Garden Design

[MulletProof]

Does anyone know of a good site that's entirely (or at least partially) devoted to garden design of all kinds?
I've tried some sites, such as Earth Designs UK, they really have some lovely ideas there but the pictures are too small!.

I do occasional gardening, but the reason I'm starting this is because we 'inherited' a large piece of land next to our house a few years ago and it's becoming a nightmare this season with the unexpected rain and heat.. the weeds this year grew twice my size and are now really dry and hard to get rid of and creating lots of insects (with the occasional little reptile) so.. it's going to take a while to clean things up but since I don't want this to happen ever again, we're finally thinking of building some nice garden there that makes sense with the rest of our vegetation (grapes, lemons, cactus, figs, peaches, olives, that kind of semi-arid stuff), that doesn't require constant maintenance (at least not daily) and that is nice and modern. Any help here?

[runner]

the ideal garden you'd picture in your mind is the one in a western style ?

[MulletProof]

not necessarily, runner.. I'm actually hoping we can avoid that and come up with something sleeker than western style, more minimal, less rustic.. but still weather friendly, meaning nothing remotely flammable, or too fresh or intricate, since insects/reptiles seem to love that.
The conditions around here make us eliminate so many options but still, if you have any suggestions, bring them in please!

[runner]

does the area abound in water ? if so, how about making a big pond

and gravel, rock, and occasional little islands of green

like this as an overall image, apart from the details like species of plants etc
















adachi-museum.or.jp

[runner]

mitsuhashi-teien.com

[MulletProof]

I love the idea of gravel with small and defined sections of green, I do think that would work for us quite well. plus I'm loving the roundy shape of those!
The idea of a pond actually came up, not really a pond as much as it was a very thin type of fountain, something that wouldn't have much depth but that would help keep things fresh and cleaner and which would also work as a drastic solution for weeds.. cause during the santa ana winds season, all the seeds fly over from nearby hills so even if you try to keep things clean, they eventually arrive and grow back.. a more solid construction would certainly be very beneficial.
There's a vineyard nearby that has all these elements (gravel, water zone) come to think of it.. and they also built some kind of roof for all the grapes to hang from.. I am now realising how smart it all is.. it keeps things fresh but doesn't really provide a shelter for scary species. and it'd be perfect for us since we never know what to do with our grapes

Thanks for all your suggestions, runner!.

[runner]

another work by the gardener kinsaku nakane who did those in #4

















just for reference here is a link to the pages with lots of pics including the ones above
though it might be a bit too austere overall
click on " 次のページ > " at the bottom right

japagarden.exblog.jp/i2/2/

[runner]

this is not exactly about garden design, but I thought it might be interesting and inspiring here.
there is an architect named junya ishigami, and it seems that he is trying to give a broad interpretation of a general concept of architecture: to stretch architecture to the natural environment. for example one idea is to blur the boundary between building/house and garden, and take them as an environment or take a building/house as part of the environment, not as just a shelter from the environment, by making the parts/materials/elements/structure as thin, low-densitied, small, fine, light, or extended as possible, all of which makes a new environment.
the external space overlapped by the architecture, the architecture merged into the environment, the architecture embracing garden design, etc. he is groping after new dimentions of architecture in that way, if I understand it correctly.
though it may be just a developed version of the grape roof or the idea seen in the first pic in #7, some of the ideas look lovely.



concept models

[runner]

jpf
fashionjp
core.form-ula

[MulletProof]

Thanks for sharing that, runner .. it is very inspiring (especially the first pictures where the idea is are its purest), in the last few months I've been really into Californian modern architecture (Craig Ellwood, Ray Kappe), which seems to prioritise the relation between interior and nature, integrating a lot of the outside elements into the design that's meant to create harmony in the interior.. it's probably more the opposite of what Ishigami seems to have in mind (since he's more trying to put the 'inside' in direct connection with the outside.. and not all the other way around?!) but I love it either way.. and I'm glad to see architects trying to sort out something that can be very conflicting (for someone like me anyway).. which is never really closing your door to nature and being able to constantly feel it when you are surrounded by it.

[KaitlynAliano]

I adore garden design. Can't say I've heard of a site that is specifically dedicated to it though.

[MulletProof]

^ HGTV has a very nice section dedicated to all things outdoors (gardening, landscaping, hardscaping) with lots of galleries and articles specifically on garden design, it's mostly traditional but there are a lot of great and affordable ideas.. and desert-friendly too, which was my main complaint about most sites featuring garden design.

[runner]

you're welcome Mullet, yes I think you are right, inside in direct connection with outside. he uses the word "scale" and maybe he wants his architecture to include relative scale differentials. therefore nature or natural elements?
btw, he seems to be the one who did yohji's ny store.



global-award.org
art-it
diy-resort
wikipedia

[runner]

I don't know if this could be of any help, but there is a very popular gardening item over here called yoshizu (aka sudare). it's reasonable and usable in many ways.


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