swimming pool to offer shade?” he
asks. “Why can’t the owner walk
across real grass to his wellness area
or relax in a Zen garden planted
between real bonsai trees?”
The short answer is because, for
trees to thrive at sea, your designer
needs to have incorporated into the
plans “the necessary recesses in the
decks, irrigation and draining
systems – you can’t just water a tree
by hand or with a hose – as well as
automatic humidity-measuring
devices and additional lighting”
specific to the plant type. Not to
mention a specially cultivated
substrate for the planting. A 10ft
tree, for instance, will “have to be
built in before all the decks are
closed,” says Massmann, explaining
that owners want them to look as
though they’re growing out of the
deck, so a basin large enough to
accommodate a substantial root ball
and room for it to grow needs to be
accommodated at the start of the
build. Waterfalls are also possible –
Yacht Green has put a 20ft high
cascade on a yacht – but they too
need tanks and engine rooms.
In contrast, planting gardens
should be quite straightforward,
but it will depend to some extent on
whether it is sited on deck or inside.
If outside, the vegetation must be
able to tolerate salt; if inside, you’ll
need to install special lights that
mimic sunlight.
A boat’s sphere of operation may
also be a factor. “Dilbartends to be
between the South of France,
northern Spain and sometimes
Sardinia, so we chose plants from
Mediterranean areas,” Massmann
says. (By not leaving EU waters, it is
spared the customs regulations that
tend to forbid the import of plants.)
Generally, however, he finds his
clients prefer tropical species from
Asia and Latin America. Certainly
the small starboard-side glass-
enclosed conservatory garden on
the aft main deck ofStella Maris,
another Øino-designed boat, bears
that out, incorporating as it does a
jungle-like cluster of tropical
planting to provide a focal point and
fill vibration-laden space directly
above the engine room.
There are, however, simpler ways
to incorporate nature. OnGalactica
Star,troughs of wild grasses were
placed on the aft deck. OnOcean
Paradisethe main deck foyer
doubles as a Japanese garden, a
meditative space with artfully raked
gravel and potted bonsai trees,
specified by its owner, in order “to
inspire thought and question life.”
Laurelhas a four layer, semi-
enclosed, temperature-controlled
vertical herb garden next to the spa
pool on the sundeck to ensure the
galley never runs out of the
wherewithal for salsa verde.
It is possible to farm on a more
ambitious scale, too. VistaJet
founder Thomas Flohr has a small
hydroponic garden, an irrigated
vertical wall of herbs and vegetables,
on his 140ft Baglietto yachtNina J.And, says Simon Rowell, creative
director of Bannenberg & Rowell
Design, there is scope for market
gardening on an even greater
scale. “We have a specific project
for a 120 meter-plus yacht on
which we’ve been asked to explore
potential for food production.
This has involved research from
NASA into bio-regenerative life-
support systems.” In other words,
hydroponics and aquaponics.
These are a means of growing
plants in nutrient-rich water,
without soil. Hydroponics are often
“a drum format, where you have a
consistent ultraviolet light source in
the center, around which you rotate
the plants in an irrigated system that
enables the cultivation not just of
leaves – salads, spinach, chard – but
aubergines, courgettes, cucumbers,
tomatoes and chilis.”
More remarkable yet are
aquaponics. “This sounds like
alchemy,” Rowell says. “Basically it’s
a fish tank in which you grow edible
plants that feed off the by-product of
the fish, a bit like using manure on
land. The plants then filter the water,
so it’s a very efficient cycle, although
you need a power source to regulate
the light and water temperature.
“You can produce a lot of
vegetables this way, and someNATURAL WORLD
One of the two
vivariums onNirvana,
top left; the
conservatory garden
onStella Maris,
above; herbs
growing on the
sundeck ofSea OwlPHOTOGRAPHS: VSY; THIERRY AMELLER164