Change of tune

In this small Dutch garden, designer Jelle Koot has used a simple rhythm of repeated plants to create a calming, cohesive scheme

- ALYS FOWLER

Some people go to a particular garden designer because they know exactly what they'll get. That's not the case with the Dutch landscape designer Jelle Koot, who is curious, keen to experiment and wants his work to evolve. "I like to make each garden a very personal space," he says. "A personal garden for each client." This might mean a Mediterranean influence, or a forest garden, or something very modern. "I am not copying and pasting each design on to the next. This also means I get to learn a lot." Planting leads all of Jelle's designs. He starts with trees and from there builds up a palette of plants that is rhythmic, playful and dances you around the garden, so no matter how big or small the space, you can lose yourself in that specific place, and forget, as Jelle puts it, "the rawness of the city, or the proximity of neighbours".