From the Moroccan style to Laurent Perrier’s, traditional garden landscaping brought back to life
The drawing represents a secret garden in the heart of the medina. This is a detail of the citadel shown in the drawing below, which includes a larger garden planted in the traditional Moroccan style, below the tower. At the end of the nineteenth century, the site had been sold and the garden had disappeared with the construction of a hundred individual houses. However, a garden was recreated on the site with imported plants from around the world, but archaeological discoveries have forced to modify the plan.
Proposal for the development of a garden, London, 2010
This project was created from the combination of two separate designs. The first design shown in the drawing incorporated traditional elements while the second shown in the picture featured more natural and organic garden elements. Vegetation includes trimmed Gardenia trees, beech hedges and dwarf groves.
Laurent Perrier Garden, Chelsea Floral Exhibition, London, 2008
The main drawing seeks to evoke somewhat a surrealistic and dreamlike character of space. On the other hand, for the plants, it’s very clear that they were highlighted throughout the landscaping. Those included: Rodgersia podophylla, ball-sized charms and small hostas. On a purely abstract level, this garden is partly inspired by the third movement of Schuman’s fantasy.
The garden lies along a slice of land inside a hairpin bend in the Oakland hills next to a popular trailhead into a canyon. The family who lives here wanted privacy while preserving the connection to public open space. Working with them, the Blasens designed a garden that is sheltered, private where necessary, yet inviting to natural wildlife.
Coming uphill, hikers pass the entrance garden and an olive grove with lavenders – both entirely open to viewing. At the hairpin corner, the fence is still open, though lush small tress screen the guesthouse rooms. On the uphill perimeter, a hedge is loose enough to allow for a little peeking and low enough to keep open the view from the road on the canyon and the san Francisco bay. Each of the five steel and recycled redwood gates leading into the garden, is also partially open in construction.
Inside, a formerly very steep, eroding and unused slope is now a sheltered clearing where family member’s lap-swim, play with the dog, eat, and nap in the sunshine. The pool, designed by the architect, is made private by a three-foot high wall on the outside edge, though the family enjoys overhearing hikers appreciating the garden from the road below. Seating at the heath provides a deep peaceful shelter against the hill. Steps lead up the terraces to fruit trees and also vegetables that can be grilled over the fire. At the top of the garden, the light at the end of the day flows pink through the canyon eucalyptus, and an aerial steel walkway gives a view over the Bay.
Native plantings, such as manzanita, California fuchsia, and California lilac, draw birds and butterflies into the garden from the canyon. Red-leafed cercis settle the original red-brick entrance path into the land; the generous Mediterranean-style house rests comfortably among the olive trees and lavender.
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