The Rou landscape captures the beauty and romance of the abandoned “undiscovered”  hamlet nestling in the hills above the Ionian Sea, carpeted in wild flowers. Yet it meets the needs of the Rou of today – a luxury development of  traditional stone houses, restored to the highest standard – and is full of rich and interesting spaces throughout the seasons. 

Dominic Skinner, the architect of the Rou Estate, envisioned  the landscape unfolding as a series of outdoor rooms, each unique yet linked to the others. As a result, external and internal spaces are harmonised visually, connecting inside and outside living spaces with the stunning sea and mountain views beyond.

The landscaping philosophy emphasises the enhancement of existing habitats such as woodland and meadow, creating a place that is totally in harmony with the character and colour of the locality. The planting style is largely naturalistic - native trees and shrubs such as oak, hackberry, olive and buckthorn, create a permanent green framework. Discerning use is made of bold drifts of carefully selected Rou signature plants - waves of seasonal flowers in the form of wild herbs, perennials and bulbs, such as lavender, rosemary, alliums and irises. These are repeated throughout the estate to create high visual impact.

Plants have also been chosen for their ability to withstand drought and their appropriateness to the Mediterranean climate and landscape. Attraction of wildlife is also integral to the project and management of the estate positively encourages birds, bees and butterflies.

Jennifer Gay and Piers Goldson created the landscape of Rou in close co-operation with Dominic Skinner. Both have extensive experience of gardening in the Mediterranean. Jennifer gained a masters in Landscape Architecture from the University of Sheffield, while Piers graduated from Pershore College of Horticulture. Both helped develop the garden of the Mediterranean Garden Society just outside Athens, while Jennifer spent several years designing and managing botanical gardens in Jerusalem, Jericho and on the island of Cephalonia. Piers has global gardening experience having cared for the Mediterranean Collection in the Great Glasshouse at the Welsh Botanics, as well as  working at Longwood Gardens, Philadelphia, USA and the Haiwian Botanic Garden. Jennifer writes a regular garden column for the Athens News, and published a book Greece, Garden of the Gods in 2004.