Like many people over the Easter break I spent my time off completing a home improvement project. But rather than painting and papering, this time it was digging and planting.
As you might expect, my garden like my home is inspired by my travels and so, to encourage other green fingered enthusiasts to do the same, I thought I’d start a new series dedicated to Nordic gardens. So, over the coming months I’ll be focussing on my favourite outdoor spaces and telling you more about what they mean to the people who create and care for them.
First up it’s the turn of Sebastian and Lars and their contemporary cottage garden in Amager. Avid gardeners outside of work, Sebastian the PR and Communications Manager at Danish lighting brand Nuura, and Lars a consultant for the Copenhagen Municipality, who have spent the past few years totally transforming their urban plot into an oasis for flora and fauna.
Over to Sebastian and Lars to tell us more:
“Our passion for horticulture started almost a decade ago when we bought an allotment together. Instead of growing the traditional edibles however we decided to create a contemporary take on a traditional cottage garden, and it was this experience that continues to inform our style today.
When we went on to buy our home in 2018, we were sure that we didn’t want to live far from Copenhagen, but as soon as we saw the house, and the blank canvas that surrounded it, we fell instantly in love.
Mid-century in style and built at the prime of Danish minimalism and functionalism, where there was once nothing more than a poor lawn and some sad looking bushes, today it has become a sea of flowers.
Even though we’ve changed the garden a lot it’s all been done a bit at a time making sure that there is something in bloom from early Spring right though to late Autumn. By combining trees and shrubs for structure, as well as a variety of roses and perennials for colour and contrast, our garden not only looks good to us, but benefits as many insects and birds as possible too.
Inspired by the Danish artist Anne Just her stunning garden, ‘Haven i Hune’ is located on Denmark’s Northwest coast. Open to the public, it’s also possible to stay for a night or longer at the Garden Hotel, which we did in 2021 and it was a dream come true, as we had the garden to ourselves after opening hours.
Just like a home however, we believe a garden is never really finished, and we still have lots of projects to complete, including new paving, building an orangery and updating our kitchen garden one day.
For us, we like to describe our garden as a ‘New Nordic Garden,’ a space that not only allows us to benefit from being outside in nature but allows nature to benefit from what we’ve created too.
We live in a period when the climate and biodiversity are struggling, and when we do take the time to sit still and enjoy the garden, seeing and hearing the insects and birds enjoying it with us we know we are helping to change things for the better.”
WANT TO FIND OUT MORE?
Thanks again to Sebastian and Lars for sharing their beautiful Nordic garden with us.
If you would like to see more of what they have created, as well as get their advice on caring for your plants and garden, please give their account on Instagram a follow, or head to their website.
All images courtesy of Sebastian and Lars.
Enjoyed reading this post? Then read my chat with Finnish writer, Johanna Vireaho as we discuss her latest book, ‘Nordic Garden Design’.
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