Using feng shui to strengthen landscape design
Leona de Ridder has her own business, Design by Leona, which was born out of a need for a family friendly practice. She was guided in her early years by Di Lucas whilst studying a BLA at Lincoln University, and stayed with her after graduating, before returning to Lincoln to join the MLA programme in 2004.
A short stint practicing in Australia (“like all good kiwis”) gave her a broader understanding of landscape at scale and other approaches to landscape assessment.
LAA: What does landscape architecture mean to you?
LdeR: At our recent Tauranga conference, Hon Eugenie Sage, suggested landscape architects are integrators. This resonates. There is a real opportunity to utilise our skillset in portraying complex issues with images.
Leona de Ridder
LAA: Why did you choose the profession?
LdeR: I saw an advertisement in the newspaper, an image of a bunch of pencils in a container…..it said “Be Sharp” BLA . It tickled my curiosity, my memories of my grandma’s garden and my love of design.
LAA: Done well LA takes a lot of mental energy and creativity. What's the first thing you do when starting a new project?
LdeR: Take a spade, dig a hole, and plant myself in there. Ask the land what it needs, spend time there.
LAA: You integrate feng shui into your designs - tell us about that.
LdeR: Feng Shui came into my life some 25 years ago whilst living in Canberra, Australia. I studied the Black Hat School of Feng Shui under International Master, Roseline Deleu.
I then furthered my studies with Roseline again in 2008 who stepped away from the Chinese approach and oriented her teachings combining her intuitive knowledge and skills while integrating what she has learned during her extensive work with Aboriginal people in 24 remote communities around Australia.
Roseline has shared with me how she evolved to respect culture within a connected practice integrating Oneness, Language Ancestors, Land and Nature Elements within our landscape and homes.
To me, Feng Shui is about creating harmony in our landscape and buildings; after all, the first impression you give to your visitors is the harmony of your garden, your landscape, your front entrance and only then your interior. Practising Feng Shui has helped me strengthen my connection with land and nature.
Leona’s tūrangawaewae Hāku Pei , Hawkes Bay. The unusual rock formations, may have come from the Hatepe eruption.
LAA: What made you decide to branch out on your own?
LdeR: Design by Leona was born in the last decade, along with two children. I needed a family friendly practice, so returned to residential design and volunteer work with community groups. In more recent times, I’ve delved back into the world of landscape planning, with Di Lucas and her team, focusing on Integrated Farm Plans.
As an urban dweller, the rural management sector is new to me. As a landscape architect, I felt a responsibility to become more aware of rural management land Issues. It’s a concern to see the majority of landscape architecture graduates landing with little, or limited ability, to practice their profession in the rural sector. Of great help to me, was studying a short course offered by Massey University; an Introduction to NZ’s Agricultural Greenhouse Gas emissions and Management. It threw me completely out of my comfort zone, we went underground to the soil, then up into the atmosphere to observe gas exchange, then back down to earth to trace the journey of ‘piss and poo’. I recommend this to any urban based landscape practitioner, whether you believe in climate change or not, this course is a good investment in time to open the mind.
In Maruia with her son.
LAA: What fires your passion around work?
LdeR: Knowing what we do can make a difference for the better. For me, it’s about connection, health and wellbeing.
LAA: And what would we find you doing when you’re not at work?
LdeR: Any opportunity to be in nature, to see the light come through the leaves, to hear the birds, observe the clouds reflecting in the water, feel the heat of the stones at my feet.