Climate adaptive thinking for the UK and Middle-East
Water in its purest form is the most simple of compounds – two atoms of hydrogen to one of oxygen – yet it is possibly one of the least understood “elements” on this planet. Strange, when it covers 70% of the globe and our bodies are 70% water. We take it for granted now, when
This article was first published in 2009. There are few aspects of our built environment more emotive that that of the entrance door. It can mean shelter, warmth, food, security, friendship. All of life involves the act of entrance, from the earliest caveman to the present day. How many times per day do we go
This article was first published in 2007 and has been updated 2018. Future gardens will be an integral part of a living bio-system that is part house, part garden, an energy conserving and production environment. It will also be a resource for water retention and cleansing, food production area, biomass and environmental haven. Above all,
This was first published in 2009 and is referred to in Wikipedia. Curves are an integral element of design and especially of landscape, since they make a connection to nature, which does not use linear form. Curvilinear lines are notoriously difficult to achieve as they are invariably of a freeform nature (ignoring geometric curves
A problem, or an opportunity for a new landscape paradigm? I was recently working on a tree project in Abu Dhabi when I came across a derelict site which intrigued me with it’s range of exotic self-seeded, non-native plants. The site was next to the Corniche and sandwiched between the Formal Park, my hotel and
I’m pleased to have launched a new website and blog dedicated to this aspect of my work. Over time the blog will become a useful resource to all those interested in the care of trees in the Middle-East. My focus and experience has so far been within the UAE but the tree range is similar
On my most recent trip to Dubai, I enjoyed walking through some of the new landscapes that emerge as projects are completed. The UAE, along with most regions of the Middle-east has a rather limited palette of plants to work with (although that is growing as new plants are tried). What struck me, however, was how poor the quality
UPDATE September 2022: Given the increasing urgency of climate change and the overwhelming stresses this will place on our civilisation for the near, medium and long-term future, I now doubt this scenario will ever come about. A glimpse of what might have been, maybe, had we taken climate seriously and managed to move through that
This article first appeared in Pro Landscaper Gulf – a .PDF copy can be seen here on page 12. It is based on tree consultancy work I have undertaken in Abu Dhabi in recent years. Irrigation is taken as a necessity when landscaping in arid climates. It is a view that I wouldn’t like to completely
This review first appeared in Thinking Gardens in February 2016. This book represents a new wave of thinking about “natural” planting that has been emerging in recent years; actually it has been developing for the last thirty or more years but like all new things, they tend to follow an exponential growth curve. I’d say
