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There’s a theme at this year’s show that runs through a number of gardens, focused around handing the trowel to the youngsters. Yes, passing down gardening skills and encouraging careers in plants is a key feature and it seeds future gardeners to continue this horticultural showstopper for years to come! Let’s take a look.
The Eden Project Bring Me Sunshine Garden
Designed by Harry Holding and Alexa Michaelis
This is a design celebrating regeneration and hope, empowering young adults, especially those who are often overlooked, to hone their practical skills and offer pathways into green based industries. Inspired by Morcombe Bay, where the new Eden is being created, there are a number of salt tolerant plants, with a soft, natural feel in pinks and yellows with pops of blue grasses for movement.
The centerpiece rises from a shell-inspired island. It features a solar powered workshop in a resilient, water recycling landscape. The reflective pool captures and recirculates rainwater with a rill system. It symbolizes resilience and renewal.
The design shows that gardens can be productive and sustainable with an array of edible plants that encourage pollinators in a cement free space to encourage wildlife.
The RHS and The King’s Foundation Curious Garden
Designed by Frances Tophill
This garden aims to inspire a new generation of gardeners, encouraging careers working with plants. It showcases a wide range of plant based skills and occupations. This space is also full of inspiration to get growing for health, happiness and the environment.
At the heart of the garden is an oak framed museum of garden curiosities, celebrating the work and skills of trainees learning the craft of gardening and woodwork. This evokes art and a love of the natural world. The curiosities include fabrics made and dyed with plants including coreopsis. There are propagation experiments, plants studies and items made from plants including edibles such as pickles, jams, oils and infusions. The beams are full of dried flowers and seed heads.
Outside there are beds for growing vegetable and cut flowers as the garden conveys the potential of plants in our lives. Pistachios are used as evergreen topiary to inspire garden design and creativity.
There’s also a responsibility to conservation as the garden has been created to encourage wildlife with a pond and plants to attract pollinators, including one of the King’s favorites, Delphiniums.
The garden has also launched the Sir David Beckham rose at the show.
A Little Garden of Shared Knowledge
Designed by Katerina Kantalis
The idea behind this petite space is a balcony owned by a retired couple sharing the techniques and gardening skills they have acquired throughout their lives and travels with friends and family, especially those from the younger generation. It features flowers, herbs and dwarf vegetable varieties to thrive in smaller spaces. There are grape vines, tomatoes and aubergine and the small garden favorite at Chelsea for the previous two years – nasturtiums.
Create Your Own Garden Sanctuary
Chilstone has exhibited at The RHS Chelsea Flower Show many times in our 73 year history. If you are inspired by this year’s show designs we can help you to create your own garden sanctuary. Our garden ornaments and hard landscaping components are made my hand in our Kent workshop. Pop in and see us for more inspiration.
For more information on Chelsea Flower Show Themes – Passing Skills on to the Next Generation: talk to Chilstone Architectural Stone & Garden Ornaments