pocket gardens - Katigbak, John Michael N.

POCKET GARDEN – Katigbak, John Michael N.

What does it mean to have a modern or a contemporary garden? Is it the innovations used? From normal pools to infinity pools, from candles to LED lights, from having a big garden to none at all?

People always complain about their houses having not enough space for gardens or open areas. If compared to the past, if a house has a big garden, it is considered modern or contemporary. But what about now? How can we distinguish if a house has a contemporary garden?

           When I was scouting for a contemporary garden, I always ask myself, “what is a contemporary garden for me?” I was looking and searching until the day I visited my relatives house in Phoenix subdivision, Pasig city. At first I didn’t pay too much attention to her house because my mind was too occupied by the right garden until she explained how she came up

She had her garden designed to look Mediterranean because it was a perfect look for her house. It consisted of plants that did not need too much water. The water features comprised of small fountains that gave a relaxing feeling to the house. She had also made an open balcony with potted plants and also empty pots that captured the wind to distribute inside the house.

She believes that “a garden is nothing without something it compliments.” So then I asked her what it meant to have a contemporary garden. She told me that, it was not about the innovations but the present functionality of the garden regardless the limits. She showed me an indoor garden and said, “People nowadays don’t have the luxury to have a big outdoor garden because of the construction of masses in available lots.” And that was why she renovated a room in her house to be an indoor garden and called it “pocket garden.” It was simple, effective, yet an elegant idea that was feasibly doable in our present condition.  For me, it was a perfect example of a contemporary garden. It was not contemporary physically, but ideally and systematically modern. It compensates for the lack of outdoor lot availability, a perfect fit for our ever closing environment.