Oehme, van Sweden & Associates
Wolfgang Oehme
James van Sweden
“The greatest asset” of this 85-acre landscape along the shore of the Tred Avon River, van Sweden wrote, “was the expansive views across the water. When we began work, however, the site was otherwise uninspiring.” To create structure within the site, the firm used “massed perennials and grasses, statuesque, headhigh species…to informally enclose…different areas.” The plantings were “visually permeable, allowing glimpses of the areas beyond, inviting exploration.”[1]
As any accomplished sculptor knows, different types of forms inspire different emotional reactions, so manipulations of form becomes a powerful tool (perhaps the most powerful) for shaping a visitor’s experience of the garden.[2]
The Artful Garden. see resources
[1] James van Sweden and Tom Christopher, The Artful Garden: Creative Inspiration for Landscape Design (New York: Random House, 2011), 23-24.
[2] Ibid, 27.