Gardens can evolve over time to reflect the interests and character of their makers and eventually a unique atmosphere will develop. Alternatively, they can be designed either by their owners or a professional designer with the aim of creating a specific mood or visual impact. In this series of posts – Mind Gardens – I will try to show how different ideas and dreams can be realised in the gardens we design and plant.
Where do you find a design idea when your garden is nothing more than a square area behind an average house with a view of boundary fences and other similar houses? This is the dilemma of many gardeners who are not fortunate enough to have a garden surrounding an architecturally distinct building or a view across glorious countryside. Many sources spring into my mind, but here I want to look to art for inspiration.
My interest goes towards the work of abstract artists of the early twentieth century; your own interests may differ, but my process will hopefully suggest a way forward.
Whenever looking at works by artists such as Mondrian, Kandinsky and Malevich I cannot help myself from seeing designs for the layout of garden landscapes on a range of very different scales. Sometimes the patterns in these paintings suggest border layouts, lines can become paths or hedges and colours identify different planting arrangements.
