I recently met the extraordinarily talented Jorge Sanchez from Palm Beach, Florida. His firm, SMI Landscape Architecture is known for its “estate masterplanning, its public gardens and streetscapes, and its thoughtful private gardens for clients across the United States and in the Bahamas. The firm’s philosophy incorporates a ‘botanical garden’ approach with exotic planning and elements of classical European design to create beautiful, usable spaces, and it is also known for its preservation and restoration of old landscapes.”
I had the opportunity to see four of his gardens over the past month – 3 in Palm Beach and 1 in Hobe Sound, which were LOVELY. What I experience in his designs is a profound lushness of plant material, an “old soul” feeling as if the garden has been there forever – even one that’s been recently installed, and peacefulness. Jorge’s gardens are simply beautiful.
He’s widely published and has received numerous awards for his designs. Jorge has written two books: The Private Gardens of SMI Landscape Architecture and the book pictured above entitled The Making of Three Gardens. I only have the latter book today, which highlights three gardens (Bacardi Estate, Southlawn and Turtle Bluff) and is geared towards landscape designers.
The Bacardi Estate in Miami, Florida
The photography in this book is done by Andre Baranowski and it is stunning. Most pages are two-page spreads which capture the scale of Jorge’s work beautifully.
Southlawn in Scarsdale, New York
I asked him what made his gardens so serene and he replied (and I’m condensing his comments here) that two of the ingredients are “sound and a calm color palate”. He understands that green is a color and he uses it to full effect – varying shades of green and green plants with different textures. And every garden I’ve discovered by him has water features with delicate fountains, offering the softest of sound in the background. It’s no wonder that owners of his gardens have so many benches and seating areas in his gardens because all you want to do is sit down and take it all in!
Turtle Bluff in Palm Beach, Florida
If you haven’t seen Jorge’s work, his most recent book is well worth the investment. Paging through this book and the pictures of his gardens will make for a great afternoon.
