Monday 24 May 2010

The Unexpected Gardener


The Thrive Garden, designed by Jo Thompson this year is for The Unexpected Gardener, for a stylish mature gentleman and keen gardener who, although finding gardening slightly more challenging physically than in the past, does not want to compromise his design choices.  Jo here has achieved something really quite magnificent.  Brief aside (just for the moment), it is a complete joy to take in




Using a cool palette brought to the fore by dashes and wisps of 'Hot Chocolate' roses and purple irises Jo entices the viewer greedily in to rest within its glorious greens and whites.  Shape and form have been intrinsically thought through, with two Prunus serrula providing wafty structure and frame to the piece.  With their red bark glistening in Chelsea's heat their canopy floor is dappled with light and shade, repeated then in the shadows and filtered light cast by the sculpture of the adjacent pergola.  If that's not enough for your eyes to feast upon, then perhaps the hidden urn within the water sculpture will capture your attention, a balance of the circular within the square echoed also in the stacks of wood that make up the partition wall and again in the fire hearth.  




Yes here are raised planters suited to the brief, but these here are not delivered as an afterthought, they are implicit within the design choices made for this site and work effortlessly, crucial to the composition.  No hand rails are to be discovered here, instead Jo has planted holding piers into the garden, easing mobility for the gentleman about the garden whilst also strengthening her design; a solution that should by no means be undervalued.  Subtle yet perfectly formed this garden is a clever feast for your eyes.



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