(7) Spazio “Rosa velata”

Jesus Sanz-Castro and Daniela Giraudo

[a few questions]

How did your story begin?
Jesus / My story began with the study of “space” as a medium through which people experience, live, and dream—whether inside a room or in a garden. In my research thesis, however, I realised how design does not clearly distinguish between indoors and outdoors. Only later, working as an architect, did I understand that it is precisely the exterior of a building that is the richest and most interesting part: the one we look forward to in spring, the one that changes with the seasons.
I then began designing private gardens, seeking to create places rich in experiences, capable of changing over time, and of connecting the architectural experience—dominated by humans—with the landscape experience, governed by the laws of nature.

Daniela / In my home garden I was fascinated by the buzzing life of animals, immersed in the beauty of nature. As I grew up, I decided to pursue studies as an agricultural expert, later working in a nursery for over 15 years. I cultivated my passion for gardening by transforming the brightest room in the house into my personal greenhouse. Meanwhile, I never stopped studying design and attending professional training courses. As a culmination of these years of dedication and commitment, I decided to open my own nursery, “Il giardino dei giunchi,” where I grow the plants I then use in the gardens I design and create.

Who are the people who have most inspired you artistically and professionally?
The people who inspire us most are above all thinkers such as Eckhart Tolle, and philosophers such as Giancarlo Barbadoro—a pioneer of Eco-spirituality and a deep lover of nature—who are able to define the rightful place of human beings, loving nature deeply and respecting all forms of life.
In addition, we are constantly inspired by landscape designers such as Roberto Burle Marx for his study of forms, Gilles Clément with his “garden in movement,” and Piet Oudolf for his masterful use of perennials, their textures, and colours.
Finally, Masanobu Fukuoka inspires us with his natural farming methods, born from the careful observation of the complex processes of nature.

How does nature inspire your projects and lifestyle?
Nature deeply inspires our projects: we study its mechanisms in order to always work in harmony with it, without opposing it. We believe that a garden works best when it “resembles” nature, favouring natural materials over artificial ones. For this reason, we create spaces designed for all the species that inhabit them—pleasant for humans, but also welcoming to other organisms.
Nature also inspires our lifestyle. We both enjoy visiting gardens of all kinds to discover new realities, observe plant growth, and study colour compositions. We are attentive observers of nature and seek to understand the processes through which it organises itself, so that we can follow and support them.

If your way of designing were a dream, what kind of scenario would it be? Lucid, epic, silent, or collective?
It would be the dream Cinderella has when she falls asleep, while the animals work for her throughout the night. It is a fantastical, light, effortless, joyful, and natural dream.
It is a decidedly collective dream, because it is shaped by all the elements of nature: wind, light, plants, and the flows of people and animals.

Is there a recurring dream – or idea – that returns in your work?
We are fascinated by the idea that the project does not truly originate from us, but from nature itself. As if the garden already existed in an invisible form, and our task were simply to listen to it and bring it to light. When the project is completed, we wish to recognise that it belongs first and foremost to nature, that it was conceived for it and guided by its silent laws. For this reason, we try to set aside our ideas and desires, allowing nature to guide the pen.

How do you imagine your “mental landscape” when you create? Are there any real or imaginary places that guide you?
When we create, we try not to start from a purely mental elaboration, but to let the place speak to us and suggest “what it needs.” In this way, the designer’s mind merely draws what the place naturally requires.
We believe that at the core of the creative process there is a spark, an intuition: a moment in which one stops and makes space for a deeper dimension. This state allows us to come into contact with the genius loci of the garden: that instant in which one feels they have found the right idea, which is then developed by drawing on the full range of acquired knowledge, memories of landscapes seen, and gardens visited.

What does Avant gardening mean to you?
By “Avant gardening” we do not simply mean making gardens more beautiful or richer in plants, but rather a different way of thinking about the garden and its relationship with nature. In short, the concept revolves around three main ideas, which define our approach to design:
The garden as ecosystem, not decoration. In evolved gardening, the starting point is the place itself, with its climate, soil, and biodiversity.
The garden as sensory and cultural experience. The garden is also understood as art and as a sensory experience (scents, sounds, seasons, changes). It becomes almost a narrative or a space to be lived, not just observed.
A more ecological and conscious approach. Evolved gardening seeks to reduce environmental impact and foster biodiversity. Gardens where humans are just one component, equal to all other inhabitants.

At Orticolario 2026.
What emotion or feeling do you hope people experience when they encounter your project?
We want the visitor to encounter a small great mystery within the Park. We hope the immersive journey (scents, lights, sounds) becomes a true sensory experience and evokes a sense of curiosity, wonder, and belonging.

If your project were music, what would it be?
The Rosa Velata journey could be imagined as a composition in four moments:
Phase 1. “Falling asleep”: A Walk (by Tycho)
Phase 2. “Light sleep”: Weightless (by Marconi Union)
Phase 3. “Deep sleep”: Structures from Silence (by Steve Roach)
Phase 4. “Dream / REM”: An Ending (Ascent) (by Brian Eno)

Five words for you closely linked to the concepts of dream and illusion.
Mysterious, deep, intimate, evanescent, evocative.

[BIO]

Jesus Sanz-Castro was born in Spain in 1974.

He is a landscape designer and architect with a PhD. He draws creative inspiration from the natural landscapes of the Italian hills. His research shapes gardens with a spontaneous imprint, conceived as sensitive places where the plant world and human presence find a poetic harmony.

[BIO]

Daniela Giraudo was born in Turin in 1978.

She is a landscape designer and nurseryperson. In her nursery Il Giardino dei Giunchi in Settimo T.se, she cultivates the species she uses in the gardens she designs. An agricultural expert, she has further enriched her training with courses in garden design, healing gardens, and spontaneous gardens.

“We believe that at the core of the creative process there is a spark, an intuition: a moment in which one stops and makes space for a deeper dimension. This state allows us to come into contact with the genius loci of the garden.”

(7) Spazio “Rosa velata”

Jesus Sanz-Castro and Daniela Giraudo

[a few questions]

During Orticolario

Avant Gardening

Take part in Orticolario

Press area

Partner area