Private residence in the Florentine hills
The vegetable garden with a view
Broom flowering
Wisteria pergola
Verbena flowering
Pennisetum edges
Perovskia flowering
Location:
Firenze
Year of completion:
2018
Project by:
Stuart Barfoot (UK-London)
Description:
In a secluded position on the hills of Bagno a Ripoli, overlooking the point where the Arno enters Florence, an old rural building, restored in keeping with its original simplicity, sits naturally and elegantly within the surrounding landscape. The project, conceived by Stuart Barfoot Garden Design in 2016, sought to preserve this essential character through a restrained design capable of accompanying the architecture without imposing upon it.
We therefore created a composition in which vegetation becomes the protagonist, favouring simple planting choices with strong expressive impact. Broad, single-species beds contain generous masses of verbena, broom and lavender, each given its own identity through differences in colour, form and texture.
Repeating individual species in large groups creates a powerful visual effect, where the richness of the flowering is balanced by the simplicity of the design. Shades of purple, yellow and blue respond to the light and colours of the countryside, creating a landscape that changes through the seasons.
The result is a composition with an apparent spontaneity, in which the strength of the planted masses comes from the simplicity of the choices. The intervention interprets the character of the place through a limited palette of plants used in broad masses and arranged with balance and sensitivity, creating an image of harmony and landscape intensity.
