If this effect is too starkly architectural for your liking, it is possible to soften the result with judicious aquatic planting. Tubs of papyrus and lotus thrive in hot climates and plants such as water lilies and rushes grow well in colder regions.
The more we learn about the therapeutic value of light and space and the psychological benefits derived from natural colors, scents, sounds and even from animals, the more important it becomes to break down those barriers that divide our interior and exterior living spaces. Water can play a crucial role here, being equally at home in both. I have already described how swimming pools can be built to run from inside a building to out and you can construct a fishpond in the same way. This is a well-established practice in Japan where ponds of this nature are home to the highly prized Koi carp. The fish cruise between the garden and the sitting room as the fancy takes them, or as the weather dictates; allowing the owner to enjoy the sight of them both indoors and out. A solid wall or window or a movable screen can be used extending right down from the ceiling to the water's surface, to prevent draughts from entering the house and stop all the heat from escaping.
Swimming pools can also be constructed to flow into and out of the house, permitting swimmers both the pleasure of outdoor swimming in finer weather and the luxury of protection in cooler weather. Like the Moorish and Spanish- style houses of old, where the cloistered courtyards and the colonnades gave the impression that the house and the garden were combined, so the water unites the two and it is impossible to tell where the one of them ends and the other begins. Are you outside when you swim beneath the eaves or when you emerge into the bright sunlight?
These indoor—outdoor pools remind me of the paintings of Russell Flint, whose scantily clad lovelies drape themselves around ancient Roman baths amid old plaster and columns.
The strict geometry of timber decking makes it a good foil for plants. A landing stage looks most inviting peeping out through tall rushes, water iris or the graceful cyperus. On the dry land side miscanthus, pampas and similar tall grasses set the horizontal lines of the boarding off to perfection.
You can visit this flower guide for more information about this article.
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