About Seascape Designs
Established in 2021, Shirley Maher Coleman under SeascapeDesigns.ie is based in North Co. Dublin. Studied Landscape Architecture at Blackrock Further Education Ireland.
From urban gardens to larger residential gardens my philosophy is to create designs that encapsulate how the client feels in and about their garden. A design that induces moments of enjoying the careful selection of plants, while sitting, walking through, or just glancing out from a window. The aim of the design and planting is to draw the client outside to touch, smell and feel, or just to admire.
HOW I WORK
I work within your budget, to use what is already existing where possible, accentuating the sun rotation, creating areas for reflection, emersion and quiet.
FOCUS
My focus is finding the right balance between hard and soft landscaping with the emphasis on using plants to soften and almost make the hard landscaping blend into the background to showcase the plant selection, colour, and structures.
Movement
“An often-overlooked attribute, is the ability of some plants to animate a border. These ‘Stipa tenuissima’ (ponytails) gracefully sway, swish or sashay in a breeze, enlivening a combination of plants with their performance. Here they are mixed with ‘Salvia verticillata’-purple rain. In choosing plants, adding perennials that will move gracefully in your garden when breezes blow create a visual fascination.”
Structure
“Texture and shape can also come from your planting scheme, some plant characteristics are more visually dominant. The visual value describes the energy or impact of the plant in relation to its surroundings. Some characteristics are more visually dominant and have a higher visual value, some are more functionally dominant, and some dominate simply by size. Upright forms, bright colours, and coarse textures are dramatic and have high visual impact. Here the upright ‘Allium purple sensation’ are bold, dramatic and appeal to the eye.”
Views and Focal points
A view is created in the garden by drawing your attention to an area. A focal point is added to create the interest, just adding a sculpture or an urn filled with plants for example; while nice, won't make the garden more interesting. You need to add emotional interest.