Book review: The Gardens of Ulf Nordfjell

Published by Merrell, with a foreword by Annie Gatti and photos by Jason Ingram, this is a long-awaited showcase of Nordjfell's greatest work.

Ulf Nordjfell

He was one of the stars of the high point of garden design, when Chelsea gardens were trend-setting, highly sponsored and breaking boundaries.

Pre-charity and natural gardens, combining architecture with horticulture was the vogue and Chelsea was full of contenders.

Nordjfell became an international name and won three golds, in 2007 for a Linnaeus garden, 2009 for his best in show Daily Telegraph design, and 2013 for Laurent-Perrier.

The Swede is an intellectual, with a philosophy of placemaking, using granite, steel and timber as structure.

In the book, the 10 featured designs include estates, parks and domestic gardens, featuring an island garden in coastal Sweden, to a Stockholm town garden, and a villa in the South of France.

As an international designer, he takes on projects in different latitudes and climate zones. His cool elegance and clean minimalist symmetry echo nature rather than try to ape it, creating art over today's kitsch copies of wildness.


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Salix cuttings (L to R): acutifolia ‘Blue Streak’, alba var. vitellina, daphnoides, alba var. vitellina ‘Yelverton’, irrorata and rubra ‘Eugenei’ - credit all images: Bob Askew

Salix - these wonderful willows will add colour and beauty to the garden

Nepalese Orange has gorgeous rich orange bark, peeling in coppery-orange strips and prominent lenticels

Betula - some colourful alternative birches to the usual suspects


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