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Nada Habet
Lebanese Courtyard
Designer: Nada Habet
Sponsors: BANKMED and Bank Audi
Contractor: One Two Tree Garden Services (Daquatic Ltd)
Click on the image to view a hi-res version
After living in the UK for 17 years Nada Habet returned to Lebanon for a couple of years. This was the first time that Nada had returned to her country of birth as a garden designer and she started viewing the Lebanese landscape with fresh eyes. Nada became fascinated by the traditional village houses and their small gardens and courtyards.
Terraces of pomegranates and olive trees, courtyard beds of roses, snapdragon, lavender and pelargoniums, entrance archways clad with jasmine, balconies lined with tin pots of basil and thyme and rooftop pergolas covered with vine leaves and grapes have all been the inspiration behind the Lebanese Courtyard.
This garden has a simple geometric layout and on two sides meets the façade of an L-shaped house with a reclaimed wooden door and two reclaimed wooden windows. The patio area adjacent to the house has simple concrete paving. The two pathways, one leading from the entrance of the garden towards the house and one along the house wall are paved with natural stone in crazy paving. Thyme grows through cracks in the paving.
There are three principal planting beds: two rectangular in shape at the ground level, and an L-shaped raised bed. The raised beds and the surrounding walls of the garden are built with natural dry stonewalling.
The main features of this garden are an old olive tree in the raised bed and a vine climbing up a 2m high traditional metal pergola covering the patio area. A climbing jasmine also shares the pergola and, with the vine leaves, gives shade and perfume to the seating area underneath. There is a small traditional stone water basin along the main house wall into which water is constantly flowing creating a cooling effect as well as a soothing noise. All the seats and accessories of the garden, including wooden and straw chairs, kerosene lamps and a stone basin, are reclaimed traditional items originally from Lebanon.
This is Nada’s first exhibit at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show.