Landscape Design
012-932225 (English/French)
012-738134 (English/Khmer)
The Designer
Bill Grant has some forty five years design experience in fashion, interior, and landscape. He arrived in Phnom Penh in October, 1991 to design the interior and garden of Crackers Restaurant, one of the first trendy, western eateries to open in the city. Little did he know then that he would still be here today and loving it!
The restaurant project was followed by commissions, in quick succession, to create gardens for Mr Akashi, Head of the UN mission to Cambodia, the residence of the Australian Ambassador, and the campus of the French Embassy.
Over the last seventeen years, he has acquired an intimate knowledge of tropical plants and how they behave over the long term.
Today, in his gardens, only plants which have proven to be hardy, with relatively easy maintenance, are chosen from the palette of tropical species to create gardens which, even with basic maintenance, always look their best.
This experience also enables him to know what a garden will look like in two, five, or even fifteen years time and to plan accordingly.
The attention to detail, which is so vital in fashion design, now plays an important part in his landscape designs and is apparent in the careful choice of colours and the use of contrasting textures.
Gardens are created to compliment architectural features and cover a wide spectrum from Balinese tropical to very minimalist modern, depending on the requirement of a given space. The latter go particularly well with the new breed of modern architecture seen around the city.
Inspiration comes in many forms.
Pillars of traditional Khmer wooden houses are transformed into living totem poles to become the focal point of one garden, while Angkorian architecture and barays translate into strict geometrical lines for another.
The very shape of the available space may dictate the character of a design as when it is necessary to make a long narrow garden look wider.
He gets tremendous fulfillment out of giving pleasure to satisfied clients, but also considers his gardens as spaces to be enjoyed by birds and insects as well as people. Species which encourage their arrival are planted and clients are encouraged to use organic pesticides and fertilisers for ongoing maintenance.