In the autumn of 2002 I asked the Swedish photographer Carl Bengtsson to document a garden I had designed in London. The garden – my first important commission – was influenced by the principles of balance and order that characterize classical landscapes of the seventeenth century.

Throughout the year-long design process I had meticulously studied the conditions of the garden, refining my understanding and tuning into its every aspect. I was utterly immersed in the place; I had looked until I felt there was nothing more to be seen. I was not prepared for the impact the photographs would have the first time I saw them. Carl’s pictures revealed a space that was excitingly unfamiliar to me. By shooting from unexpected angles and catching the restrained interplay of the elements that give form to the garden, he offers a view of the space that is both evocative and meditative: a serene, muted, timeless world that conveys not only the scale and proportion of this garden, but also its intimacy and nuance.