GARDEN DESIGN
The pillars culminate to form a curved
bench representing the pinnacle of the
garden, whilst providing a space to
sit and contemplate one’s life journey
looking back over the path that may
have been taken.
Selected primarily due to its
impressive environmental credentials,
the Kebony wood pillars are a
physical representation of time itself,
sometimes moving faster, sometimes
slower. Developed in Norway, Kebony’s
revolutionary technology utilises
sustainably-sourced wood with
improved durability and stability,
ensuring that the integral aspects
of the installation (the bench and
pillars) are both to the highest quality,
promising strength and resistance.
Rough stepping stones representing
‘The Path of Life’ have also been
incorporated into the design to
demonstrate that at times there are
different paths that could be taken
– some hard to follow, some difficult
to reach. Around the stepping stones
Roberts has ensured the planting is
bright and vibrant to convey youth
and vitality at the first stage. The
square stepping stone frames built
from corten steel are filled with yellow
quartz paddlestones to symbolise
multiple decisions that need to be
made dictating the path of life. Rough
under foot and uneven in texture, the
paddlestones are layered in the same
direction to provide a feeling of flow
through the garden.
Three pools of water incorporated into
the garden signify the challenges of life
and obstacles that must be overcome;
two pools of ‘troubled water’ border
the garden, appearing as black water
turbulent and unsettled. Contrastingly,
the central pool which remains still
and reflective must be crossed to
continue the path of life; without a
bridge one must take a leap of faith - a
step into the unknown. Adjacent to
the pools of water are a number of
different sized Caledonian boulders
strewn throughout the garden to
represent friendships that have grown
over the years, whilst the split boulder
after the reflective pool illustrates the
coming together of two people.
Through the introduction of planting Kebony’s International Sales Director
Roberts skilfully depicts life’s Adrian Pye added:
adversities and challenges with a very
dark and sombre palette over the
garden’s central stage encroaching
from the edges and culminating
around the pools of water. However,
the planting towards the bench at
the rear has a much more relaxed
and softer feel with the use of grasses
such as Deschampsia cespitosa and
“The team at Kebony are extremely
impressed by Lawrence Roberts’
design and attention to detail which is
evidenced throughout his installation
at the Hampton Court Show.
We were fascinated to discover how
Kebony has been used to illustrate
Hakonechloa macra. the notion of ‘Pillars of Time’, and
Designer Lawrence Roberts, Elements Eyes’ is a unique and well thought
Garden Design commented:
the overall concept ‘Through Your
out initiative that has been cleverly
depicted by Elements Garden Design.”
“I have never wanted to create
gardens that cost the earth. For me,
hardwood timber no longer represents
a viable choice, the chain of custody
is often dubious and I can’t pretend
to be oblivious to the problems in the
countries where the timber originates
from. Kebony offers a real solution -
it’s sustainable, traceable, organically
treated and, to top it off, a beautiful
and versatile timber to use.”
www.kebony.com
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