Make Your Garden Both Modern & Romantic

Learn the secrets of making a garden that is both modern and romantic from international superstar garden designer Andrea Cochran.

Design Wise | If you love beautiful gardens and find yourself near Robson and Georgia this evening with an hour so to spare, you might want to walk over to UBC Robson Square where international superstar garden designer Andrea Cochran will give a free lecture at 7 p.m.

Cochran, a darling of both the popular media (Dwell, Gardens Illustrated, New York Times, etc.) and academia (her 2009 picture book, Andrea Cochran Landscapes, was published by Princeton Architectural Press), is known for her ability to artfully combine both modern and romantic elements in the private gardens and public landscapes she creates.

Here are a few of the great ideas to you’ll take away from Cochran’s talk.

Go Bold—Cochran doesn’t mix things. Her plant materials in particular are segregated in large, straightforward mass-planting blocks. This does two things: amps up the drama by giving fewer plants more visual impact and helps keep garden care to a minimum (fewer plant types means less overcrowing and a more streamlined maintenance plan).

Keep It Simple—Cochran is all about editing; her landscapes contain as few hard materials and plant varieties as possible. This makes them look sculptural. This approach would add unexpected drama to any small outdoor space.

Add Geometry, Then Soften It—Cochran’s landscape patterns are mostly squares and triangles; curves, no matter how you do them, always cost more money. Straight, highly defined edges also make it easier to keep a great design in its original shape.

Since straight edges can seem overly harsh, Cochran softens them through plant and tree choices, fencing materials (willow hurdle, rough-cut stone), colour and plenty of texture. —Ron Rule

For more on Andrea Cochran visit acochran.com. Her free lecture, The Edited Landscape: Engaging and Ephemeral, will be held tonight at 7 p.m. at UBC Robson Square. The talk is currently full, but if you drop by at 6:30 you may be able to score a no-show seat. (Call 604-822-1444 to check your chances.)