Why now?
I’ve always felt the desire to build a community of enthusiasts around residential gardens. At my landscape architecture firm in the Bay Area, I have always thought that there should be a higher level of appreciation for garden making, outside of just aesthetics. But even more specifically, to approach gardens the same way that architects have conversations about built structures. To look at the components of a garden that make feel like you’re at home. To examine the different structural strategies that turn a garden from a place that repels end users, to a place that is the most visited “room” in the home. To give to gardens the respect and attention that I feel that they deserve. There are endless publications reviewing the different work of architects and interior designers, but very few that dive into the meaning of a garden and why certain design decisions can alter a space. How the use of light and shadow determine use cases, and more importantly, why a conversation with the land is the first step to intentional place-making. Whether that be through the construction of a new home or just understanding why elements should exist where they exist.
What to expect?
I know I should stick with the positives, but firstly, I would just like to say who this community is NOT for. If you think that a garden is just a place to “make the home look nice,” this is definitely not for you. If you think that “it’s just decoration,” then once again, this is not for you. But if you believe that a garden is the way that we can both invite nature into our daily lives and share these experiences with others, then that’s what you should expect from this. If you believe that a garden exists not to serve us but to teach us how to live in harmony, then this is for you. But above all, I believe that the process of garden-making, and landscape architecture as a whole, gives us the ability to transform the purest ingredient (raw land), to reveal what’s underneath the surface, and to honor the history of that land, by reimagining something that connects new to old.
So...
In conclusion, yes, I am deeply obsessed with what it takes to create a space that exists in the outdoors, honors the outdoors, respects the end users of the space, while still trying to achieve a beautiful end product. If you are as well, then let’s go on this journey together. I’m not much of a writer but I promise, I’ll speak from the heart, whether you agree with me, I guess that’s something we can always discuss.
-KC Carlisle
Principal
Numa Gardens Landscape Architecture.
