PORTFOLIO

This is an imaginary, magical garden whose style unites east and west, ancient and modern. It is vibrant with colour, movement and light; yet the structure is disciplined, rectangular, inviting calmness and contemplation.

It will be my great pleasure to make this imaginary garden real one day.

This garden is a contemporary interpretation of the classical Persian garden form. The rectangular geometry is overlain with a graceful, naturalistic planting style.

GARDEN OF YEARNING

This most ancient of garden forms originated in the region centred on the Middle East. This archetypal garden is divided into symmetrical sections by axial water channels. Traditionally, it is enclosed behind walls, creating a tranquil resting place sheltered from the harsh outside world.

While this garden form is often thought of as Islamic in origin, it clearly predates Islam, subsequently adopted and brilliantly incorporated into Islamic philosophy.

My garden is a cool green oasis amidst a parched and sun-baked land, recalling Paradise on Earth. Within the garden, the world-weary traveller’s thoughts turn to the infinite; his heart yearns for peace, and his soul for rest. It is a brief glimpse of the tranquillity to be found at the journey’s end.

In the arid Middle East, beauty and functionality go hand in hand. The axes of the garden carry precious water for cooling the air and irrigating tall shade trees and fruit orchards. But when this garden form is taken out of its indigenous context and placed into a temperate climate, in a modern setting, its function becomes more abstract and the aesthetic element can dominate. In the absence of a threatening outside environment the need for defensive fortifications evaporates. Yet the feeling of seclusion remains.

Structurally, the garden is on three levels, gently ascending toward the source of water, softly cascading over a series of waterfalls and past fountains along a central channel to the lower end of the garden. Brick-edged walkways on either side of the channel are flanked by planting to the outside.

Substituting for perimeter walls, the boundaries of the garden are formed by a series of translucent fabric panels which form a screen animated by the shadows of the waving plants.



In the central beds around the circular pool, brightly coloured plants weave a tight carpet of contrasting foliage strewn with bright jewels of flowers, shining amongst the dancing water.

This garden preserves the strong spiritual dimension of the Persianate form without being bound by any particular historical or cultural dogma. It achieves a quiet, meditative character, not by excluding the outside world with high walls, but by exerting a magnetic impulse, drawing you in and stirring your soul.

Photographs taken by Souren Ala: Bagh Eram, Shiraz; Arg Karim Khan Zand, Shiraz; watercolour rendering of Garden of Yearning, by Christopher Cole; Representative Plants from private garden, West Midlands.