk 

Hortus Conclusus. Serpentine Gallery Pavilion 2011

"A garden is the most intimate landscape ensemble I know of. It is close to us. There we cultivate the plants we need. A garden requires care and protection. And so we encircle it, we defend it and fend for it. We give it shelter. The garden turns into a place.

Enclosed gardens fascinate me. A forerunner of this fascination is my love of the fenced vegetable gardens on farms in the Alps, where farmers' wives often planted flowers as well. I love the images of these small rectangles cut out of vast alpine meadows, the fence keeping animals out. There is something else that strikes me in this image of a garden fenced off within the larger landscape around it: something small has found sanctuary within something big.

The hortus conclusus that I dream of is enclosed all around and open to the sky. Every time I imagine a garden in an architectural setting, it turns into a magical place. I think of gardens that I have seen, that I believe I have seen, that I long to see, surrounded by simple walls, columns, arcades or the façades of buildings - sheltered places of great intimacy where I want to stay for a long time."
May 2011, Peter Zumthor.

On-line garden makeover.

One of the advantages of new technologies these days is that they allow you to be "virtually" everywhere. It is great to know people from around the globe who share the passion for gardens, mostly thanks to social networks like twitter or facebook but through blogs like this one or professional forums too.

Everyone can eventually know about your work and what you do at anytime, which is actually both, scary and exciting at the same time if you think your potential market is "the world".

This virtuality is what in the last few weeks, has allowed me to work in the design of a planting plan for a garden that I have never visited. It all began meeting the client at the Grand Designs Live Show in London, where I had the opportunity to work for a couple of days at the Garden Design Studio with James Alexander-Sinclair.

The clients, a middle age couple living in West Sussex, were keen on introducing a bit of colour in their garden, with the addition of new beds and borders to the existing lawn area.

They liked my initial ideas and a few days later, they contacted me to prepare a complete planting plan for their garden. Just a couple of emails were needed to get all the information, including their aspirations for the garden, preferred plants and colours and even a scaled 2D plan with some more pictures of the site.

So that was it really. If the client gives you all the information you need, it is easier to achieve a great result. It was time then to make a selection of plants suitable for dry soil, choose my colour palette and finally give structure and all year round interest to the new proposed borders.

That is the final result, including general gardening advice, a basic maintenance guide for the selected plants and an indication of the approximate costs to purchase these plants. All the information the client wanted without the hassle of site surveys and meetings to fit in an always busy agenda.

What do you think? Do you like it?

New York: The High Line

Back from a holidays break in New York. One of the cities I always wanted to visit, it has not disappointed at all. In fact, I already want to go back.

Amongst all the places I went, one was on top of the list before I even got there, The High Line. A former elevated freight railroad transformed in the last few years in an amazing new urban park.

The Park runs from Gansevoort Street up to 30th Street, through the neighbourhood of Chelsea. Lucky enough, Section 2 of the High Line opened on the 7th of June, so I had the opportunity to see the new planted areas and spend a few relaxing hours with my friends.

Walking at a height of 5 to 7 m. over the streets of New York gives you a different perspective of the City, which makes this place even more peculiar.

But the real success of the whole park is that is being used at all times. It is never empty and is always full of people of all ages, wether is enjoying a nice walk, reading a book on their stylish seating areas or looking at the gorgeous planting.

The High Line's planting design is inspired by the self-seeded landscape that grew on the tracks for 25 years after trains stopped running. The species of perennials, grasses, shrubs and trees were chosen for their hardiness, sustainability, and textural and color variation, with a focus on native species, like the ones that originally grew on the High Line's rail beds, which have been incorporated into the park's landscape. I am sure the input from Piet Oudolf into the final planting design had something to say to achieve such a great result.