{"id":41895,"date":"2024-11-19T11:10:12","date_gmt":"2024-11-19T10:10:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/62be3b0c-ab0e-45b5-abbb-7ab3eb075515"},"modified":"2024-11-19T12:31:22","modified_gmt":"2024-11-19T11:31:22","slug":"a-zesty-tangerine-coloured-roof-top-garden-in-london-designed-by-nigel-dunnett","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/gardensillustrated\/rss_feed\/a-zesty-tangerine-coloured-roof-top-garden-in-london-designed-by-nigel-dunnett\/","title":{"rendered":"A zesty tangerine-coloured roof top garden in London designed by Nigel Dunnett"},"content":{"rendered":"

On the edge of one of London\u2019s busiest roundabouts, Nigel Dunnett has created exciting combinations of drought-tolerant plants for a roof garden that is as unexpected as it is joyful. Words: Natasha Goodfellow, Photographs: Alister Thorpe <\/p>

By <\/p>

Published: Tuesday, 19 November 2024 at 10:10 AM<\/p>

\n\n

When is a garden not a\u2028garden? When it\u2019s a work\u2028of art. Peveril Gardens, a rooftop community space<\/a> built above some formerly derelict garages, next to one\u2028of London\u2019s busiest roundabouts, is just such a place. From the drab surrounding streets below, it is easy\u2028to miss.<\/p>

But venture up the stairs through the bright- orange doors and you\u2019re in a different world entirely\u2028\u2013 a world of colour, heat and interest that brings to mind the buildings of Mexican architect Luis Barrag\u00e1n.<\/p>

In brief<\/strong><\/p>

What<\/strong> Public community rooftop garden designed by Sanchez Benton architects with planting design by Nigel Dunnett<\/a>.<\/li>
Where<\/strong> London.<\/li>
Size<\/strong> Approximately 400 square metres.<\/li>
Soil <\/strong>Green roof substrate including 20 per cent organic matter, minimum depth 10cm.<\/li>
Climate<\/strong> Temperate, but with extreme heat and drought in summer.<\/li>
Hardiness zone<\/strong> USDA 9.<\/li> <\/ul> The space is a simple rectangle, its four tangerine\u2028walls pierced on all sides by long windows. Underfoot, terracotta brick pathways<\/a> continue and intensify the orange theme, winding around the planting beds whose inhabitants \u2013 spiky dasylirions, Melianthus<\/em> major and spiralling euphorbias<\/em> \u2013 cast their seductive shadows against the walls. Outside, sirens clang and the traffic roars; up here, it\u2019s the sound of grasshoppers you hear first. If the definition of art is something that transports you, this ticks the box.<\/p>
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The garden is a collaboration between architectural practice Sanchez Benton, planting designer Nigel Dunnett and Mexican artist Gabriel Kuri, and is the result of a design competition organised by Southwark Borough Council for an art commission to improve this part of the borough.<\/p>

The idea was to have a cosmopolitan mix of plants from virtually every continent that would co-exist.<\/p> <\/blockquote>
\u201cRather than thinking about an artwork or sculpture that could be put into a public place, the architects had the idea that the garden itself would be the artwork,\u201d says Nigel, who was approached primarily because of his experience in creating gardens at the Brutalist Barbican complex across the river Thames.<\/p>

