This private garden near St. Petersburg — the work of the Mokh landscape bureau — seems to be a natural extension of the surrounding forest and at the same time echoes the modern architecture of the house built according to the project of Mark Tovve

The flower garden on the slope along the house is divided by walls of Korten steel into polygonal fragments that echo the shape of concrete paving slabs.

Photo

RICHARD BLOOM

In this garden, spread over eighty acres in the village of Solnechnoye on the coast of the Gulf of Finland near St. Petersburg, you walk as if in a real forest: if you want, collect cranberries and forest herbs, if you want, just look at the sky. But most importantly, breathe deeper, absorbing the incredible aroma of centuries-old pines. At first glance, the work of landscape architects does not seem to be visible. “It’s all the merit of nature itself, we just laid the paths and filled the voids after construction,” says Yuri Fomenko from the Mokh landscape bureau and, of course, is very deceitful.

The forest area of the garden practically does not require maintenance. The perennials planted here have already completely closed and formed their natural environment.

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RICHARD BLOOM

Even before the start of work, each tree on the site was examined by a phytopathologist. Everything that could be saved was preserved, but several of the most beautiful pines still had to be removed. Then the existing forest was “slightly diversified” by planting ferns, lilies of the valley, heather and lingonberries. That part of the forest, which is viewed from the windows of the living rooms, was supplemented with hazel, viburnum, rowan. This part of the landscape has a “natural” character and is located deep in the plot. A completely different story is played out in the “front” garden, which stretches near the main facade of the building.

The paths in the forest part of the garden are made of glued pebbles in metal edging. This coating is water-permeable, simple and reliable in operation. The edge is almost invisible, it is a technological element that supports the contour of the track.

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RICHARD BLOOM

According to the idea of landscape architects, the garden looks as if everything has grown by itself

In the front garden area, paths and playgrounds are paved with concrete slabs cast on the spot. Large, close-cropped forms to match the house emphasize the lines of the architecture of the building itself.

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RICHARD BLOOM

“When we first came to the facility, we were very inspired by the beautiful architecture of Mark Tovve with unusual broken facades that contrast with the natural environment and at the same time dissolve into it,” recalls Yuri. — The composition of the landscape is based on the contrast of nature and modern architecture, which at the same time do not conflict, but complement each other. Large planting areas to match the house and large cropped shapes emphasize the lines of the building. Polygonal “flowerbeds” of perennials and low clipped shrubs echo the concrete slabs in front of the house; they serve as a link between geometric paving and natural forest.”

The plum-leaved hawthorn has beautiful graphics of branches and looks amazing in winter.

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RICHARD BLOOM

“Molded firs, hawthorns, pemphigus and spiraea at the entrance to the site seem to compete in beauty with wild pines, maples and mountain ash. The game of contrasts is also created by the soft lines of cereals enclosed in rigid contours cutting into the lawn.”

Pine trees in the middle of the paving bureau “Moss” inherited from the builders. “All we have to do is try to make their lives easier by replacing concrete slabs around the trunks with suspended structures made of corten.

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RICHARD BLOOM

“Every element, whether it’s step-by-step paths made of wooden beams or a coating of glued pebbles in metal edging, meets the idea of the natural beauty of the landscape and harmonizes with the decoration of the house. A special role is played by parts made of Korten steel. We made dividing walls out of it in the flower garden on the slope near the house, and under the very finale we “dressed” the retaining walls made by the builders at the entrance to the house in korten. The velvet-red color of the corten turned out to be perfectly in tune with the wooden elements of the facade and the bark of the surrounding pines. All the elements are so harmoniously connected with each other, as if they have always been here.”

Polygonal “flowerbeds” of perennials and low clipped shrubs echo the geometry of concrete paving slabs.

Photo

RICHARD BLOOM

“We helped the forest: we patched up the areas of forest cover disturbed by the construction with lilies of the valley, geraniums, ferns, heather and lingonberries”

European hoof is a forest evergreen plant.

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RICHARD BLOOM

Stop—shaped adianthum is a small fern with elegant leaf graphics.

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RICHARD BLOOM

View from the garden to the pool terrace.

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RICHARD BLOOM

The authors of the project: Yuri Fomenko, Anastasia Eremina, Polina Stenyaeva, landscape bureau “Moss”, www.mox.ru , @mox.design

“In the forest zone, everything is going on as usual now. It is no longer possible to distinguish what was created by nature and what was planted by us,” say the landscape architects of the Mokh bureau.

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RICHARD BLOOM

Polina Chesova

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