The next three years are going to be very busy for Sarah Price. The 28 year old leading garden designer is part of a team that recently unveiled plans for the massive London Olympic Park that will anchor the games. The design of the park draws on Britian’s long standing interest in horticultural traditions and five centuries of collecting plants from all around the world.
The garden will be divided into four geographic zones, Europe and the Mediterranean, the Americas, Asia and the southern hemisphere. 250 species of plants and trees will be represented. In addition to plants, the park will provide over 700 artificial habitats for animals ranging from bats to otters.
Price has produced several show gardens in the past and has taken multiple awards at the prestigious Chelsea Flower Show. She often contrasts a natural planting style with modern architectural shapes. While shows tend to be short term, part of Price’s philosophy is to consider the long term life of a garden through the inclusion of sustainable materials and consideration of the unique characteristics of each environment.
Long term is really what the Olympic park project is about. Surprisingly, the project will be the first Europe’s first new public park in 150 years and when completed will be the largest. It will also be designed to protect the area from floods, capture and clean rainwater, and create vital and long term habitats for hundreds of species.
[ via Times Online ]
This sounds like a really exciting project I hope she does well. Will you be posting regular updates on this blog?
November 17th, 2008 at 5:36 pm