Private Residential Garden
Location: Ireland
Landscape Architect | Garden Design: Peter Donegan MSGLD | Peter Donegan Garden Design
Design Assistant: Elif Öztürk
Detail – structure | install |
The logic.
1) 17th century design principles insist on front of house windows up down align and best, front and back door alignment through the entrance hall to the rear patio dining doors.
2) from rear patio, exits off are 9, 3 and 12 o’clock off said natural stone patio.
3) from 12, one is led invariably by a scantily clad lady sculpted in white stone or some globe-esque bronze topped plinth perpendicular off to the rear of the garden. By design one is never meant to get there because of intentional woo’s or distractions. Should you (?), the idea was to get to the also white seat at the very end of the garden and the prize – to look back at the view of your house. It’s a mildly complex ideal ideology if mastered (horrendously pointless if not) and here we have.
4) From exit of house to rear of garden, the focal point is dappled, nestled within the newly planted landscape. Note Bene: when you know you have a chandelier, sometimes it’s wiser to assume it’s a book meets – the draw is greater always, when you can’t see it all at once. Woo (again) complete.
5) the staircase, should it be in focus would have combobulated / distracted the view, hence bending the planting in triplicate / layered to visually dapple and draw the eye to a place by far more alluring.
6) the question then became what do you see when you get to the end ? If one goes straight ahead – ground level, the house, framed by the garden.
7) But go up the staircase and we strike the nothing is accidental gold. Come on up here and let me show you this garden moments are special and I wish I could show you this one. The closest I’ll get you to it is this: Close your eyes and re-imagine that crayon picture you drew as a kid for mom. Tractor top left, sunshine top right and the rest green vales and arc’d hills. Now place your 3-Dimensional imaginary self on top of it and open them.
There’s a bit more to it and than this.
Chat soon, Peter
