Hand drawn

I use hand-drawn sketches as a way to think. Together with annotations, sketches leave a trail that can be followed back and reviewed, taken in different directions and generally used to be played with. Sketching is fluid enough to follow fast-paced problem solving. Quick and easily redrawn. Tracing paper is my best friend! The only danger is to overwork them. There is a point where the computer comes in handy: Going digital forces me to push the distracting beauty of sketching to the side and destill a definitive line from the best drawings. 

Form unfollows function

A good form is the first thing to establish. It is always unique, respects the surroundings and what the land has to offer. It makes the garden feel at home in the landscape and anchors the house too. Essentially speaking, there are no drawings required - this could be done in situ. I find it easier to plan and communicate with drawings though. In situ technique helps me at a later state, eg. while verifying the design and adjusting lines after they have been strung out on site. Placing trees, hedges and setting out plants require in situ design skills, as do reviews, years after the garden has settled in.

Where does the function go then? I hear you ask. 

After the design has taken shape, functions are slotted in. One form becomes planting, another shape becomes a swing, a pergola, a sofa, a tree. "Life is happening in the spaces between" Gustav Lange said. I live these words by leaving enough room between functional spaces. This can then become the ultimate functional area: change is allowed on a day to day basis. Or with other words: I avoid to cram too much into a design. 

Model-making.

It doesn't matter how crude it looks, when I use a quick model to confirm proportions during the design process. Sometimes it is necessary to try different materials: Cardboard moulds very differently compared to clay. Of course models can serve different ends: For a presentation to the public there would be different levels of neatness required. As with all decisions, I like to use sustainable materials if an opportunity arises. Model-making is no exception. 

Timelessness

My design is based on the land, existing buildings, history and wider landscape, which makes the resulting garden rather timeless. Interestingly, being timeless is making it very much a garden of our time, because: Ditching the quick turnaround of fashionable designs and opting for something that will last is really the most sustainable thing you can do.