Henry Monnington's Landscape Blog

 I regularly walk down the Honeybourne Line in Cheltenham as I head to and from the train station. Specifically the section between the station and the Churchill Gardens. As the year change the walk through the space changes as the plants lose and regain their leaves. When walking back today in the sun, the space looked the best I have seen it. Hemlock, Horse chestnut and nettle were all in full swing creating a bold green wall. 

This is my latest sketch design for Castlemeads. (Ignore the doodling!) My design has developed into a space that will be predominately wildflower meadows which aim to attract insects to the area. The vegetation buffer alongside the road will contain plants that provide food and shelter for wildlife, particularly birds. My next step is to develop the pathways and walking routes through the site before I take it into CAD to be drawn and then rendered.

The second part of my trip was to the Lost Gardens of Heligan in Cornwall. This was a great place to visit with such a range of spaces to visit. We listened to a detailed talk about the history of the site which was very interesting. There were some beautiful plants that have been there for 200+ years along with many exotic look tree ferns spread throughout the site. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed the trip and will definitely be visiting again. 

I visited the Garden House as part of a trip with the Botanical Society before visiting the Lost Gardens of Heligan the next day. We visited on the day of the kings coronation and therefore the site was closed to the public, however, as we pre-booked they let us visit.  The Garden House was such a beautiful space with various different garden spaces, each with a different theme or style. We spoke to Chloe, a gardener who works on site, who told us of the history of the site as well as some plants that looked particularly special at this time of year. I thoroughly enjoyed the trip and would love to visit the at a different time of the year to see the seasonal changes.

Around this time of year thousands of swallows have returned from South Africa and Namibia, travelling around 320km a day for 6 weeks. Along this massive journey the birds pass through the Congo rainforest, the Sahara desert, Morocco and then Eastern Spain and Western France before reaching the UK. The birds return to the UK to hatch and rear their young, due to the reduced number of predators, before returning to Africa in September-October. Swallows feed on insects, catching them on the wing while they dart across the sky. I find this feat fascinating. The fact something only 20cm in length can travel these vast distances each year is so impressive. However, the champion of migration is most definitely the Arctic Tern. Also know as the 'sea swallow', the arctic tern travels 35,000km annually, going from the Arctic to Antarctica and then back again. This also means that the Arctic tern is the species that sees the more daylight that any other animal on Earth. Unfortunately, du...

Me and two other designers have submitted and have been accepted into the Long border competition for RHS Tatton Park flower show 2023. Our border is called the Coastal Whisper and has taken inspiration from the UK coast, particularly along Cornwall and Devon. We all visit these spaces frequently, and have done throughout our lives. We have developed personal connections to these spaces and wanted to replicate it for our Tatton Park border.  The border is made up from grasses, some found along the coast and some that aren't but still create the desired effect. A small imitation boardwalk will also run through the border. This will be my first garden show and therefore I am looking forward to learnt process of designing and building a show border. Fingers crossed for nice weather.

  This is the album art that I created for the artist OrageOrange. I created a total of 6 pieces for this project (the other 5 are single covers). The forms of the artwork was inspired by the contours of South Oxfordshire, where the artist lives. All the artwork was completed on Adobe Illustrator.

 Filed Operations create public spaces with a people centred approach that integrate soft ecological systems Into the public realm. They have several famous projects such as the High Line, NY or the Nay Yard Central Green , Pennsylvania. The majority of their projects are US based but they design spaces globally. Personally, I really like their design approach as well as the materiality choices in a lot of their projects. Their people centred approach with an appreciation for local culture and ecology align with my design ambitions. 

 Ramboll Studio Dreiseitl focus on creating liveable cities through designing a vibrant public realm that also focuses on nature-based solutions. They create a vibrant public realm that focuses on community, nature, learning, pleasure, health and wellbeing. They have studios across the world and used blue-green solutions to design water management into the surrounding area.  Constructed in 2012, the Tianjin Cultural Park is built on an area with a high water table. The park sits between the city's opera house and the city hall with the outdoor space creating dynamic pedestrian routes. The large lake doubles as a key feature creating views from the opera house as well as a balancing pond that can handle storms and reduces temperatures. 

 Hargreaves Jones have been landscape architecture and landscape planning projects since 1983. They have offices in New York, Cambridge and San Fransisco. They create large scale landscapes across the world, mostly in the USA, which are often urban spaces and large areas on the waterfront. They 'approach each project as an opportunity to reveal the unique qualities of a place.' Therefore each design takes a different unique direction beside on the area. The Louisville Waterfront Park is a large scale project built on the waterfront in Louisville, Kentucky. The site was formerly used for transportation and industry and has now been transformed into a social space that has boosted the areas profile and economy. It is well integrated with the river system and has "recaptured the energy of the early 19th century working waterfront."

  These are several visualisations drawn on Photoshop for a conceptual design of Alney Island. These 4 visualisation show different areas of the Proposed Design. The concept behind the design is based from Starling murmurations. These collective displays contain hundreds of thousands of individual birds to create this amazing arial spectacle that can be seen dancing across the evening sky in Autumn. This collaborative coming together of individuals is the intention for the Alney Island site. With individuals coming together on site to form a collective for communication, recreation and relaxation. 

 The first practice I have looked at is LUC. They are an environmental consultancy that work in a range of environmental disciplines, for example, Landscape Design, EIAs and Ecology. They are a company of over 200 professionals, with a focus on promoting climate change through sustainable development.    A project completed in 2014 by LUC is the Tumbling Bay Playground in Stratford, London. This play space was built on the site of the Olympic Park and con trains several play areas catering to several abilities. The play area is planted with native species throughout and play equipment is built from natural materials, allowing children to play amongst nature. There is also a water play area which develops collaborative skills. I like this project as it follows the principles of natural play and would be the kind of project I would love working on. I really like the clean design and the projects planting. LUC's values are: - Collaboration - Innovation - Conscience - Excelle...

While walking around Worcester I came across this train bridge near the racecourse. Train arches had been converted into art studios. I may use this idea under some of the bridges at Alney Island for my AD6605 submission.  

 A sketch of my grandparents greyhound Rosie.

  A group feasibility report for the AD6605 module for a wetland design on Alney Island

Some watercolour sketches of the show garden design. These are to show off some of the planting colours, shape and sizes.  

 A historic collage showing key figures in the development of Gloucester over time along with key trades, activities and uses on Alney Island throughout history. 

A few watercolour paintings that I have done recently in order to refamiliarise with the medium.  

  A group mosaic mapping exercise for the AD6605 module. Penne pasta marking main roads, blue plastic for water and moss for green spaces. Buildings are represented by rice, macaroni and cardboard. This was an enjoyable exercise that helped me gain an understanding of the wider area around Alney Island.

My Stone work task sheet, I had trouble differentiating the Flamed and Rock-Faced finishes.