We met garden designer, Georgia Lindsay at The Grand Designs Live exhibition a little earlier on this year. Her specialism is to transform city gardens, making the most of every space possible, creating a multi-functional space as well as an urban oasis.
We were so fascinated with the concept of her Family Garden; we just had to find out more about the inspiration for her design that titled her as a finalist for this year’s Garden Designer of The Year 2014 competition, as well as what draws her to city garden design projects.
Here’s what she had to say...
What inspired you to create your beautiful Family Garden that titled you as one of the runners up for Grand Designs Live 2014?
The brief for this year’s 'Garden Designer of the Year 2014' was 'introducing colour to your garden'. It seemed too predictable to interpret this with the inclusion of colourful planting. I immediately knew this was going to be a garden for children to enjoy and the colour element should be something playful and fun.
I am constantly looking for new materials to use and try to look beyond the standard range of products available. I have always been drawn to the colourful buckets you see stacked outside builder’s merchants, where their rainbow colours seemed ideal for this project. I approached Tubtrugs and they were happy to get involved.
As a mum of two little ones I know how much they love playing outside with sand and water so my family garden was split into four zones. A water area, sand area, a seating zone for the kids and a suspended pod swing to all read together. My two girls were ultimately my inspiration.
Georgia's final design at The Grand Designs Live exhibition
What is it that draws you to city garden design projects?
As a city dweller myself I appreciate how much pleasure an urban oasis can bring from the noise and stress of the metropolis of London. So many urban gardens are under used and under loved. It's a real challenge to try and transform these small spaces into retreats that can be really appreciated.
I originally graduated in theatre design so I relish the challenge of getting the most out of a small space with multiple uses, i.e. concealed storage within seating, hidden BBQ under tables etc.
What is your preferred medium to work with when designing gardens and why?
When designing, I always start with pencil and paper. This is a fluid, ever changing medium which allows you to quickly and constantly experiment.
Once my design is fixed, I like to use sketch up, which enables me to study all the angles and perspectives. Once I am happy with this I go back to paper for the final presentation. I find that computer generated visualisation can sometimes be too cold and clinical, they are great for the practitioner to visualise but to the untrained eye it can sometimes me hard to read and understand what you are really seeing.
Georgia's sketch of her final design
What are your top tips for young people wishing to get into garden design?
If you are a young designer I would urge a strong foundation in drawing and sketching. This is vital for the creative process and allows an immediacy of communication.
Explore all areas for inspiration and keep your mind open.
Her garden was described as 'Innovative yet practical' by Kevin McCloud
Click here if you would like to see more of Georgia’s urban designs. Alternatively, you can contact her on 07958 918 034 for more information.
