Seeds of design: Mixing up a Danish garden

A fascinating trip to the Danish Design Museum revealed it was full of modern classics, charting the history of design and decorative arts. One gallery included these extraordinary Ole Jensen mixing bowls. Humans have always needed a bowl and you would think it was difficult to redesign the obvious, but these are quite simply an extraordinary ordinary bowl, bowls that inspired this Danish garden.

The seed of inspiration

These fabulous mixing bowls made from Melamine were designed in 2011. Manufactured in Copenhagen, they reek of fabulous Danish design and there is a bowl for every purpose. Design at its best, they have a wide spout suitable for pouring liquids of thin and thick consistencies.

Jensen mixing bowls, a modern classic

The garden design bud

This design is directly inspired by the wonderful curvy shape of the mixing bowls. Interlocking pear-shaped surfaces fill the garden. Two patios are connected by a curvy pathway that cuts across a large lawn. Cut into the patios is a bed perfect for a specimen tree to really pep up the space. Sandstone sets edge the lawn to keep it neat and tidy. Box tree balls positioned at intervals accentuate the curved design with an architectural feel. Simple ground cover planting, such as pachysandra, keeps an evergreen interest going and the high sheen on the leaves replicates the Melamine material.

The Ole Jensen-inspired garden

Other influences bloom

I love the interlocking nature of these bowls. They will remind me of Russian dolls, or Tupperware boxes that stack inside one another. The clever, compact design and the use of the thumb handle really appeals. The two interlocking patios also remind me of sperm! The wonderful pictures of Beryl Cook, famous for her curvy ladies also feature here. I like the idea that this nest of bowls, is a group of very curvy ladies!

Influences come from everything from spam to Russian dolls plus the wonderful pictures by Beryl Cook