What’s in store at the Chelsea Flower Show 2016?
There are a number interesting of themes running through the designs for the Chelsea Flower show garden entries this year including several that explore natural landscapes and the influence of humans on the landscape.
The M&G show garden is always a big draw for the crowd and this year, designed by Cleve west the garden has been inspired by the designer’s memory of ancient oak woodland in Exmoor National Park where the spent his teenage youth – but blended with modern hard landscape elements that lend a juxtaposition with the natural planting and together echo the longevity of the oak.
The Brewin Dolphin Garden designed by Rosy Hardy is designed to highlight the danger that the modern world imposes on our unique chalk streams and sets out to engage visitors in considering the fragile nature of these rare and beautiful habitats that are currently threatened by pollution and climate change. Of the 200 chalk streams exist in the world, the majority are found in the south of England.
Andy Sturgeon, a regular designer at the Chelsea Flower Show has this year designed The Telegraph garden which this year has a geological theme. His aim is to create a garden that creates an image of geological events that have shaped and moulded our landscape over millions of years to form ‘a garden about perspective of both time and scale’. It is also set to reminds us of our own relatively insignificant and fleeting moment on Earth.
A number of gardens are raising awareness of good causes and current campaign including the Modern Slavery Garden designed by Juliet Sargeant for The Modern Slavery Garden Campaign. The garden will have a modern theme with a dark centre to depict the hidden and darkly sinister nature of the slavery that still happens in the 21st century.
Papworth Trust – Together We Can designed by Peter Eustance The Together We Can garden concept combines Evelyn’s motto “Teach the World to Listen”, with the vision of Papworth Trust to “Help us create a world where disabled people are seen for what they can do’”.
From the Harrods Eccentric British Garden representing our own penchant for order and manicure with a little twist to L’Occitane Garden depicting a typical Provencal planting scheme and the LG Smart Garden designed with a modern living Scandinavian theme
Each year the Chelsea Flower show includes the Fresh gardens. The category invites some rather wacky ideas that not everyone will want to ‘take home’ with them but this category of smaller show gardens provokes a different perspective on our outdoor spaces and this year includes an ‘inside out’ garden, The ‘World Vision’ garden, and of course our garden Urban Connections, a garden that aims to bring people together and out of a grey world of isolation.
For more details including tickets see RHS Tickets
Caroline Wright
Caroline brings decades of horticultural experience, both practical and theoretical. Having lectured at Brackenhurst Horticultural University for many years, Caroline has now relocated to France and is following her passion for growing plants and teaching. Caroline and her husband Paul run the plant nursery, propagating all of the plants themselves and lead a wide selection of fun and interactive horticultural and craft based courses.
