Garden cities

Tourists love seeing local landmarks, so why not extend your travel to see some of the world's best gardens? Here are four for starters

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In their transformation of a wetland into a 0. 3ha contemporary garden, visual artists Dominique and Benoit Delomez have created a multidimensional vision. They developed it piece by piece, building different universes of shape, level, colour and graphics. Closed, confidential spaces contrast with more open areas, while the ever-present water serves as a common thread, most notably in the large pond that reflects the house.

The entrance to the garden slips into a narrow passage along a shaded stream covered with duckweed and continues through dense undergrowth and a “nest” of bamboo. The Delomezes installed a series of wooden pontoons above the ferns to allow the wet parts of the garden to be crossed. Emerging from these shadowy areas, the garden suddenly opens up to a new pond and a circular viewing terrace. There, a waterfall and its artwork, a plexiglass cube, allow a different view of the garden, through this revealing prism.

At the turn of a laurel alley, a productive vegetable garden in tones of red, green and black emerges, lush even as summer ends. Large mirrors reflect images that fragment and multiply the views and also seem to split the space. This is one of the fantasies of this remarkable garden, where contemporary elements and unusual objects are boldly introduced. It is clear that its creators are happy to subvert the conventional approaches to garden design.

Hunting Brook Gardens

JIMI BLAKE Wicklow Mountains, Republic of Ireland, 2001.