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

What<\/strong> Private garden fusing formal and naturalistic elements. Where<\/strong> Madrid, Spain. Size<\/strong> 2,400 square metres. Soil<\/strong> Poor clay replaced with free-draining loam. Climate<\/strong> Dry, Mediterranean. Hardiness zone<\/strong> USDA 9.<\/p>\n

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$\"""\"$ <\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div> \u00a9 Claire Takacs<\/i> <\/span>\n<\/div>\n
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Soft groupings of ornamental grasses and robust drifts of Escallonia rubra<\/em> var. macrantha<\/em> retain a level of formality in keeping with the contemporary house, but yield in the foreground to plants that mirror the wider Spanish landscape, such as Stachys byzantina<\/em> and Achillea filipendulina<\/em> \u2018Parker\u2019s Variety\u2019.<\/p>\n
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\u00a9 Claire Takacs<\/i> <\/span>\n<\/div>\n
In this more formal area to the side of the house, structural mounds of Phillyrea angustifolia<\/em> sit comfortably with tall cones of bay (Laurus nobilis<\/em>), to offer an evergreen structure that remains an attractive fixture through the year. At the far end, a wall of Trachelospermum jasminoides<\/em> also contributes fragrant flowers in season.<\/p>\n
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\u00a9 Claire Takacs<\/i> <\/span>\n<\/div>\n
The driveway to this contemporary house curves around a stately cork oak (Quercus suber<\/em>) retained from the original site. The clean lines of the house are softened by green channels of low, shrubby Escallonia rubra<\/em> var. macrantha<\/em>, which contrast against the clean edges of the architecture. The lush green also stands out against the white paving, made of Campaspero, a limestone from central Spain.<\/p>\n
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$\"""\"$ <\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div> \u00a9 Claire Takacs<\/i> <\/span>\n<\/div>\n
Viewed from the pool terrace, the magic of this clever garden becomes evident. Clipped hedging<\/a> creates a link from the clean lines of the house to the more natural planting beyond, and trees in the garden help to link the relatively small space to the golf course beyond. Even in small gardens, \u00c1lvaro aims to create distinct garden rooms that allow multi-functional use. \u201cIn this garden, people could be playing with the dogs, reading by the fire pit, swimming in the pool, and they don\u2019t see or disturb each other.\u201d<\/p>\n
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\u00a9 Claire Takacs<\/i> <\/span>\n<\/div>\n
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An upright Cupressus sempervirens<\/em> Stricta Group is used to frame a view of the lower wild garden, where gravel paths bring a sense of tactile connectivity. \u201cThere\u2019s something very poetic about the sound\nof walking over gravel,\u201d says \u00c1lvaro. \u201cIt\u2019s a good sensation.\u201d<\/p>\n
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\u00a9 Claire Takacs<\/i> <\/span>\n<\/div>\n
Pine trees from the adjoining golf course contribute to the borrowed view, while a screen of flowering Trachelospermum jasminoides<\/em> maintains privacy along the garden\u2019s southern boundary. \u201cWhen I make city\ngardens or places with close neighbours, I think about how to block the\u00a0 views first, because privacy is very important.\u201d<\/p>\n
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\u00a9 Claire Takacs<\/i> <\/span>\n<\/div>\n
Designer \u00c1lvaro Sampedro favours plants well suited to the dry Madrid climate. Here, white valerian (Centranthus ruber<\/em> \u2018Albus\u2019), Salvia nemorosa<\/em> \u2018Caradonna\u2019 and attractive tufts of feathergrass (Stipa tenuissima<\/em>) thrive in the improved, free-draining soil, demanding little irrigation despite the region\u2019s low annual rainfall.<\/p>\n
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$\"""\"$ <\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div> \u00a9 Claire Takacs<\/i> <\/span>\n<\/div>\n
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Brushing up against the curvy, clipped hedging that creates a demarcation between the formal and natural garden is the grass Miscanthus sinensis<\/em> \u2018Gracillimus\u2019, which \u00c1lvaro uses for its long season of interest. \u201cIn early spring, it\u2019s extremely green \u2013 something very like mint. Then you have the first flowers; and then the summer yellow; and ochres and browns for winter. It\u2019s amazing.\u201d When the grasses are finally cut back in February, the evergreen hedges hold the space together<\/p>\n
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Find out more about \u00c1lvaro\u2019s work at alvarosampedro.com\/en<\/a><\/strong><\/p><\/body><\/html>\n
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By Daisy Bowie-Sell Published: Thursday, 07 April 2022 at 12:00 am There was a curious beginning to this garden,\u201d says Spanish designer \u00c1lvaro Sampedro. \u201cThe client called me one summer and said, \u2018\u00c1lvaro, have you ever made a garden for dogs?\u2019\u201d As garden briefs go, this is a somewhat irregular request, but one that became […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":9286,"template":"","categories":[1],"acf":{"readingTimeMinutes":"4"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2022\/04\/formality-and-naturalistic-planting-in-a-contemporary-garden-from-designer-alvaro-sampedro-scaled.jpg",2560,1707,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2022\/04\/formality-and-naturalistic-planting-in-a-contemporary-garden-from-designer-alvaro-sampedro-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2022\/04\/formality-and-naturalistic-planting-in-a-contemporary-garden-from-designer-alvaro-sampedro-300x200.jpg",300,200,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2022\/04\/formality-and-naturalistic-planting-in-a-contemporary-garden-from-designer-alvaro-sampedro-768x512.jpg",768,512,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2022\/04\/formality-and-naturalistic-planting-in-a-contemporary-garden-from-designer-alvaro-sampedro-1024x683.jpg",800,534,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2022\/04\/formality-and-naturalistic-planting-in-a-contemporary-garden-from-designer-alvaro-sampedro-1536x1024.jpg",1536,1024,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2022\/04\/formality-and-naturalistic-planting-in-a-contemporary-garden-from-designer-alvaro-sampedro-2048x1365.jpg",2048,1365,true]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/gardensillustrated\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"By Daisy Bowie-Sell Published: Thursday, 07 April 2022 at 12:00 am There was a curious beginning to this garden,\u201d says Spanish designer \u00c1lvaro Sampedro. \u201cThe client called me one summer and said, \u2018\u00c1lvaro, have you ever made a garden for dogs?\u2019\u201d As garden briefs go, this is a somewhat irregular request, but one that became…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/gardensillustrated\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/9285"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/gardensillustrated\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/gardensillustrated\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/gardensillustrated\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/gardensillustrated\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9286"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/gardensillustrated\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9285"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/gardensillustrated\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9285"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}