The John Madejski Garden at the V&A

Since 2005 there has been a beautiful garden at the centre of the Victoria and Albert Museum, designed by Kim Wilkie and created with the bequest of John Madejski.

I've always thought Irises are pretty anarchic - their upright spiky habit give a punky bearing and attitude. I also love the way their colours and markings are less pretty-pretty and more wild thing. With such beautiful architecture in the Italianate courtyard, their structure echoes the vertical planes of the building.

The planting is in effortless good taste and entirely appropriate for the surroundings - repetitive planting patterns keep the effect harmonious and formal.

The aim of the garden is to provide a calm space in the middle of the museum and the understated but structural planting certainly does that. The reality is that with such strong architecture, you need your planting to complement rather than compete and I believe that's been achieved here.

The elliptical pond adds a sense of serenity in a space and building that is congested with history and visitors and would look amazing in the rain.

The trees also help give a sense of the lofty scale of the building and pull your eyes to the sky, as with gothic architecture.