CHELSEA TRENDS: EDIBLE GARDENS

At this year’s RHS Chelsea Flower Show there has been a wide inclusion of edible plants. From the show gardens on Main Avenue to the pavilion there have been a mixture of planted beds mixing the traditional lines between flowers and veg. There are messages of cooking straight from the garden for adult dinner parties to children growing healthy lifestyles through planting your own food crops. Let’s take a look.

THE SAVILLS GARDEN

Designed by Mark Gregory

Designer Mark Gregory shows off his kitchen for The Savills Garden

The Savills Garden is designed in the style of a working hotel kitchen garden in the countryside. This is the first garden to feature a fully functioning kitchen at Chelsea, serving lunch daily for the Chelsea Pensioners. The chef will cook using herbs and vegetable taken straight from the planted beds in the garden. The space features formal vegetable patches in neat rows, but the edible plants merge at various point with the beautiful ornamental flowers. This garden aims to combine both a sanctuary and a source of the very best in flavours and nutrition.

A tranquil space where the outside kitchen makes food from the crops grown on site.

The garden features a large, working kitchen and adjoining dining area, for a true ‘from plot-to-plate’ experience.

There’s a tranquil feel to the garden, a retreat with mature trees and miniature pleached apple trees, barely a foot high but laden with blossom. This garden reconnects people with food and nature, to fully appreciate growing the finest ingredients for flavour, health and well being.

A tiny Granny Smith apple tree.

This has been designed to be environmentally sensitive with the  hard landscaping materials used, with both reclaimed brick and new ones made from clay and straw for sustainability. The sheer number of bricks used to build this garden in such a short amount of time is staggering, but this garden will go on to be used to teach cookery skills to young people at a residential centre in Nottinghamshire.

Traditional beds in a tranquil garden style.

THE SCHOOL FOOD MATTERS GARDEN

Designed by Harry Holding

This garden aims to educate school children about growing plants for food whilst connecting children with nature. Edible plants are set around a meandering path so children can forage and discover plants whilst playing and making imaginary games.

A space for children to learn about food and growing.

The charity wants every school to have a garden for children. A space to teach children about the environment, wildlife and get involved with growing plants to benefit the whole school growing healthy food for lunches. The plants have been adapted for climate change with a mixture of textures and colours.

The little child sized paths make this a garden to explore.

THE MUSH ROOM

Growers the Caley Bros.

This display in the Great Pavilion is magical and mysterious with so many fascinating and unusual edible fungi. Mushrooms are easy and quite quick to grow and they have been displayed in an intriguing way at Chelsea.

Bags of wonderous mushrooms!

The spores can grow on any natural fibers. Pasteurise the material with boiling water, add spores and as displayed you can grow mushrooms on jeans and even books! These have been displayed on gilled pedestals that mimic the underside of the mushrooms themselves.

Who knew you could grow food on books?

This eye-catching display is entirely edible from oyster mushrooms to shitake and more!

So many fascinating mushrooms grown in containers.

BEST IN SHOW STYLE VEG

Of course there’s always the traditional route, but Chelsea style! Immaculate plots, just as you’d dream of!

A traditional veg display in the Great Pavilion at the Chelsea Flower Show.

This year’s Chelsea offers inspiration for growing edibles, but the main thing is that you can grow your own food whatever size your garden. You don’t need a traditional allotment style plot, you can use plant between your flowers in beds and boarders or in containers. Your imagination can make a glorious and delicious space!

So whatever you are growing in your garden think about experimenting with edibles!

For more information on CHELSEA TRENDS: EDIBLE GARDENS talk to Chilstone Architectural Stone & Garden Ornaments