Art. Nature. Ecology. Joy. Beauty. Drama.
For as long as I can remember I have been fascinated by gardens, plants, and garden plants. As a child and teenager I did as much gardening as I could, I read about it as much as I could, and I visited as many gardens as I could. My adolescent fantasies revolved around the latest flower and vegetable novelties to be found in well-thumbed seed catalogues. You could say I was obsessed.
At the same time I discovered a deep love of nature and the wild. I grew up in a village in the Kent countryside, and explored the woodlands, meadows and hedgrows. I came to know all the wildflowers by name and, while I was very interested in natural history, it was the visual beauty of the plants growing in their natural habitats that really captured my imagination. Gradually, I began to realise that the feelings of joy, uplift and excitement that I got from, say, a field of poppies in full flower, or a woodland in spring, or a wildflower meadow, were far greater than the emotions that were stirred in me in even the greatest of gardens. That sense has been compounded as I have travelled and seen breath-taking displays of wildflowers in other parts of the world.
In many ways, my professional life - whether it be research, design or consultancy - as well as my own private garden-making, has been about attempting to capture that childhood sense of sense of joy and uplift within designed landscapes, by creating exciting, beautiful naturalistic plantings.
The postings here are, as far as possible, seasonal, and reflect ongoing projects, ideas and thoughts. Most of all they try to convey my sense of the two crucial aspects of planting design: art and science; aesthetics and sustainability. In other words:
A note about the title of this blog. In the 1990s, a loose network of like-minded garden designers, landscape architects, artists, researchers and nursery owners from across Europe and North America came together under the title 'Perennial Perspectives', with the aim of transforming the use of plants in designed landscapes by integrating ecology, horticulture and art practice. Based in The Netherlands, Perennial Perspectives brought together pioneering spirits who were developing naturalistic design styles with perennials and grasses. The legacy is great, although the Perennial Perspectives network has long since dissipated.
For as long as I can remember I have been fascinated by gardens, plants, and garden plants. As a child and teenager I did as much gardening as I could, I read about it as much as I could, and I visited as many gardens as I could. My adolescent fantasies revolved around the latest flower and vegetable novelties to be found in well-thumbed seed catalogues. You could say I was obsessed.
At the same time I discovered a deep love of nature and the wild. I grew up in a village in the Kent countryside, and explored the woodlands, meadows and hedgrows. I came to know all the wildflowers by name and, while I was very interested in natural history, it was the visual beauty of the plants growing in their natural habitats that really captured my imagination. Gradually, I began to realise that the feelings of joy, uplift and excitement that I got from, say, a field of poppies in full flower, or a woodland in spring, or a wildflower meadow, were far greater than the emotions that were stirred in me in even the greatest of gardens. That sense has been compounded as I have travelled and seen breath-taking displays of wildflowers in other parts of the world.
In many ways, my professional life - whether it be research, design or consultancy - as well as my own private garden-making, has been about attempting to capture that childhood sense of sense of joy and uplift within designed landscapes, by creating exciting, beautiful naturalistic plantings.
The postings here are, as far as possible, seasonal, and reflect ongoing projects, ideas and thoughts. Most of all they try to convey my sense of the two crucial aspects of planting design: art and science; aesthetics and sustainability. In other words:
- Planting design as an art form: ecologically-tuned, aesthetically aware.
- Planting design as an essential: creating healthy cities and liveable places.
A note about the title of this blog. In the 1990s, a loose network of like-minded garden designers, landscape architects, artists, researchers and nursery owners from across Europe and North America came together under the title 'Perennial Perspectives', with the aim of transforming the use of plants in designed landscapes by integrating ecology, horticulture and art practice. Based in The Netherlands, Perennial Perspectives brought together pioneering spirits who were developing naturalistic design styles with perennials and grasses. The legacy is great, although the Perennial Perspectives network has long since dissipated.
