Patio Escapes by Reinier van de Poll

Patio Escapes: Transforming Yards and Enriching Lives

What a fascinating look into the world of a Garden Design and Landscape Artist! Reinier van de Poll is certainly a master craftsman and by the end of his presentation, we were all ready to buy lotto tickets to have our own yards transformed into magical oases!

Reinier explained that his secret to designing “the perfect escape garden” is to carefully plan around each client’s specific needs. Are they looking for a family-centered environment or a place to host fabulous garden parties? In both cases, however, his goal is to create a haven that is the opposite of the workday world, fraught with office to-do lists, line-ups at the coffee machine, fighting through traffic. He wants his clients to step out of their cars at the end of a busy day, release an appreciative “Ahhhhh!”, and sink into an environment that soothes, or delights, their soul! It is eye-pleasing but practical, detailed but easy to maintain, and it is a complementary extension of their home’s unique character.
Landscape and garden designers have a colourful and creative history. Reinier’s own background includes the influence of his family from Holland… green thumbs there for sure! Some of the names Reinier introduced us to were: Frederick Law Olmsted (who designed Central Park in New York), Gertrude Jekyll (advocate of the natural garden), Thomas Church (a pioneer of Modernism in design including the kidney shaped pool), Garrett Eckbo (who brought art and science into his designs), Roberto Burle Marx (a Brazilian landscape architect who became world famous for his parks and gardens), Martha Swartz (a climate activist with extravagant designs). Reinier himself studied under the award winning John Brookes who was famous for his thousands of gardens that focused on his clients’ needs and wants.

Now, how do we go about this in our own gardens?
Reinier advised us that we need to take the time to write down our priorities and then really think about what we need and/or want.

Reinier has four “Ps” which we should think about in our planning.

Puzzle: what do we really want or need. Parties? Intimacy? Family space? Reinier says, “Every landscape feature has a measured size, and they all need to fit in or be puzzled into place”
Pedestrian: how will people move from place to place in our garden
Profile: the shapes and features of our house and landscape are important. Reinier says, “The profile of elevation of a home may be reflected in the landscape with shapes and patterns”
Personality: the inside of our house (traditional, contemporary, eclectic) should flow out into our garden. Reinier says, “Each client has a distinct personality of style and preference, and we need to try to echo that in the design”

Reinier also gave us 10 other things to consider when designing your “patio escape”.

Access – is it easy and does it invite you to enter
Paving – there are many options such as pavers, stonework etc
Furniture – are they durable and comfortable
Plantings nearby – consider fragrance and NOT thorny!
Views – is it a distant view or are you creating a private “oasis”
Structure – a vertical component such as an overhead arbour for shade, shelter
Water – water features such as a pond, a fountain, a stone gurgler
Fire – fire pits, fireplaces (consider how people will gather around them)
Rocks – anchor them in, not just sitting on top of ground
Pots – less is more, consider design, color, texture

Looking at Reinier’s fabulous “before and after” spectacular garden and landscape designs generated many “Wows” from the audience but the ideas were nonetheless inspirational for our own little plots of land. His “tips to consider” are invaluable, whether we are looking at a total renovation or just tweaking those difficult areas.

Thank you, Reinier, for an engaging presentation
and for motivating our own creativity this spring!

Related links

van de poll garden design
vandepollgardens.com

Of course there are a multitude of garden design suggestions on the internet!
Here are two links to get you started.

Landscape Design for Beginners
https://www.thespruce.com/landscape-design-for-beginners-2130815

51 Landscaping Ideas
https://www.thespruce.com/backyard-landscaping-ideas-4172952

You might be interested to explore some of the Landscape Designers mentioned.

Frederick Law Olmsted (who designed Central Park in New York)
https://www.discoverwalks.com/blog/top-10-facts-about-frederick-law-olmsted/

Gertrude Jekyll (advocate of the natural garden)
https://gertrudejekyll.co.uk/

Thomas Church (a pioneer of Modernism in design including the kidney shaped pool)
https://thelandscapelibrary.com/landscape-architect-spotlight-thomas-church/

Garrett Eckbo (who brought art and science into his designs)
https://www.tclf.org/pioneer/garrett-eckbo

Roberto Burle Marx (a Brazilian landscape architect who became world famous for his parks and gardens)
https://www.archdaily.com/792639/roberto-burle-marx-a-master-of-much-more-than-just-modernist-landscape

Martha Swartz (a climate activist with extravagant designs)
https://msp.world/projects

https://e360.yale.edu/features/martha_schwartz_urban_landscape_designs_to_meet_21st_century_challenges

Reinier’s own mentor, John Brookes (famous for his thousands of gardens that focused on his clients’ needs and wants)
https://www.denmans.org/about/john-bio-page/