Chinampa
Garden Series
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“When designing a home, it was something that was always going to be an exploration into space, a place for experimentation and of course an opportunity to incorporate a very personal garden. Coming from a background in fine art painting it has often been my own aesthetic sense that has impacted the gardens I now design across London. Through gardening I have been able to make a mark on otherwise blank canvases. A garden should be an extension of your home, providing freedom and a space for reflection.
In 2013 my girlfriend Bella and I set out to design a live-aboard barge. A valuable part of this process was to make space for our ever expanding number of house plants. By avoiding narrow corridors and tiny compartments the boat had to breath and allow light to flood in. With this in mind the boat was constructed with a large roof hatch. The hall in which the roof hatch is located is in the centre of the boat and is a core space and hub for our garden. It is an area that is inviting to visitors and embraces you with the plants. The ever changing light casts giant shadows of monstera and philodendron leaves, other plants are allowed to run amok in a manner surpassed since the Victorian age. To provide the most suitable climate for the cacti and succulents it has become a ritual to keep fuel burning on our stove and mist the plants on a regular basis.
The limited outside space is designated to stock plants. It is a much more ephemeral space which mixes small shrubs with herbaceous perennials and grasses. The boat is called 'Chinampa', a name given to small artificial islands, built on water for agricultural purposes and still widely used across Mexico.”
