Winners 2010 - Second Prize

Geometric Garden

This garden in the alpine foothills of western Switzerland surrounds the 19th century listed farmstead Le Very. With the house positioned at the center of the plot, the design had to blend tradition with contemporary living. The landscape architects divided the land surrounding the building into four parts according to the points of the compass, assigning a garden space to each façade of the house.

To the south, along the front facing the road, low boxwood hedges structure parterres planted with aromatic herbs. The low plants allow a clear view of the imposing historical façade that is complemented by the design of the semi-private garden space. To the west of the house lies the productive garden, composed of two lines of fruit bushes and a matrix of linear vegetable beds. The private garden on the north side of the property is sheltered from view by a copse of fruit trees and a labyrinth of interlocking hedges. Two terraces, one concealed between hedges, the other visible from the house, offer the users places to unwind. They are accessible by no more than a symbolic pathway across the lawn. The east garden takes its cue from agriculture: two “fields” cut from the meadow are planted with arable crops too bulky for the vegetable garden.

Foto:
Aromatic herbs grow in rectangular parterres framed by low boxwood hedges. The paths between the plant beds are covered in gravel. The productive garden consists of linear vegetable beds.