NEWS EXTRA
Eberle used large moss and lichen- covered boulders to punctuate her woodland scene, whilst Jilyane Rickards
showcased roughly-
hewn huge red rocks piled up on top of one another on her garden for CAMFED.
National charity, Family Action teamed up with Iverde for its Artisan Garden, Family Monsters,
using
boulders and pebbles to represent family issues or ‘monsters’ of all shapes and sizes. In a pool at the top of the garden are pebbles form the same larger rocks at the exhibit’s entrance, with ‘monsters’ written on them from a Family Action project in Norfolk.
And for those visitors hoping
to recreate the look in their own garden, there was a fantastic display of enormous boulders from stone- balancing artist Adrian Gray.
Living roofs and walls
Utilising every inch of space, there was a real trend for green roofs and walls at this year’s show. Meristem designed and built a 32m x 3m living wall – the largest ever seen at Chelsea - for the Savills and David Harber Garden, created by Andrew Duff.
unsurprisingly this year, inspiration came from the natural world. Andrew Duff designed a calming pool of water that played host to a bronze sculpture that reached into the high trees. Tom Hoblyn also created an oasis-like pool in his Dubai Majlis Garden, inspired by the sculptural beauty found in arid landscapes. Meanwhile, water lies at the heart of the garden Paul Hervey-Brookes created for Viking Cruises; a space created from a water meadow, with multi-stem river birch and winding streams running through to a pool and concrete terrace.
The wall featured a mix of ferns, grasses, ivies and herbaceous flowering plants. Jody Lidgard’s creation, the Montessori Centenary Garden boasted a stunning living fern wall, as well as an edible wall, whilst David Poole’s Silent Pool Gin Garden incorporated a ‘flowerbed roof’, which also boasted two microbial fuel cells, which converted organic matter from plant photosynthesis into electricity used to power small LED lights situated in the garden below.
Water
Though not a new trend across RHS shows, water features prominently in a number of gardens and,
Gardens with a message For many years, charities have used the Chelsea Flower Show as a platform to raise awareness and this was still very much the case this year, with gardens from Greenfingers, Family Action, and CAMFED, but there was also an abundance of show gardens and exhibits developed to hammer home – whether that be sustainable gardening and preservation of wildlife or the power of horticulture to engage and inspire people of all generations.
Former Hillier MD and Chelsea veteran, Andy McIndoe told DIY Week: “Some of the show gardens, like Ikea’s and Sarah Eberle’s, might not be the most attractive and people may look at them and think ‘I don’t want that in my space’ but they are probably some of the most genuine gardens here.”
He continued: “I think it’s good always to have a mix here
of
the gardens people go to, to get inspiration for their own gardens and pre-planting ideas some of the other gardens here have a really important social message, which I think is fantastic. And, this message has become stronger at this show over the years.” The M&G garden set out to
provide a vibrant celebration of nature’s extraordinary power to regenerate and colonise landscapes with new growth. Many of the plants used have never been seen before at the Chelsea Flower Show, with a biodiverse range of plant species that originate from all over the world, yet are capable of thriving in the British climate. Amongst young trees and ferns
were hints of colour from jewel- like flowers in rich tones of blue, orange, white and deep purple. The regenerative theme was carried through the garden with a series of small pools and clear streams, running alongside a stepped path made from English ironstone. Andy McIndoe commented: “The
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a greater diversity of species. Set in the British countryside, it features a collection of exotic and native plants, specially chosen to thrive in habitats that mimic existing and possible effects of climate change. A farmyard grain silo appears at the centre of the garden, styled as the workshop of
the designer to
experiment and research suitable trees and plants for the future. “Again, nobody’s going to want a silo in the middle of their garden but it is demonstrating that we do have to think about climate change and consider, if we are going to integrate different species in, how are we going to do that,” said Andy. In the Great Pavilion, Ikea teamed up with designer Tom Dixon on its show garden ‘Gardening Will Save the World’, imagining the future of urban farming. The base of the split-level garden is a horticultural laboratory,
where hydroponic
technology is used to grow hyper- natural edibles and a robotic arm
cultivates mushrooms. The raised garden above creates a canopy-like eco-system of trees, flowers and plants with medicinal, health and environmental benefits.
Ikea’s James Futcher told DIY
Week: “We have a planet positive strategy at Ikea, so anything we can do that can make an impact, we will. Here, at the best and biggest flower show, we really wanted to start with the message and see how we could democratise gardening; turn it upside down a little bit.” He continued: “We want to make people aware of how important growing is. So, if they could just do a little bit at home, there’s a chance we could actually save the planet. We have also created some plant pots and vessels with Tom Dixon but have kept them very simple to encourage growing in the home because not everybody has access to a garden or balcony. Many of our customers live in small spaces, so we are looking at modular pots
28 JIUNE 2019 DIY WEEK 9
M&G garden by Andrew Sturgeon is brilliantly executed – it’s fabulous. He’s actually my top tip for Best in Show always because he delivers something that, in my mind, is beautifully put together. It won’t be something that you look at and think ‘god I would kill for that’ because it’s not actually pretty. It’s fabulous in its way but its message is all about how nature regenerates and recovers the landscape and takes over.”
Sarah Eberle’s garden explore how
forests and landscapes can be made resilient to the threats posed by climate change, pests and diseases. It takes inspiration from Victorian horticulturalist William Robinson’s experimental approach to planting, and champions the need for planting
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