Swampy meadow garden by Yulia Novakovska Landscape Bureau

The garden is located in a picturesque area, where patches of coniferous forests are interspersed with vast areas covered with swampy meadows. Part of these territories was drained, so it became suitable for the construction of houses. However, peat meadows are still located on the territory’s outskirts, determining the appearance and character of the territory.

Plot with an area of ​​4200 sq.m. has a slight slope, on the outskirts of the site, a drainage channel flows along its lowland part. Outside the site, from the southwest, there are the same authentic peat swampy meadows overgrown with reeds, on which storks and wild ducks nest. These meadows are the main feature of the territory, the dominant that defines the spirit of the place. The image of a swampy meadow covered with cereal vegetation formed the basis for the concept of the garden. This image is the criterion to which we turned when we selected elements of garden design.

The second dominant of the plot is a spacious modern house. It is built on the highest place and, as it were, soars above the site. Its simple forms are repeated in the planning lines of the garden, emphasizing the unity of the house and the garden. A young family with children lives in the house. They travel a lot around the world and in Ukraine. This family likes to visit natural parks and reserves and spend a lot of time observing nature. Also, their house is always open to numerous guests.

The clients wanted to have a garden where they would be able to spend their time in a variety of ways: play sports games; rest by the water; grow vegetables and fruits for personal use; observe nature at different times of the year, at different times of the day, in different weather. And to make the stay in the garden comfortable and safe for children.

We wanted to make a garden that would emphasize the unique natural character of the place. To do this – to enhance the image of a swampy meadow, turn it into a pearl of the garden.

Garden Structure

The designed structure of the garden is simple and concise. The project provides for terracing. Terraces fan out between the house and the canal, while different functional areas are at different levels of the territory.

On the south-eastern side of the site, there is an orchard and a vegetable garden, separated by a wing of the house from the rest of the territory. This arrangement allows you to close fruit plants from cold winds and grow heat-loving plants in the garden.

To the southwest of the house is an open lawn area. This site is located on the highest part of the territory, from here you can see the fields overgrown with reeds. Practically, the entire garden is located between this large lawn and marshy meadows outside the site. The garden, as it were, smoothly develops from complete human control (traditional lawn) to the ease of natural landscapes (meadows).

After passing through the lawn, you can go down to the middle level of the garden, where a recreation area with a swimming biopond was created. This terrace is completely covered with larch flooring, and in addition to the pool, there is a shaded seating area under a large tree (Catalpa bignonioides). Water purification in the pond is carried out by filtering through layers of crushed stone of different fractions, no chemicals are used.

The terrace below is a walking area along the water channel, its plantings imitate the image of a water meadow. This is one of the most expressive fragments of the site, it retained the character of the natural environment best of all, it allows you to feel the atmosphere of the place better than others. In spring, this area is usually flooded with water. By mid-spring, the water leaves and the site turns into a flowering valley. In any weather, you can walk along the path of the canal, admire flowering plants, and ornamental cereals, and feel yourself in the middle of nature.

There is a plot in the garden, which was created at a separate request of clients. After a trip to Japan, they wanted to have a corner in the garden with stones and conifers. So, one slope was decorated with stones, coniferous shrubs, and plants that change the color of foliage in autumn. This section of the garden is very bright in autumn!

Vegetation

The proximity of water has become a decisive criterion for the selection of an assortment of plantings. Moisture-loving plants form the basis of the assortment, shrubs and perennial flowers are added to them, which correspond to the image of a swampy meadow. The dominant in plant compositions are ornamental cereals. The use of native plant species makes the garden very sustainable and reduces maintenance time. There are no plants in the garden that would require special attention. The basis of care is keeping the garden in a tidy condition, to the extent that its owners like it.

Each season is marked in the garden with accents that replace each other. The brightest periods are traditional: spring and autumn. In summer, the garden is mostly green, if it allows you to take a break from spring flowering, to admire the colors of autumn later. The water meadow along the canal is the most expressive part of the territory, flowering and accents are present here throughout the growing season. The basis of plantings is cereal grasses and local perennial flowers.

In late autumn and winter, the garden is decorated with panicles of cereal grasses, bright stems of shrubs (Cornus alba, Cornus stolonifera), and trees (Salix alba, Betula pendula), hawthorn berries.

Other landscape architecture offices involved in the design of landscape: Swimming pond: design and construction – company ”Homepark”

The house was designed by the architectural bureau ”33by.pro by Ivan Yunakov”

Project location: Ukraine, Kyiv region

Design year: 2016

Year Built: 2018