A remedy for our cities

On our little plots of land we are still learning how to create aesthetically pleasing palisades out of flowerpots, plant flowers in the shape of ladybirds, and fashion ecological cushions made of feather-grass and straw. This is not something you can learn at the Institute of Design and Landscape Art because the important things for every designer are imagination and love. Where landscape design is concerned, the sky is the limit.

DREAMING OF A CITY WITH ROOF GARDENS

To encourage a love of gardening, the British Council recently announced a contest in Ukraine for the best eco-friendly garden design. The results were summed up in the interactive show “Get Your Hands Dirty: Eco-friendly Gardening” at the State Academy of Leading Workers of Culture and Art, on the grounds of the National Kyiv-Pechersk Historical-Cultural Preserve. The participating landscape designers gave their creations romantic titles, including “Crossroads of Dreams,” “Illusion and Reality,” “Green Roof,” “Cannon,” and “Garden of Feelings.” A total of 15 people participated in the contest, which featured a variety of mini-gardens complete with streams and fountains, footbridges, fences topped with jugs and flowers, waterfalls, and beehives.

Professor Anatolii Zhernov, director of the Institute of Design and Landscape Art, commented on the finished designs: “I keep dreaming of walking down city streets with streetcars crossing lawns, cars parked in parks, not on asphalt, and gardens on roofs. Perhaps not everyone can understand the importance of what has happened here. At one time we regarded landscape design and gardening as something that embellishes life. Here we have done something that is expected of us not only in Kyiv but in all Ukrainian cities. We understood that landscape design is the only remedy for the ills that afflict every city in our country.”

Not surprisingly, it was the British Council that set out to awaken our gardening imagination and ultimately adults’ responsibility for the environment and ecological health to the coming generations. The British are known throughout the world as a nation of gardeners. Great Britain boasts more than 27,000 national and regional parks and gardens, and 4,500 private gardens that are open to the public. The British gardening industry generates revenues of 100 million pounds every week. Incidentally, it was the UK that proposed practical measures to adapt gardening to the new environmental requirements in order to maintain the ecological balance with an eye to global climate changes.

Terry Davis, director of the British Council in Ukraine, noted that the British people are fond of gardening, just like people in all the EU countries. Preserving the environment is one of the British Council, which over the years has contributed to the development of eco-friendly gardening in Ukraine, both in public spaces and gardens. It is very important for every individual to contribute to the preservation of the environment.

OUR CHILDREN ARE OUR HELPMATES

Among the winners of the competition were Yulia Kushnir (“Friendly Garden”); Vitalii Kovalevsky (“Garden of Feelings”), and Hanna Priakhina (“Deni Garden”). The biggest prize from the British Council and the project’s co-organizer, TNK Komers, was a week-long tour of British gardens, including the Tatton Flower Show this July.

“I decided to take part in the British Council’s Young Garden Competition. I submitted my project to the jury and they offered to create it here,” said Kushnir, a student at the Institute of Design and Landscape Art. “It took me seven days to create a mini-garden on these grounds. My idea was to show a blossoming flower, the beginnings of a life. All the materials are totally natural. My ecologically pure little bench is actually a pile of turf covered with sackcloth cushions. People can use leftover sand or other materials to fill these cushions, which are very comfortable to sit on.”

This landscape design student told The Day that, given determination and dedication, beautiful things to gladden the eye can be created in a very limited space (her garden occupies an area of around 12 square m).

People who own larger plots of land and have more money can use the services of design studios, which offer everything under the sun. According to experienced landscape designers, their customers are fed up with plastic and want only natural materials. They even order wooden slides for their playgrounds, although these kinds of slides are harder to make and are much more expensive.

Interior designer Maryna Bilyk also designs spaces for children to play in, study, socialize, and even live. The youngsters who visited the British Council’s landscape show were entranced by one model that was designed to resemble a fairy tale hut on chicken legs.

Bilyk told The Day: “The original structure is three times larger and seven meters tall. It has stretching mechanisms, reinforced materials, and safety nets, so kids can tumble down from the “second floor” without hurting themselves. One of the problems faced by modern parents is how to drag their kids away from the television and computer. They complain that their children don’t want to exercise or do sports. But when they have this kind of playground they no longer have to be dragged outside. Now they are clamoring to be allowed to spend the night outside.

“We use a combination of solid materials: wood and clay. They are so “alive” that people are very eager to have them. I created a traditional Ukrainian stove using an ancient technique. You can use this stove for baking and cooking. Our designs are extremely diversified and we custom-design everything for the client, including ethnic motifs, which we like a lot, actually. We design fireplaces, chandeliers, and armchairs. Clients sometimes order one thing and get something completely different after we work on the designs with them. We don’t produce cliches. We start every project from scratch, and always together with children, who are directly involved in the creative process, and who act as our willing assistants.”

Everything that is natural is beautiful, and every beautiful thing is useful. Ukrainians should take a page from the British, who have extensive experience in aesthetically shaping their gardens and suburban homes. Compared to us, they think on a global scope. For one thing, they believe that the garden or bit of lawn in front of their homes is a place where they can make their own contribution to saving planet Earth.