Alain Bahadon, chief horticulturist of the Great Gardens of versailles in France, once said: "A garden that attracts me needs to be carefully cared for, a landscape of flowers, a creative design, and more importantly, it must have a soul." ”
But what is the soul of the garden?
In Alain's view, it is a sense of belonging that "this is my garden". It carries an emotion, a memory, or a responsibility. Its most important quality is that it makes people feel comfortable, so comfortable that the owner can walk and think in the garden, willing to reminisce about the past and imagine the future.
A garden with a soul does not necessarily have to grow a precious variety, nor does it necessarily have a master sculpture. It can be large or small, high or low, more or less, rich or light, can be a private garden of princes and nobles, or a small balcony for ordinary people.
Although equally colorful, there is a huge difference between a garden that is only "beautiful" and a garden with a soul. This difference is like the difference between a fan and an air conditioner, the difference between ambiguity and love.
At the 2022 Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Shenzhen Flower Exhibition held recently, nine garden designers from six countries, including Romania, the United States, the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Italy and South Korea, produced 8 gardens with the theme of "Low-carbon City, Happy Life". Many people said after watching it that they felt the soul of the garden.
01
Natural Sanctuary Garden
Designer: Anca Panait (Romania)
In the northeast of the Balkan Peninsula, there is a country full of beautiful natural landscapes - Romania. There are secluded valleys and flowers everywhere, making people feel like they are in a fairy tale world, surrounded by the mysterious atmosphere of nature.
"The garden is inspired by my hometown of Romania, where I spent a lot of time in natural landscapes as a child. But due to deforestation and urban development, only a few protected pristine landscapes remain in Romania. This made me realize the importance of ecological protection, especially in the context of climate change, to reduce the pressure on the environment. Anca, designer of The Garden of natural sanctuaries, said.
Stepping into the garden, you can see cascading waterfalls connecting the constructed wetlands. Along the path, there are plant-specific rock walls built of natural rough, providing a variety of habitats for animals and plants, showing the naturalistic cultivation style. The upper aisle is made of steel plates to minimize interference with the landscape.
Next to the waterfall is an artificial wetland planted with aquatic plants that help purify the water. Irregular stepping stones provide another passage that creates opportunities to play or dip your feet in the water.
Trees, moss, streams, campfires, roads... In addition to the secluded landscape and relaxing environment, Anca uses its own design to constantly remind us how important the natural landscape is.
02
Pattern of clouds
Designer: Carrie Preston (USA)
The clouds floating in mid-air, against the backdrop of towering palm trees, seem to bring the whole sky to the garden. This is the first impression of the Garden of The Pattern of Clouds.
"I think the garden should be a very public space that can be used on any sidewalk, street or square in any city and can be flexibly adapted to various environments." Therefore, we designed a pocket pocket garden of 10 meters × 15 meters, and the design elements in the garden can be widely used in any size space. Carrie, the designer of "Pattern of Clouds," said.
With the global warming, the ecological environment is becoming more and more important. Nowadays, there are more and more people in the city, and how to deal with the relationship between people and nature has become a problem that garden designers must think deeply about.
A cloud crown consisting of a series of inlaid triangles, suspended by a cable system. This design collects rainwater and is channeled into the ground for later use. Under the cover of clouds, a shady dream world is created.
"Through the concept of clouds and rain, I have transformed the garden into a lush rainforest, creating a 'world of plants' in an urban environment." Carry said that walking through the garden is like walking through the rainforest, where there are very lush plants, and when you are tired of walking, you can rest on a stool next to it. It feels like you're not in the heart of the city, but in the canopy of clouds.
03
Living garden
Designer: Michael Morley (UK)
If you had a garden, how would you design it?
"The garden is a way of life. We are here to relax, share dinner time with the family, and the children play carefree. "Living Garden designer Michael said a garden with a soul should be seen as a room in the family and as important as any other part of the family." We can read a book, have a picnic, play with the puppies, have a yard that runs wild, and have a terrace to watch the stars at night. ”
"Living Garden" is both functional, practical and ornamental, which is also the garden life concept that Michael wants to convey to everyone.
"We focus on how gardens can effectively manage space resources and achieve a circular economy." Michael said living garden is a "removable" assembled garden that can be relocated to other areas as a whole for continued use. At the same time, it uses new technical materials and creates space through abundant plants to avoid unnecessary waste and achieve sustainable recycling of the garden.
In addition, the garden is also attentive to the children's growing needs, providing a relaxing place for family and friends to socialize. Michael hopes that it will create a garden-style living space with healing power for modern urbanites.
04
homeland
Designer: Matthew Wilson (UK)
The earth, which is our home, is also a garden with a theme of nature.
Homeland explores the relationship between human, garden, and environmental factors. The natural environment is not a being from which we can detach, but our home and our responsibility.
