Gardens of the future

 For my design project module, we were tasked to create a central hub on what is currently the site of a large carpark in Cheltenham. In order to better understand the heights and masses of each of my buildings I chose to create a to scale cardboard model of my site and buildings. A few features have changed since I made this model. However, I found it extremely helpful to be able to accurately visualise each different element.

 Over the easter holiday I decided to revive this corner of my garden. I look out of my window directly onto this area but have neglected it over time, so it was looking very bare. I planted; Hostas, Fuchias, Heuchera, Kniphofia bulbs, Astilbe bulbs and two large flowering climbers to cover the trellis on the side of our shed. Im very excited for these plants to mature and create a beautiful pocket garden. 

During the easter holiday I visited Thames Barrier Park. I had heard a lot of good things about the design of this park. However,  I felt slightly disappointed seeing it for myself. Aside from the box hedging cut into wave shapes this park is very standard. I also felt that the maintenance of this hedged area really let it down, it was very overrun with weeds and there were a large amount of dead plants. As much as I like the concept of trimming hedging into interesting shapes to guide visitors through a site, the overall design of this site felt like it was lacking.

 

Jencks is a designer I only recently stumbled across, but his work fascinates me. Above is an image of his Garden of Cosmic Speculation, located on a 30 acre site in Scotland. Jencks focuses on forms and meaning to portray concepts such as black holes and the structure of the universe. The way that he uses topography and landforms is like something I have never seen before. Each elements of the site carriers a strong meaning in the overall concept of the garden. This very thoughtfully designed garden is only open to the public once yearly. But allows visitors to dive into contemplation and curiosity. This is a landscape I would love to visit and explore further. 

 Labyrinths are a new concept to me. However, I really love the idea of them and how they promote mindfulness. Therefore, I felt it would be appropriate to place one of these in my arboretum design. I found this "tree of life" labyrinth online and then decided to build pockets of planting near the entrance to act as pockets of soil. 

 A bouquet of flowers is definitely one of my favourite things to draw in an observational study. I love the organic forms and the beautiful colours. For this study I used coloured pencils with no graphite drawing underneath, as I feel using graphite under coloured pencil creates too much of a harsh boundary around the elements and make them looked muddy. 

 I often get stuck on what I should draw so these pages are a collection of things in my room and little patterns I have seen online. I have primarily used coloured pencil for these drawings which I now realise doesn't scan very well, however it is one of my favourite media as I feel like adding subtle colour to a drawing really brings it to life. 

When it comes to backgrounds I am very good at just sticking to a plain white background. However, I wanted to experiment with also having colour and texture behind an already textured ink drawing. While this piece definitely isn't my favourite due to it being very intense to look at, I do think I will experiment further with this idea in the future.   

 Brush control is something I feel I really need to work at. During my A-level art course I mainly worked in oil paints so any mistakes I made could be covered up, however I feel it is an important skill to have a steady hand and be able to get the same width between all my lines. I felt like I was successful at this task but there is still room for improvement. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Over the easter holiday I designed and constructed my own garden labyrinth. 

  Noel Kingsbury is someone that has worked very closely with Piet Oudolf. I think this is very evident within the style of his planting. Planting is something I am truly fascinated by. The way in which pockets of colour and undulations in the planting can sculpt an entire landscape. I particularly enjoy the burst of blue throughout this specific planting scheme. Placing these throughout the landscape really guides the eye to key points throughout the planting. Im also very intrigued by the use of bright red florals only at the furthest point of this planting scheme. This creates a sense of height and draws the eye further back into the landscape, rather than only focusing on the front half, which I feel many people tend to do subconsciously. This is a concept I haven't considered before. Placing bold colours at the back of my planting schemes is something I will definitely look to explore in future projects.