How does your garden grow? Does it scale a building? Sprout from a tower? Create a can’t-miss pattern for viewers overhead? Since private gardens may pose a few limitations (space, neighbors, budget) it’s often in the public spaces that landscape designers can really go wild. So for real inspiration, don’t look next door—see these ten landscape designs that break all the rules and exceed all expectation of what, where, and how beauty grows.
Francisco Alvarado Park, Zarcero, Costa Rica (above)
Landscape designer Evangelisto Blanco shaped this dream-like
wonderland out of conifer cypress trees in the 1960s. The
enchanting park beckons to the young at heart with figures like
waltzing elephants, a monkey on a motorcycle, and a crowded
bullfight ring. But our favorite is definitely the 16 topiaries
that curve to create these eerie and mysterious archways where
visitors can wander.
Quai Branly Museum, Paris
Designed by vertical garden innovator Patrick Blanc, the façade
of this lovely Parisian museum features Japanese plants and irises,
Helxine (a moss-like creeper with delicate foliage), and a host of
other lush greenery. Metal constructs prevent it from reaching the
windows, creating a wild—yet clean—effect for passersby, who often
stop to touch the plants at the ground level.
Topiary Gardens at Washington Old Hall, Tyne & Wear, U.K.
The greenery in Washington Old Hall, an English manor house that
was an ancestral home of George Washington, is formed in a charming
lattice pattern the appears to curve up and under perfectly—a nice
change from the typical teddy bear and elephant topiaries.
Roof Garden at the Lyric Theatre, London, England
Perched atop a popular theatre in the Hammersmith area of
London, this modern rooftop garden opened in June of this year to
the delight of the surrounding community. Landscape architects
Adam White and Andree Davies designed the modern space
to be chic and playful. Here, actors from a local drama group kick
off its opening dressed as human planters.
To see the six other spectacular gardens, view the full story on
PointClickHome.com.
You tell us. Which garden is your favorite?