"The journey through this garden begins with forests and mountains." Matthew, designer of "Homeland," said native or endemic plants in East and South China form a stylized "mountain" backdrop. The mountains are home to precious minerals and rocks, and the forests filter the air that humans breathe. Water is the source of life, providing power and promoting industrial development.
Landscapes merge into pools of water, which feature "skyscrapers" equipped with LED lighting, demonstrating the importance of energy conservation and proving that technology can be at the heart of environmental protection. Pools collect runoff and rainwater from the landscape for recycling, reflecting the importance of clean fresh water for human survival.
The journey ends in a stretch of water that intersects two raised areas of natural wildflowers. "This represents the aquaculture farms in the Pearl River Delta, reminding us that everything that happens on land flows to the sea." Matthew says the reason he designed the garden in this way was to try to prove that everything is interconnected. "The natural environment is all around us and we are responsible for it."
05
Dig deeper
Designer: Natasha Iyer (New Zealand)
As you walk towards this garden, your eyes will be drawn to the magnificent architecture. Closer, you'll find that they are deconstructed walls of translucent glass tiles, where the light on the walls connects the earth and the sky like clouds. Well-designed angles allow you to capture moments of your reflections, the sky and your garden.
"The design of the garden revolves around how we see humanity in relation to nature and how we interact with it." Natasha, the designer of "Deep Into It," said, "I want you to drift leisurely in the garden, rest in quiet contemplation, and dance with the clouds." ”
A winding and undulating path invites you through the garden, moving among majestic arches and puffy clouds of plants. Natural boulders immobilize the landscape, enriching the layers and providing an immersive experience, while the sky is reflected on polished metal boulders.
Walk through the tranquil gardens and you will capture your own moments. Leaving the trail, you can experience the landscape as an observer again. Delicate blown glass lamps dot the plants and vaulted edges to create spectacular night views.
06
A modern water garden
Designer: Matt Keightley (UK)
Water is the source of life, it nourishes everything in the world, it is the most precious gift that nature has given us, and a garden with water has vitality.
"This garden reminds us of the importance of wildlife, biodiversity, water and horticulture in an urban environment." Matt, designer of Modern Garden of Water, said, "Water can create something truly inspiring, and as you walk through the garden, people develop a series of different perceptions of water. ”
Matt believes that as a garden industry, we have the ability to help cities explore a form that is good for the environment while promoting our physical and mental health.
In this garden, beautiful plants and trees bring tenderness to the hard landscape for bold use. In the center of the garden, there is a completely static mirrored pool that reflects everything around it; at the end of the garden is a wall of water, and the water flows vertically down the wall. The motion created by the flow of the waterfall contrasts with the surface of the water that is completely still and reflects the reflection.
While providing visitors with great views, gardens remind them of the impact of humans on the environment.
07
The isle of ships
Designers: Lorenza Bartolazzi, Claudia Clementini (Italy)
"If there's an old boat, I'd like to build it into a garden and take it on trips around the world." Lorenza and Claudia, designers of Isle of Boats, say is a garden that sparks the imagination and prompts people to think about the importance of nature to the future of the world.
A large amount of water was introduced into the design and an old boat in the center of the water was remodeled to become a garden. Light shines down from the gaps in the leaves, the air is filled with fresh water vapor, and the sounds between the mountains and forests are sometimes noisy. The old boats were transformed into lush gardens, suspended above the water, giving visitors a strong visual impact.
It is a floating forested island with flowers and trees from all over the world in its gardens, including plants that are in danger or endangered.
08
repair
Designer: Park Woong-gyu (Korea)
"Meditate and cultivate your mind." ——Observing the true situation of nature and life, practicing inward, cultivating the mind and then cultivating the garden are the design concepts of "Cultivation".
Set up a tea house in the middle of the mountains, bamboo pine mountain stone as the proximity, between the grass and trees, the dust meditation, the natural qi cultivation in the body.
In the garden design, the designer uses the natural scenery of the mountains to create a hermit's practice. Winding paths, green bamboo, thatch, mountain rocks, combined with modern shallow creek scenery, with the simplest natural elements to create a natural agility.
In the design of the shallow creek scenery, the red sand gravel is used as the creek scenery to integrate into the "singing spring", the breeze is gentle, the sparkling, the spring is singing in the heart, the quiet is to cultivate the body, and the movement is to convey the spirit.
Look at its microcosms, shape its things. Bamboo shadows are mottled, "Matsushita has a moon", meditation is a journey back to the way of nature, and cultivation is to present nature to nature.
Along the way, I carefully looked at these 8 gardens, which made people feel a warm feeling in their hearts, a feeling like home.
Yes, that's the feeling. Because where there are people, there is a home, and where there is a home, there is a garden. Without gardens, our city is nothing more than dormitory-style dwellings.
(Written by Li Xin, a reporter of this newspaper)
Disclaimer: The copyright of this article belongs to China Flower News, and may not be reproduced or tampered with without permission, and violators will be investigated for legal responsibility. If you need to reprint, please contact this number in advance.