Both interior and garden design can be the ultimate expression of a person’s taste, personality and lifestyle, so it makes complete sense that each one informs the other. Traditionally, gardens were almost an afterthought in any property refurb, left till last when the budget had all but disappeared, but increasingly they are being integrated into the overall plan with garden designers working with architects and interior designers to ensure that the garden works seamlessly with the house. As garden designer Jinny Blom describes, the entire garden can spin off the interior or architecture of a client’s house.
‘Gardens are admired from all angles, therefore it’s essential to consider them holistically. I always take photos from inside the house. Working with architects, we collaborate in creating places literally from the ground up. We start by siting the building, then materials, colours and textures are considered together minutely. Equally I work closely with interior designers like Olivia Outred to blend inside and out. In one project we brought in the nature-inspired artist and muralist Flora Roberts to create a harmonic between our two worlds. For me, a well designed garden celebrates the whole; it cannot stand as a separate entity.’
The loggia in Veere’s garden
Ngoc Minh Ngo
As you might expect, well known interior or garden designers create these links effortlessly in their own homes, their creative eye bringing cohesion and beauty to both inside and outside. Veere Grenney’s home in Tangier is a wonderful example. Perched on the edge of a cliff with spectacular views over the Gibraltar Straits, the house has been completely remodelled to make the most of the views, with a long pillared loggia offering glimpses of the lush terraced garden before the big reveal. Terraces filled with palm trees, pomegranates, scented jasmine and plumbago tumble down the hillside, neatly contained within parterres of clipped evergreens. An internal courtyard, designed for the days when the wind is too strong for sitting outside, is like a microcosm of the wider garden with a central water fountain surrounded with clipped greenery and large pots filled with aromatic citrus trees.
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