WHAT ARE GARDENS FOR?

摘要

WHEN the Society of Garden Designers met last November to answer the question 'What are gardens for?' the speakers approached the subject in very different ways - from the personal to the political to the metaphysical. California-based Bernard Trainorturns for inspiration to the rugged landscape of the Big Sur area, which reminds him of the rock, sea and sky he pitted himself against as an adolescent growing up near Melbourne in Australia. In his work he doesn't aim to compete with nature, but letsus feel the raw edge of the encounter by introducing vertiginous contrasts - think infinity swimming pools with a backdrop of hills cloaked in a wild froth of green. He allows the setting beyond to define the garden space, proffering light brush strokesas plantings that include many native species. His effortless-looking fractal geometry derives from his lifelong dialogue with elemental forces, and a rigorous attention to the science and art of site observation.