The benches were designed by Mexican artist Gabriel Kuri, with whom Nigel collaborated on the project. In the foreground, the plants \u2013 including euphorbias, grasses and cardoons \u2013 were chosen primarily for their foliage and ability to withstand drought. A pipe irrigation system on a timer helped them to establish; now they must fend for themselves. Photograph: Alister Thorpe <\/figcaption> <\/figure>
\u201cSanchez Benton realised there was a lack of good-quality green space in the area and thought there was an opportunity to create something that engaged with more people in the community than the existing building did.\u201d<\/p>
Built in 1964, the original structure was conceived as a \u2018playground in the sky\u2019 for the residents of the adjacent Peveril House tower block, accessible via\u2028a raised footbridge. By the early 2000s, however, the garages and bin store beneath had fallen into disrepair, the garden was barely used and the entire podium was threatened with demolition.<\/p>
Where some might have been underwhelmed by this unprepossessing place and its dispiriting location, Nigel was excited. \u201cI have a real love of Modernist architecture and the vision and idealism behind it,\u201d he says. \u201cAnd I really loved the idea of this protected \u2018playspace\u2019.\u201d<\/p>
$\"Urban$
The garden is on the corner of the busy Bricklayers\u2019 Arms roundabout and flyover, named after the coaching inn that once stood on the site. The use of bricks is a nod to this history. The design has stayed close to the original, reusing and refurbishing the existing structure rather than starting again. Nigel chose the gleditsia tree (on the left) \u201cfor its dappled canopy and its lovely golden-yellow young leaves in spring, which look fantastic against the tangerine walls\u201d. Photograph: Alister Thorpe <\/figcaption> <\/figure>
He also loved the proposed design \u2013 a dynamic mix of gently undulating topography and bold piercings of the roof, all designed to connect the building with its surroundings. One piercing accommodates the new staircase from the street. Another allows a gleditsia tree to grow up from ground level, and a central skylight illuminates the building below, now occupied by Forma, a contemporary arts organisation.<\/p>

