As a country of continental proportions, Brazil provides you with countless experiences with vegetation in view of the diversity of its biomes and yet it does not prepare you for work in the Northern Hemisphere. Vegetation growth occurs at a slower pace and the effect of the annual seasons upon them is noticeably severe; there, another pictorial palette of vegetation takes hold, there are new fragrances and perfumes, and above all there is the look of a unique culture that reflects its relations with nature and its perceptions of gardening aesthetics.
Strides in Madrid around its parks, plazas and through the Botanical Garden gave her the opportunity to delve into the native vegetation and into species that are so well adapted to this specific place learning how they behaved throughout the marked seasons of the year, with hot and dry summers and cold winters. Added to this were many visits to nurseries whose care takers´ patience and good will allowed her to deepen the delicate comprehension of the whole. The perception she has, gleaned by experience, of what a good place is, her understanding of the aspects of nature, the use of vegetation, and the way she aesthetically compose all overlapping elements, all the while maintaining an identity that ultimately reflects the particularities of how she works within her comprehension of nature, is the challenge and reason to be called upon to develop a project overseas.
Designing a landscape project for a gated community in the outskirts of Madrid was an adventure to which she gave herself with great enthusiasm.
The fact that the transit of cars is entirely underground, freeing all common areas for pedestrians, gave us the opportunity to treat all the external areas as one garden. As a tradeoff, this situation came with the limitation that the greater part of the garden was to be over slabs with not much depth for soil except for some areas set aside for trees that would be planted in natural ground, also we had a great variation of sunlight that reached each corner of the garden.
Access to the houses was conceived as widening and narrowing patios and passages that give rise to spaces with singular characteristics that we experience as we walk along. The landscaping project proposes to create an identity through the vegetation selected for each ambience.
She projected the swimming pool in friendly proportions for use by the residents simultaneously, whether it be for wading at its steps or enjoying it in full. The vicinity of the pool is itself a patio that will become more sheltered as the buxus grow.
The evergreen Quercus ilex dot the various patios and the pool area that is outlined by two opposite planes: on one side lies the structured patterns of the Magnolia grandiflora, and on the opposing side the lightness and bright green of pear trees (Pyrus calleryana). Groups of magnolia shrubs (Magnolia sellowiana) enhance the open areas of the garden. The entrance to the development is lined with trees called Zelkova serrata and Lagerstroemia indica that spread onto the private gardens of the houses linking them in their flowering season.