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Anya is the Founder and Creative Director of Five Senses Garden Design, a garden design studio based in Edinburgh, UK. She received her training at the British Academy of Garden Design.
Anya is driven by her passion for creating beautiful and functional spaces that re-connect people with nature and enhance their wellbeing.
Anya enjoys experimenting with shape and colour. She brings her experience in painting and pottery and inspiration from visiting art galleries to garden design. Anya received training in painting and pottery from the Leith School of Art and the Edinburgh Design School. Many of Anya’s creative ideas come from travelling around the world.
Anya’s background is in Finance. She holds a PhD in Finance and has an eight years’ experience of working in Financial Services in Edinburgh. The analytical side of Anya’s mind helps her to create and implement well thought-through designs with a close attention to detail and a high standard of quality.
The best way to revitalise for Anya is to spend time outdoors, whether it is walking in the hills, cycling, or gardening.
Anya gives back to the local community by volunteering with the Royal Botanical Gardens’ market garden and Dr. Neil’s Garden in Duddingston.
OUR DESIGN PHILOSOPHY
Balance, proportion, and unity of elements
In our designs, we follow the principles of balance and proportion to create visually pleasing gardens. Individual parts in our gardens are connected into one whole, which creates a sense of unity and harmony.
We pay a close attention to detail and make sure that the gardens we design are well-placed into the surrounding landscape.
Motion and change
A sense of motion makes a garden dynamic and engaging. We introduce motion into our designs by adding smooth lines and thoughtfully placing garden components to allow an eye to move smoothly across the garden.
A changing garden feeds curiosity and brings in an element of surprise. We carefully select plants to make a garden look different and attractive in every season.
Engaging all the five senses
We aim at designing gardens that enhance happiness and well-being of our clients. Research connects happiness and well-being with the creation of “happiness” hormones in our bodies such as serotonin, dopamine, and cortisol. These are messenger chemicals, or neurotransmitters, that create feelings, stimulate thoughts, and trigger memories. Sensory experiences have been found to stimulate production of happiness hormones. At Five Senses Garden Design, we specialise in creating gardens that engage all five senses: vision, smell, hearing, touch, and taste.
Sight
A causal connection between design and well-being has been a widely discussed topic among designers, architects, landscapers, and developers.
In our designs, we incorporate balance and proportion, motion and rhythm, a well thought-through colour scheme, and a delightful selection of plants to create beautiful and harmonious natural environments that are pleasing for the eye
Smell
Summer is a time when flowers fill the air with enchanting aromas. Their scents are chemical blends that have a power to delight our senses, affect our emotions, and to weave long-lasting memories.
We work closely with the Client to incorporate plants that will create a delightful cocktail of scents in their garden.
Hearing
Sounds have a significant effect on our moods. Nature has its own vibrations and when we spend time outdoors and listen to the sounds of nature, our vibrations harmonise with those of nature bringing in a state of relaxation and rest.
In our designs, we introduce a variety of natural sounds and make gardens attractive to the wildlife. Enjoy the sound of floating water and grasses rustling in the wind, be greeted by the birds singing in the morning in the trees and, by night, hear the chirring of crickets that made home in your garden.
Touch
Physical touch helps us to build a closer connection with the objects around us. Research have found that exploring objects through touch can generate detailed, durable memories for those objects, even when there is no intention to remember them.
In our designs, we incorporate plants with different textures: gentle petals, smooth, fleshy, or velvety leaves, and textured barks that allow our clients to experience the richness and diversity of nature and to develop a closer connection with it.
Taste
It is a pleasure to saviour the food we like. It is a double pleasure if the food is home-grown. Bring your garden to your kitchen by growing your own fruit, berries, herbs, or vegetables or decorate your salad with edible flowers such as nasturtiums and violets.
We can help you to set up your orchard or a vegetable garden, which will be smoothly incorporated into the overall design, and will give you advice on how to look after it.
Working closely with the Client
We work closely with the Client to create gardens, which reflect the personality of the Client and meet the Client’s aspirations and functional requirements.
Sustainability
We are passionate about the environment and in our designs, we use, where possible, sustainable and recyclable materials. We support an organic approach to gardening. The organic approach focuses on managing gardens without any chemicals or pesticides and produces a positive long-term impact on soil, water supply, and the wildlife.