The project has moved things on from the focus on perennials and the dominant aesthetic of the past 20 years.<\/p> <\/blockquote>
Nigel\u2019s initial planting ideas drew on his experience at the Barbican, using a palette of sustainable and climate-adapted flowering perennials<\/a> and grasses<\/a> that would thrive in the shallow, free-draining substrate, but, to his surprise, the architects wanted something quite different. \u201cThey referenced monastic cloister gardens and the dramatic foliage seen in Dan Pearson\u2019s garden at the nearby Garden Museum<\/a> \u2013 a very enclosed, sheltered space quite different from this sun-scorched roof garden with its thin soil and exposed site,\u201d says Nigel.<\/p>
$\"Urban$
While you might expect a rooftop garden to be flat, this one actually undulates gently, thanks to sculpted layers of lightweight insulation material lying beneath the brick and concrete screed. In certain areas, this has enabled the planting depth to be increased, allowing for larger, deeper-rooted plants such as Euphorbia mellifera, Melianthus major and the fig tree, Ficus carica. Photograph: Alister Thorpe <\/figcaption> <\/figure>
He refers to this initial stumbling block as one of the high points of the project. \u201cIn having to come up with low-maintenance foliage plants that would survive in these conditions, it really challenged me and has changed the way I think. It\u2019s moved things on from the focus on perennials and the aesthetic that\u2019s been dominant for the past 20 or 30 years.\u201d<\/p>
A loose mix of evergreen, drought-tolerant shrubs<\/a> including Dasylirion acrotrichum<\/em>, euphorbias (E. mellifera<\/em> and E. characias subsp. wulfenii<\/em>), Melianthus major<\/em> and Fatsia polycarpa<\/em> Green Fingers provided the solution, with other drought-tolerant plants including Dianthus carthusianorum<\/em>, Liatris spicata<\/em> and various sedums, salvias and thymes woven through the spaces. The tree, envisioned by Gabriel Kuri almost as a flag for the garden, is a Gleditsia triacanthos f. inermis<\/em> \u2018Sunburst\u2019, which, at around 15m tall, needed to be craned into position.<\/p>
To reflect the diverse local community, Nigel has selected plants from all over the world: kniphofias<\/a> from Africa, nandinas <\/em>and bergenias from Asia, and astelias from New Zealand, to name but a few.<\/p>
\u201cI thought it would be a nice metaphor to have a cosmopolitan mix of plants from virtually every continent that would come together and co-exist,\u201d he says. In a similar spirit, self-seeders and blown-in plants are also encouraged, not least by the design, which uses the same gravel emulsion substrate in the beds as in the brick-striped pathways.<\/p>
\u201cIf something looks good and it makes its home here, it\u2019s welcome,\u201d says Nigel, adding that he\u2019s excited to see how the space will develop its own dynamic over time. \u201cWhere the paths get lots of usage, self-seeders won\u2019t survive, but in other areas they\u2019ll establish and thrive.\u201d<\/p>
Key in this process is local resident and dancer Richard Court, who manages the group of volunteers that help maintain the garden for the benefit of the wider community. This includes everyone from the residents of Peveril House (who may come and go as they please) and anyone who wanders in during the public opening hours, to school groups and visitors to other cultural events organised by Forma. \u201cThe usual reaction is one of surprise,\u201d says Nigel. \u201cIt\u2019s just so completely unexpected and joyful.\u201d<\/p>
Drought-tolerant plants<\/h2>
1. Dianthus carthusianorum<\/em><\/h3>
$\"Dianthus$
Dianthus carthusianorum <\/figcaption> <\/figure>
\u201cI love the way this little perennial is already venturing out of the beds and making itself at home in the paths,\u201d says Nigel. The single, pink flowers sit on wiry stems that emerge from a tight clump of narrow, green leaves. Height and spread: 60cm x 20cm. RHS H7\u2020.<\/p>
2. Dasylirion acrotrichum <\/em><\/h3>
$\"Dasylirion$
Dasylirion acrotrichum <\/figcaption> <\/figure>
The spiky, domed hemispheres of this evergreen succulent sub-shrub make such a statement in the garden. The leaves have hooked margins and terminal tufts, and it sends up a tall spike of white, star-shaped flowers in summer. 1.2m x 1m. RHS H2.<\/p>
3. Sedum rupestre<\/em><\/h3>
$\"Sedum$
Sedum rupestre <\/figcaption> <\/figure>
Much hardier than it looks, this little plant makes an evergreen mat, throwing up tall stems of yellow flowers in summer. A prolific self-seeder, it can make itself at home in the tightest nooks and crannies. 15cm x 60cm. RHS H7, USDA 5a-8b.<\/p>
4. Astelia chathamica<\/em><\/h3>
$\"Astelia$
Astelia chathamica <\/figcaption> <\/figure>
This evergreen perennial has attractive, silvery, sword-shaped leaves and is happy in sun or shade. Very low maintenance and tough \u2013 simply cut back hard if it succumbs to frost and it should grow back. 1.2m x 80cm. AGM*. RHS H3.<\/p>
5. Ficus carica<\/em><\/h3>
$\"Ficus$
Ficus carica <\/figcaption> <\/figure>
Another tough-as-old-boots plant that, given sun, will romp away and look after itself entirely. The lobed leaves are attractive and edible (use as a flavouring rather than a foodstuff), as, of course, are the fruits. 3m x 4m. RHS H4, USDA 6a-9b.<\/p>
6. Euphorbia mellifera<\/em><\/h3>
$\"Euphorbia$
Euphorbia mellifera <\/figcaption> <\/figure>
With its honey-scented flowers, and long, narrow, acid-green leaves, this large, domed shrub makes a striking talking point in the garden. May need winter protection in very cold gardens. 2m x 2m. AGM. RHS H3.<\/p>
Useful information<\/strong><\/p>
Peveril Gardens<\/a> is at 140 Great Dover Street, London SE1 4GW. Open Tuesdays \u2013 Fridays, 10.30am-5pm. Find out more about Nigel Dunnett\u2019s work at nigeldunnett.com<\/a><\/p> <\/body><\/html>\n
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Drought-tolerant plants<\/h2> 1. Dianthus carthusianorum<\/em><\/h3>

1. Dianthus carthusianorum<\/em><\/h3>

2. Dasylirion acrotrichum <\/em><\/h3>