Garden Designs
My philosophy about garden design is that when you are visiting gardens (when you step into a garden, it should change you even just for a moment like a gentle jolt of awe or sublime beauty that widens your eyes and inspires your soul, makes you search for your pen and notebook to write that poem or be inspired to change part of your own garden f na garden should be a deep and moving experience, A place of wonder, beauty, repose, excitement, sometimes, humorous, elegant, Depending on what jolts one, it could be many things, strong architectural structure, artful, magnificent tree specimens, large blousy perennial beds, unique garden furniture, cool sculpture. I love materials so I think deeply about all aspects of the garden. Orchestrating the ultimate outdoor room, series of rooms, whether a landscape with sprawling meadows or a simple intimate patio. Scale is subjective. it is the combination of all these things along with lighting, sound of water, siting on the NSEW orientation, synthesizing all these things through your personal pallet favorite trees, shrubs perennials, colors and so on. I go through a whole design questionnaire to help you get the ultimate expression on paper for your garden . My job is to guide you through this process and be your garden coach. I like to teach my clients a lot about design, plants, how to choose plants, why certain things work and not work. We can go from the beginning all the way through or just enhance a section of your garden. Then take the gloves off and hand them over empowering my clients to continue with their outdoor canvass. expressing the heart and soul of the owner.
Highlighting the trellis with non breakable metallic feature laurel, boxwood, berengia some of the plantings .
The night garden- what you don’t hear is the trickling water and the wafting breeze -white and grey plants enhancing this evening garden with heady roses, nicotiana and evening scented flowers - along with strong lighting -this becomes another outdoor room night and day.
NINE PARTERRES FILLED WITH ROSES, GRASSES, ASPARAGUS FERNS & SCULPTURE
SONOMA GARDEN - ongoing design
Set in idyllic Sonoma with the gorgeous golden light and enviable crowing climate- especially for roses. A series of nine formal parterres, each brimming with something different- one with grasses, another with roses, bergenia, asparagus fern, pittisporum, with specimen trees, fish pond, sculpture and lighting. This is an ongoing project - Growing up in Ireland I am familiar with some of the more temperate plantings.
Enhancing this glorious mound with a spine of grasses
FERNERY
Stone Hill - my garden in south natick
I am passionate about Fernery’s - From the magnificent one at Birr Castle in Ireland to the dreamy Ascog Fernery on the Isle of Bute Scotland, we have one here with about six different varieties. My favorite genus is the one species Mattucia Struthiopteris the large ostrich fernT which is very happy is this shady somewhat damp area of the garden.
I think every garden should have a meditative or reflective corner . This is the CELTIC STELA IN THE MEDITATION SPIRAL GARDEN IN THE SPRING
ZIG ZAG -STYLE - a couple of pathways 0ne in a New England Garden, the other in CA
ZIG ZAG STYLE - A couple of gardens with zig zag paths-= one in New England, one in California- playing with edges whether Boxwood or steel - Create a dynamic path and journey- does always have to be curved - What you don’t see on the left that the focus to the right of this path is an enormous silver beech. we wanted to keep the space sculptural , few plantings using shap[e and color to create a different spatial pzass . The contrast of the warm toned mulch against the silver beech in striking . The almost cartoon like aspect of the path creating an artful prospect in the garden - within and when looking upon. Don’t be afraid to play with different shapes and materials.
