MINIMALIST GARDEN

The second garden theme that interests me is the Minimalist style. In my opinion it is one of the most difficult garden design styles to execute well, because the elements are so limited that there is no where to hide. I think it would be good though, to practice really limiting my materials and plant options to see what the outcome is.

I also think that this design style will work well with the restricted 5mx7m size of plot that we have for this project - as often urban, roof top and courtyard gardens opt for a minimalist design approach

BAD PICTURE / GOOD PLAN

Looking beyond the poor photography,  I think this is a really good plan.  It's easily accessible, the graphics are bold and the composition works well as a whole. The only thing I would change, would be to centralise the key and title.

PATHWAYS

NEO BANKSIDE

NEO BANKSIDE
London, UK
Gillespies (www.gillespies.co.uk)

 DETAILS:
http://worldlandscapearchitect.com/neo-bankside-london-uk-gillespies/#.UvVNpl5pU7A

"At NEO Bankside, Gillespies has designed a series of innovative green spaces that spearhead this movement. The completed designs take cues from natural woodlands and glades, and transpose them to the city. The layout contains large tracts of native plants set within groves of alder and birch trees, providing a ‘bank’ of flowers, seeds and nesting material that will encourage a range of wildlife to the space. Beehives have also been installed, enabling pollination of the plants and helping to safeguard this threatened species.
An orchard of fruiting trees and a herb garden give residents access to produce, encouraging active participation in the management of the gardens. The colour and fragrance of the herb garden adds to sensory delight of the garden areas.
Large forest trees shading cool lawns give residents peaceful spaces in which to withdraw from the world outside. With its diverse and rich range of planting, NEO Bankside’s outdoor spaces uplift the senses, and give residents an opportunity to rest, recreate and retreat from city life.”
We studied the mix and composition of each space carefully. We responded to the challenges created by the particular arrangement of the tall buildings in terms of wind, light and shade in order to ensure that the outdoor spaces have visual-interest throughout the year"

 

 

TATE > MODERN > TREES

I have started to think about how to get lots of trees in to a small space to create the effect of a woodland without crowding the space with lots of large trees. This made me think of the Birches outside the Tate Modern. I've walked past these many times, and never really thought about how they actually look like miniature forests...

 

INTEREST IN A WOODLAND GARDEN

 

WOODLAND PLANS

Some plans for Woodland Gardens:

 

WOODLAND GARDEN

One of the garden design styles I have chosen for this project is Woodland garden. I am particularly interested in trying to move the idea of a woodland garden in to a more contemporary design setting - so that the space can still be used as a functional, modern environment. I think on a large scale a traditional woodland garden is great, but in the limited space we have for these gardens, I think it would be a challenge to deconstruct what we traditionally associate with woodlands, and there place within our gardens and landscapes...

RHEUM NOBILE

The Plantsman

New Series Volume II Part 3

September 2012 

A really interesting article,

 

 

Featuring this amazing looking plant:

RHEUM NOBILE

  

BRICKWORK PATTERNS

CURRENTLY READING

OLIVER SACKS
Oaxaca Journal 
2002 

"The best-selling author of Awakenings and The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat, Oliver Sacks is well know as an explorer of the human mind—a neurologist with a gift for complex, insightful portrayals of people and their conditions. However, he is also a card-carrying member of the American Fern Society, and since childhood has been fascinated by these primitive plants and their ability to survive and adapt in many climates.

Oaxaca Journal is Sacks's spellbinding account of his trip with a group of fellow fern enthusiasts to the beautiful, history-steeped province of Oaxaca, Mexico. Bringing together Sacks's passion for natural history and the richness of human culture with his sharp eye for detail, Oaxaca Journal is a captivating evocation of a place, its plants, its people, and its myriad wonders". 

HOCKNEY PT.2 - SKETCHBOOK WORK

David Hockney
Sketchbook Work

Some more inspiration for my own sketchbook. I like these quick observations Hockney made as much as the finished pieces because they really get a sense of the place itself, before it gets filtered through his brain and altered. He fills the pages really well also and his use of paint allows him to be both bold and detailed at once (important when observing nature)

HOCKNEY - A BIGGER PICTURE

David Hockney 

'A Bigger Picture' Exhibition

21 January - 9 April 2012, RA 

One of the best exhibitions i've ever been to.. . . .  .

 

JERRY DI FALCO

JERRY DI FALCO
Philadelphia, USA
http://www.saatchiart.com/gerarddifalco 

I think this work is really great, it's so expressive and the lines are really bold. An effect that can be quite hard to achieve through etching. I love the way he fills the page right to the edges.
The reason i've also put them on here though, is that they remind me of the sort of work you might get in a sketchbook - capturing a moment or thing of interest