Navin Residence
Location
Kumbakonam, Tamil Nadu
Type
Private residence
Program
Entry, car-park screen, two gardens, courtyard water feature, pool edge
Stages
Concept, planting scheme, schedule and indicative cost
Status
In progress
A Bali-inspired tropical garden for a home in Kumbakonam.
The Navin family's home is wrapped in a lush, Bali-inspired tropical landscape: layered planting and a sequence of water-led moments that make the garden feel cool, shaded and immersive to move through. The design reads as a slow, meandering experience rather than a single open lawn.
Because the garden leans on water, it carries a considered mosquito-management strategy, from moving-water detailing to repellent planting of lemongrass, citronella and tulsi, so the spaces stay comfortable to use.
Arrival through a green screen
A Petrea volubilis climber marks the entry over textured stone paving, and a Veronica curtain creeper forms a living green screen along the car park, so the first impression of the house is planting rather than parking.
Zoning the garden
Garden 1 builds a canopy of coconut and areca palm over bold foliage of monstera and alocasia, threaded by a pergola swing path. Garden 2 turns to water, with lotus and lilies edged in cyperus, thalia and canna. At the courtyard, Adonidia and Ravenala sit over a soft Zoysia lawn, and a Polyalthia and conifer boundary screens the plot.
A full planting scheme
The garden is documented end to end: a species palette, a zone-by-zone schedule with quantities and sizes, and a seasonal-performance study showing when each plant flowers and holds foliage through the year.
