Book Club: Piet Oudolf’s AT WORK

My studio has a wall dedicated to garden design books. Within that is a collection of 8 or 10 ‘must haves’ whose pages are heavily thumbed. In this newsletter in the coming months I will share this selection, hinting as to why they have proved invaluable to the Angus Thompson design practice.

Starting with the most recent acquisition, Piet Oudolf’s AT WORK will justify many a re-read and ‘dip in’ reference.

The beautiful images one would expect are all present, but what makes this book so invaluable to designers and garden enthusiasts is Piets’ generosity of included information.

Early planting scribbles through to completed planting plans illustrate the process of one of the leaders in the ‘New Perennial Movement’. Planting lists and bulb plans are included with even a step by step ‘how to’ prepare and plant on a large scale is shown for the Vitri garden highlighted in our earlier newsletter edition.

Showcasing large projects such as Hauser & Wirth in Somerset to smaller spaces such as Maggies at the Royal Marsden Hospital. Also featuring private gardens such as a roof garden in the Netherlands.

His finished hand coloured planting plans have become almost art pieces in themselves.

A perfect foil for spires, shown here with Lythrum Blush and Digitalis Feruginea or with the fresh green of a Euphorbia. Best in cooler places but tolerates sun or light shade, a useful transition plant that can be cut back in spring.

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Garden House

Baracco+Wright Architects’ experimental weekend home contributes to the regeneration of the site’s ecosystem.

This holiday house in Coastal Victoria is conceived as just a little more than a tent: a deck and raised platform are covered by a transparent 'shed', the interior perimeter 'veranda' is garden space. The soil and natural ground line are maintained and carried through. A low lying site with terrestrial orchids and lillies, flood waters seasonally move through the site unimpeded. Similarly the indigenous vegetation has begun to grow inside.

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Garden Futures: Designing with Nature

‘Garden Futures: Designing with Nature’ is on at Vitra Design Museum, with an exhibition design by Formafantasma.

The exhibition – a collaborative project by the Vitra Design Museum, Wüstenrot Foundation, and Nieuwe Instituut – delves into the rich history and potential of modern gardens. The exhibition (on view until 3 October 2023) redefines gardens as avant-garde spaces for social justice, biodiversity, and sustainability.

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The Perfumer’s Garden at Versailles

The Palace of Versailles and perfumer Francis Kurkdjian have created an astonishing tribute to the palace’s fragrance-making history.

The Perfumer’s Garden on the grounds of the Trianon Estate (where the monarchy kept their ‘rustic cottages’) contains hundreds of perfume-making plants. The garden is a nod to Versailles’ history as a cradle of perfume-making craft and artistry from the late 17th century on.

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Project

Eco House

Transformed from a disused timber yard to finished Eco house and family garden. The garden has three distinct spaces without over-enclosure through the use of level changes and hornbeam hedging. Planting includes a wildflower meadow (on the flat roof of house and office as well as on the ground plane) along with tall grasses and perennial borders.

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