Make me a funky garden design – we show you how!

Beads in jewellery go far back in time, long before the craft of metalworking. The very early beads often had symbolic or amuletic value, and in some instances they were used as currency. The desire for beads as personal adornment is universal to all cultures and continues through to this day in a contemporary approach.

Axel Russmeyer has a vast collection of antique and contemporary beads and pearls from which he selects his compositions of ‘beaded beads’. Only one type of bead is used for each sphere but variety comes with the selection of spheres to be threaded together. In this necklace subtle textures and shades of grey are explored. Evoking heirlooms, he has sometimes created boxes with Renaissance portraits to present his pieces.

A sequence of 35 beaded spheres threaded on a long grey silk ribbon which is knotted between each sphere and is finished at each end with a silver disc on which is an enamelled runner. The spheres, each covered with a single type and shade of bead, are in different tones of grey. They are arranged according to size, with the largest at one end and the smallest at the other.

funky garden design

This concept garden is based on the necklace by Axel Russmeyer housed at the Victoria and Albert Musuem. This funky garden design reflects the spherical nature of the piece. A series of circular stepping stones layered on top of each other lead you to a central patio large enough to house a hot tub and sun loungers. Two pathways lead from this to a spherical pod in the bottom right of the garden. This pod houses a table and chairs but also converts to a day bed and can rotate 360 degrees.

Planting surrounds the hard landscaping with detail provided by a line of box balls, sandstone balls and stainless steel spheres, with a stunning transparent water feature called an Aqua Sphere. The whole area is designed to be a modern space ideal for use by a single person or couple.