Brief Garden by Bevis Bawa
Bevis Bawa began the creation of the garden in 1929, when he moved to manage the Bawa family rubber estate. He cleared the cash crop trees, initially for his bungalow and subsequently for the variety of beautiful landscaped spaces connected by colourful and densely planted paths. In 1956 the Australian artist Donald Friend came to stay until 1962. During this time the now beautifully planted garden received an artistic boost, as the two creators worked well together; Bevis sculpting from Friend’s drawings. Throughout the garden this successful collaboration is evident in the paving stones; the anthropomorphic flower vases, a Bacchus Bird bath and various fantastical heads.
The garden was opened to the public in 1969 by which time it was already famous. Vivien Leigh, Sir Laurence Olivier, Peter Finch and Queen Ingrid of Denmark had all visited, delighting in its’ curious eccentricity and expert planting. The garden rooms surrounding the bungalow are furnished with outdoor showers, sculptures, urns and iron work. In one such space lives the bat lily, or tacca chantieri. Reminiscent of European grand design, two spaces – the water terrace and the bin pol basin – are created by mass planting. Bevis was an expert plantsman, ahead of his time. He pioneered the creation of outdoor spaces by using one species, densly planted. Bamboo frames the water terrace, with it’s dancing leaves; and the “bin pol basin” is a veritable amphitheatre of swaying plants in a gentle breeze. The plant is curculigo capitulatum, native to tropical Australia.
Iluketiya
Located in a slice of jungle just inland from Galle, Southern Sri Lanka, Illuketia is an oasis for anyone seeking privacy and quiet, beautiful natural surroundings. The garden is a botanical wonderland with a rich diversity of flora and fauna that contribute to the surrounding harmony of sights and sounds. More here
Iluketiya is the home of Hans Höfer, a writer and artist and photographer born in Stuttgart, Germany written a travel guide to Bali and produced a whole series of travel guide books. In the late 1960s, he trekked from Europe to Asia. In Bali, he earned a living by selling his paintings of the Indonesian island to tourists. The lack of easily available information on Bali's culture and people made him, with the financial backing of a local hotel, publish the travel guide book Insight Guide: Bali in 1970.
