Garden I

The task

The plot is an awkward shape, irregular on almost every side, with no straight line to tie the garden to. The zones and the routes had to be laid out so that the paths run by themselves rather than across the middle of the lawn.

Decisions

1. I

   Zones set by how often they are used

   We set the routes out on the plan: where people walk every day, the path runs short and straight. The places to sit are away from those routes, so nobody cuts through them.

2. II

   Large groups of planting instead of scattered singles

   Shrubs and young trees run in large blocks. The garden reads as a whole rather than as a collection of single plants, and blocks like these need less care.

3. III

   Two places to sit, one enclosed and one open

   One is tucked into the planting, for an evening for two. The other opens onto the lawn, for guests and children.

4. IV

   The mature tree stayed where it was

   The tree in the middle of the garden gives shade and volume from day one. The new planting is gathered around what was already growing, not in place of it.