Unusual Garden Designs | Ottawa Start

7 • POSTED ON July 26, 2005
Unusual Garden Designs
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A Jurassic Garden with dinosaur bones, a Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Graden, and a Fisherman's Garden. In this week's column, Rene takes a look at some innovative garden designs.

Our gardening column is published every Tuesday on OttawaStart. Read previous columns here.

As is the case with most other professions, “we” professional gardeners have to keep up with the latest styles and trends, new plant varieties and other products, government rules and regulations, and whatever else is required in order to be able to offer our clients sound advice. Like everybody else, we gather this information through trade organizations, magazines, newsletters, brochures, newspapers and – of course – the Internet.

Regrettably, unless you are thinking of becoming a professional gardener, most of my “homework” (as I call it) is not entertaining enough to share with you. However, every now and again I stumble upon something that is worthwhile enough to mention. By now, the more perceptive readers of this column will have guessed that, this week, we will be taking a look at some unusual garden designs. Without further ado, here is what I have gathered:

Jurassic Garden

Jurassic Garden English designer Cleve West created this low-maintenance garden that has a distinct “Jurassic” theme to it. The centrepiece of the garden is the large wooden sculpture that spans the pond and resembles dinosaur bones. The large rocks around the pond further enhance the prehistoric feel of the garden. Seemingly, the design combined the owner’s wish for a low-maintenance garden and his son’s love of dinosaurs. ‘Everybody happy; what more can a designer ask for?

(I am still investigating how much money was involved in creating the sculpture...)

Fun and Joy Garden

The ideal family garden; that’s what this design from The Netherlands was all about. The objective was to create a garden wherein both parents and kids could enjoy quality family time. In it is a large paved area for dining and entertaining, a lawn hosting a kids’ play area and an oversized, covered “lounge bed” where the family can loll and relax on hot days. The raised wall surrounding the bed was set in mortar and – for future purposes – could also be utilized as a raised flowerbed or as a pond. Note the clever use of bright colours in the paving and the accessories; a typical kids’ garden, but just subdued enough for the parents to entertain their friends without giving them the feeling they’re dining at McDonalds.

Roald Dahl Chocolate Garden

chocolate garden Inspired by Dahl’s book “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory”, this British design was featured at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show earlier this year (RHS stands for Royal Horticultural Society). The garden’s paving represents a cocoa pod while some of the plants have a chocolate scent to them.

Fisherman’s Garden

fisherman's garden I love the idea of having an old wooden boat lying about in the garden as if it has lived there for years! The garden was designed for the “Sea Britain 2005” celebrations of the UK’s maritime heritage and it has more to it than first meets the eye. The plants in the garden are all native to UK coastal areas and were picked for their wind and salt tolerance, the trees around the cottage act as a windbreak and – though not all that clearly visible in this particular picture – the garden is surrounded by walls for the same purpose. I think this garden is a must-have for former Maritimers who have migrated to Ottawa and miss home

That’s all, folks! I am off to see if there are any old rowing boats lying about town that the owners are willing to part with (what a brilliant idea!). Next week, I will give you some ideas on how to design a garden for the visually impaired.

Until then, happy gardening!

René Trim

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About René
René Trim was educated and trained in The Netherlands, before moving to Canada in 2000. After studying the differences in climate and season faced by Ontario gardeners he established Trim Garden Design and Rescue in May 2002. A gardener since the 1980’s, he has a wealth of knowledge and experience, a vast library of reference materials from which to draw answers to various garden situations as well as an enthusiastic and professional staff.