one word could describe many of the award winning show gardens at the 2019 chelsea flower show:
naturalistic
21-25 may 2019
royal hospital chelsea | london | united kingdom
the m&g garden
best show garden | gold medal winner | rhs chelsea flower show | 2019
designed by andy sturgeon | built by crocus | sponsored by m&g investments
photo credit rhs
the layers of naturalistic gardens could be compared to the levels of natural habitats.
family monsters garden
best artisan garden | gold medal winner | rhs chelsea flower show | 2019
designed by alistair bayford | built by idverde | sponsored by idverde family action
photo credit via rhs
naturalistic gardens, like the new perennial movement gardens and meadows of dutch landscape designer, piet oudolf, could also be considered eco-friendly. and, could also be described as wild. or, painterly. or, dreamscapes.
country living magazine described the 2019 morgan stanley garden as: ‘paint[ed] with plants’.
chris beardshaw, the designer of the garden, ‘paints’ by building up layers of plants. and, by repeating plants in three or more places. the repetition of colors and textures creates visual connections within the garden as well as continuous circulation through out the garden.
the morgan stanley garden
gold medal winner | rhs chelsea flower show | 2019
designed by chris beardshaw | built by chris beardshaw ltd | sponsored by morgan stanley
photo credit paula mcwaters via country living
i am now reading ‘joan mitchell: lady painter’ after seeing joan mitchell: i carry my landscapes around with me at david zwirner gallery in new york.
mitchell’s method was also additive. her technique was physical. and, she painted spontaneously. yet, she would stop to contemplate the structure of the composition, and the relationship between the colors, before adding another layer of paint.
“the painting has to work,’ joan believed,
‘but it has to say something more than that the painting works.”
-from ‘mitchell paints a picture‘, an article from artnews by irving sandler, originally published in october 1957
joan mitchell (1925-1992) | posted | 1977 | collection walker art center | minneapolis, MN
photo credit (c) estate of joan mitchell via david zwirner
what do you think makes a design ‘work’?