Modern Water Gardens

Modern water gardens create a feeling of life in the realm of the abstract and mathematical. The intent of anything modern and contemporary is to emphasize the preeminence of man above the forces of nature. Since Nature is associated with greenery in collective consciousness, the presence of greenery in a modern water garden must be very selective—or even minimized—in places. Hard straight lines, abrupt intersections, and linear movements that fan out at times into radiuses (half circle constructions) establish a stark, Spartan view of the world. Water reduces the sense of life to its most raw and elemental base, and outcroppings of greenery strategically placed within the form indicated potentials of emergence more so than lush realities of organic comforts.

Modern water gardens are ideal centerpieces for courtyards and atriums. They create a focal point of fluidity within form that captivates attention and lends itself to tranquility and relaxation. In commercial environments, we build a lot of these in break areas. Colleges and universities will also hire us to build study areas around these gardens to give their students an alternative to the cloister of cubicles and library walls. Fountains are very commonly built within these structures to complete the feeling of a meditative environment where time has been removed from the present moment.

Water features are often constructed of natural stones like granite that have been quarried, shaped, and polished to a high degree of sophistication. The shells and copings around modern gardens often gleam as brightly as the water they contain. Quarried slabs of granite can be laid in symmetrical patterns to create any number of geometric shapes. Rectangular gardens can be built alongside of homes, architectural walls, or as “visual bridges” between major landscape design elements. Functionality can be built into these structures in the form of patio seating areas, sidewalk structures, and stepping stone walkways that move across the surface of the water. Linear modern water gardens in these instances can actually define progressions of physical movement as well as the movement of the eye.

This opens the door for the modern water garden to be the focal point of events in a modern landscape design. By bringing the gathering to the edge of the water, one defines the tone of the activity with the sophisticated aesthetic of polished stones, flowing water, gravel, small trees, and geometric plantings of dark green vegetation and sprinklings of coloration produced by controlled plantings of flowering plants. The most popular color in these gardens is white because it provides an excellent complement to the colors of stones and gravel and a superb contrast as well to the dark greens of boxwoods, mondo grass, and other dark green colors. Light green vegetation is normally avoided because it is a bit too lively for the controlled setting we are looking to create in these environments.

Water features always have a streamlined appearance. Flow is quite thanks to silent pumps and hidden mechanisms move the water in a linear progression from one end of the structure to the other. This keeps the modern water garden from appearing too forced in its mentalist, absolute design. Water that flows like a stream or waterfall softens the surrounding features of rock, gravel, polished coping, and custom fountain design with a soothing fluidity that brings a sense of harmony to the mix of hardscape and accent softscape elements that surround it. This, again, makes for an ideal gathering place on any contemporary landscape where conversation, celebration, and appreciation all flow together into the same emotional stream.