The Eden Garden: Adam and Eve is an art and landscape project conceived by Rosa Ceño around the public works of Eduardo Chillida Belzunce, in collaboration with Blanca Soto Arte Gallery for Marbella Design 2019. The two sculptures, characterised by the landscape architect as Adam and Eve, were previously exhibited in Paris in the exhibition Des lieux et des hommes by the artist, son and namesake of the Basque sculptor Eduardo Chillida.

The Beauty of Mathematics. Ginkgo Landscape presents a design based on the golden ratio (Phi) and the Fibonacci spiral. Two rectangular gardens follow golden proportions, reflected in the ratio of their sides (3.236:2 = 1.618). Although the dimensions of the two sculptures together do not adhere to this golden principle—their width-to-length ratio is not 1.618—the arc connecting each garden to the rectangle of the sculptures aligns with the golden ratio, forming part of the Fibonacci spiral.

Ceño portrays the duality of a symbolic and conceptual garden designed with golden proportions through a Mediterranean-tropical space, providing sustainable climate solutions and staging a dilemma: Adam and Eve, masters of their free will, contemplate their choice of garden in a paradise for the five senses—colours, fragrances, textures, sounds, and tastes recreate an ideal world in which nature envelops two intimate sculptures. A fountain represents the four-armed river (Pishon, Gihon, Tigris, and Euphrates) that waters the garden. In a poetic botanical metaphor, Adam (Sophora japonica) and Eve (Lagunaria patersonii) merge in an embrace from which blooms a shower of bromeliads (Billbergia × windii), evoking the thawed sounds of Rabelais’ Gargantua, transformed into gemstones such as emeralds and rubies.

As our planet increasingly suffers the effects of climate change and water is a scarce resource, xeriscaping principles are applied. Numerous spiny plants are included: Erythrina crista-galli, Phormium tenax ‘Purpurea’, Dioon spinulosum, and Cycas revoluta, living fossils from the dinosaur era; Agave atenuata, Chamaerops humilis, and palms such as Washingtonia robusta and Archontophoenix alexandrae, alongside bromeliads like Aechmeas, Nidularum, or Vriesea. Geometry underpins the composition: a rectangle of Hibiscus syriacus (Rose of Sharon) frames the circle formed by the pink inflorescences of the Albizia julibrissin ‘Ombrella’ (Persian silk tree), which conceals the garden’s best-kept secret: a menacing-looking Yucca rostrata with dragon-like skin and a beautiful bluish hue, storing water in its trunk.

Fruit trees hold a prominent role: in the Orchard of Eden, the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil is represented by a kumquat bearing ‘forbidden fruits’. In the Gravel Garden, Vitis vinifera symbolises the Tree of Immortality. Papayas (Carica papaya), pineapples (Ananas comosus ‘Variegata’), and peach trees (Prunus persica) complete the Eden orchard. Plants resembling animals abound: elephant ears (Alocasia macrorrhiza), fish tails (Caryota mitis), dragons (Yucca rostrata, Dracaena draco), hedgehogs (Ptilotus exaltatus ‘Joey’), and ferns (Platycerium bifurcatum), among others.

Landscape architect Rosa Ceño was unanimously awarded the Best Proposal Iconic Center at Design Week Marbella in 2021. Her proposal for Stand IC06 was inspired by the promotion of urban greening benefits and the ecosystem services provided by green infrastructure, serving as a vegetal metaphor for sustainable gardens and incorporating an adaptation of the Japanese Tanabata festival to Mediterranean culture.

A 5-metre-high Wishing Tree, surrounded by straw alpacas, pine needles from Sierra Bermeja and Sierra Blanca, and paintings depicting countless stars across the Milky Way, invited visitors to engage with nature by contributing over 500 wishes written on recycled paper, hung among its branches. The wishes focused predominantly on love, followed by the environment, health, happiness, and peace. The tree, symbolising life, hope, and love, serves as Ceño’s inspiration. Through this installation, the landscape designer sought to foreground nature, transforming it into an ally: by creating sustainable gardens, we can actively enhance environmental quality.

Tanabata, the Festival of the Stars

We recreated the love story of Vega and Altair, with the Milky Way as its central motif, recalling the Japanese Tanabata legend, of Chinese origin. The beautiful princess Orihime (Vega, from the Lyra constellation) wove exquisite fabrics for her father, the king. So absorbed in her work, she remained alone until meeting Hikoboshi, a shepherd whom she married (Altair, from the Aquila constellation). The couple neglected their duties, angering the king, who transformed them into stars and separated them across the Milky Way (Amanogawa River).

The king allowed them to meet only once a year, provided that Orihime resumed weaving her fabrics. The distance between them was such that only the bridge formed by the star Deneb, on the seventh day of the seventh month, enabled the lovers to reunite annually. During summer nights, the Summer Triangle—comprising Vega, Altair, and Deneb—is visible in the sky, as the lovers cross the Milky Way to renew their ancient vows of love.

Rosa Ceño Elie-Joseph’s project, Colours of the Coast, was awarded First Prize in the OJA Gardening Competition by AMJA “for its creativity, sustainability, plant selection, project complexity, aesthetic appeal, and contextual adaptation.” The 70 plant species withstand saline water and the harsh Levantine winds.

Executed between January 2021 and June 2022, Ceño’s project embodies her environmental philosophy through the design of low-water, low-maintenance gardens that deliver ecosystem services aimed at mitigating climate change via green infrastructure. The approach incorporates biocontrol—avoiding chemical products in green areas—and the New Paradigm of Green Infrastructure, recognising the natural capital of urban and peri-urban forests as a tool for climate mitigation and citizen health enhancement. Each designed space is allocated resources proportionate to the ecosystem services it generates, a correlation measurable with technological tools such as ARIES, INVEST, or i-Tree.

