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People ask me: Where do you get your inspiration? An assignment to create something for a client is one of them. Creativity is connecting the dots in a given context. In this context for Floralien Ghent 2022 with the theme: My world, my paradise.., my subconsciousness starts to give images and the design begins to grow in my creative mind.
Eternal Flow - A Zen Evoking Garden With New Concepts
The design assignment came from participant Jan Oprins, Garden "De Kleine Boerderij". I love to work with new concepts, and he is an authority in the field of bamboos, and we worked together before, so I was very excited to create this zen evoking garden: Eternal Flow.
.jpg "Eternal Flow of Split Bamboo for A Zen Evoking Garden by Tom de Houwer on Thursd")
Jan Oprins:
"With Meer Plant we wanted to bring these plants into the spotlight: Roses by Hedge-On®️, a new concept for ready-made hedges, and Naturosa®️, a selection of newly bred, very healthy, bee-friendly roses. There’s also Prunus lusitanica ‘Tico’."
.jpg "Hedges of Roses in Pink for Tom de Houwer's Eternal Flow at Floraliën Ghent 2022 - on Thursd")
An Immersive Experience
Jan Oprins is also famous for his Bamboo. So I came up with the idea of creating 'a zen evoking garden' with the title: "Eternal Flow". Using bamboo as a unique backdrop to present the hedge roses, over 15 km of 7-meter split bamboo's coming from Spain were bent in a wave motion to draw the attention to the tube that has the roses hanging in their original container above the stretched water party.
The scale of the 13 meters long by 4x4 design, the visual movement of the bamboo, the sound of the dropping water, and the smell and looks of these unique hedge roses, create an immersive experience.
.jpg "A Zen Evoking Garden By Tom de Houwer on Thursd")
The Perfect Team
This was a yin and yang design in which the masculine physical strength had to be combined with the feminine feel of elegance. Finding a team was the biggest challenge. The execution is largely masculine, so I had to balance my feminine side and masculine side as well as see this translated into the key positions of the team. I am grateful to have had a perfect team that could bring this balance.
.jpg "A View on The Zen Evoking Garden by Tom de Houwer at Floraliën Ghent 2022 for Jan Oprins - De Kleine Boerderij - on Thursd")
Splitting the Bamboo
Everybody asked me how we were able to split this bamboo: I used a Swiss quality kitchen knife in a self-made workbench I created in the parking lot. It worked to split the bamboo.
The Title of the Work
Eternal Flow, a zen evoking garden.... when one looks at the design, I'm sure the meaning is clear. I'm very satisfied with the result and it seems not only me. It was a last-minute assignment, we found the material, the team, and the common drive to make this impossible work possible. As the cherry on the cake, with De Kleine Boerderij Merksplas, Meer Plant and Vista Verde we won the prestigious prize for creativity, one of the main prizes for Floraliën Ghent 2022.