Colours of the Coast is divided into nine areas inspired by the works of nine artists, reflecting the cultural diversity of the community: Gauguin, Monet & Degas (France), Mondrian & Van Gogh (Netherlands), Magritte (Belgium), Turner (UK), Picasso (Spain), and Hopper (USA).

The plants’ colours act as our brushstrokes, creating balanced “sustainability paintings.” Initially, nine spaces were defined with grasses over a rectangular terrain, with interior planting following the chosen colour scheme. Colours arise from flowers, leaves, or fruits, ensuring chromatic interest throughout the year, peaking in spring and summer.

By Loving, You May Also Be Loved is a sustainable landscaping project centred on water as a source of life, comprising three interconnected gardens: Moon, Stars, and Wind. The design generates ecosystem services and mitigates climate change through Nature-based Solutions (NbS). By caring for nature, humanity ensures its own survival. Pollinators sustain us by fertilising crops, and in return, the garden provides them with food and shelter.

Plant diversity—including native and therapeutic species—attracts biodiversity, protected through biocontrol. The project is imbued with poetry: a drop of water transformed into “honey” (Borges) through love could eternalise life on Earth, and a seed could become the “tree of life” (Victor Hugo) if visitors embrace their alliance with nature.

The nocturnal Egyptian water clock, the clepsydra, reminds us that planetary resources are finite; sustainable water management triggers a biodiversity cascade. A path leads to the Moon Garden, with silvery-white plants reflecting moonlight, attracting efficient nocturnal pollinators. The clepsydra converses with a tree providing food and refuge, sustained by water. Beyond the path lies the Star Garden, inspired by pointillist aesthetics; its resilient flowers transmit colour, beauty, and hope, forming a biodiversity corridor connecting three heart-shaped-leaved trees symbolic of the three ecosystem services. The Wind Garden exposes the threat of monocultures: despite its muted colours, it aids seed dispersal, with the sound of the breeze enchanting visitors.

If visitor emotions can sustain the last drop of the clepsydra, sustainable water management will nourish seeds, support pollinators, propagate crops, and control pests. Visitors’ emotional engagement transforms into water droplets, nourishing biodiversity. Only then can we truly appreciate how many lives make up a tree and can navigate toward immortality through the realm of sustainability.

Conceptual garden proposal, 2019, for Galería Senda, with the sculpture Julia by Jaume Plensa as the focal point. We envisioned Julia, a soul clad in immaculate white, in the middle of a lake, surrounded by coloured islands reflecting her inner world. From her, like a jellyfish, coloured threads extend, connecting the sculpture to island-gardens composed of plants and elements in varying colours that mirror the emotions of her soul.

These ‘islands’ are made up of plant life: universes that reflect different timeless moods of Julia through the foliage and flowers selected. The ‘threads’ echo the colours of the islands, linking them via multi-coloured or monochrome braids. The chromatic scheme communicates her soul’s language, substituting colour for words as a medium of expression. The only sound, apart from birdsong, is the gentle murmur of water, reminding us of our inseparable bond with nature.

Effect on the Viewer

Viewers can perceive Julia’s various emotional states through the colours. Yet the ultimate result remains infinite: every individual associates colours with emotions differently depending on culture, social group, or personal experience. Moreover, a visitor’s mood on the day they experience this ‘soul container’ influences their perception. The installation has become universal, allowing each observer to reinterpret the colours of the soul through their own perspective.

Conceptual garden design inspired by Rubén Fdez. Castón for Blanca Soto Arte Gallery, presented at the 2019 Affordable Art Fair Milan. Geometry, abstraction, and colour are reflected in concentric circles surrounding the sculptor’s work, echoing three artistic periods.

The garden consists of three concentric rings around a circular platform holding seven totems. A Jacaranda forest is reflected in a water sheet, all framed by a perfect square with a Laurus nobilis hedge. Visitors enter through seven ‘step-frames’ forming a path, a geometric metaphor for the artist’s evolution toward the verticality represented by the central totems. The path is lined with cypress trees, seven on each side.

The central ring features a blue crown of Jacarandas (Jacaranda mimosifolia), providing colour, height, protection, and CO₂ absorption. The outermost ring is represented abstractly by three segments, echoing the artist’s latest works moving toward abstraction.

This collaboration between artist and landscape designer merges their shared passion for colour and geometry. Nature provides the sculptor with iron, wood, and pigments, while plants, stones, and water allow the landscape designer to frame an abstract work in light, harmony, and balance.

A question mark refers to the unknown, to uncertainty. Uncertainty implies that something is waiting to be discovered, identified, or clarified. This may be because it is beyond our knowledge, or simply beyond our experience or understanding. Cragg uses industrial materials to create dynamic and emotional works. Are we facing a container or a void, the exterior or interior of the work, a metaphor or reality?

Nature can provoke reactions in viewers that transcend rational explanation. Approaching green spaces reconnects our minds to our inner selves through emotions. We relive natural cycles and remember that we are all connected with other human beings. We designed a garden to accompany the viewer on an exceptional journey, allowing them to internalize an artwork within a green space.

Starting with the sculpture Simbad, it is placed on an elevated elliptical green structure, allowing the work to be seen from a distance. A plant spiral in the shape of a question mark echoes Simbad’s movement, while guiding the visitor through the garden. The spiral leads directly to the dot of the question mark, formed by a group of Phormium plants connected with those around the sculpture, which this time surround a tree, a Laurus nobilis, symbol of victory, whose shade offers a place to rest: a reward for having internalized the beauty and depth of this artwork.