A Garden Sanctuary by Hamptons
PROFILE
Designer Tony Woods,
Sponsors Hamptons
Contractor Garden Club London
Contact 020 3126 4994, gardenclublondon.co.uk
“This garden is about taking a typical urban space and smothering it with nature,” says Tony. “We’re going big on trees, water and plants to create a space in which people can lose themselves.”
The garden reflects what clients are now requesting –a home office as well as biodiversity and a naturalistic feel. Tony has collaborated with architectural design company Koto Design to create a beautiful garden building that can be used as an office, yoga or relaxation space. Rounded glacial boulders and natural stepping stones will slow the journey to the cabin, passing through the planting and across a stream. “On the way to the building, the garden will ignite the senses, with the sounds of trickling water and wildlife.”
Tony has taken inspiration from the mature gardens of 1920s and 1930s houses. “I wanted to evoke the sense that we’ve improved the planting of a garden that has existed for a while. So there will be lots of gnarled trees, domestic garden plants and scented flowers.”
Tony is anticipating some “sweaty palm moments” when the five-tonne building (being built offsite in Wales), mature trees and pipework are installed. “I also freeze when it comes to placing the first perennial.” But Tony has won Gold at Chelsea before. “I’ll be happy if I’ve created the feeling of a May morning, when it’s been raining, when there are incredible aromas and you know that it’s truly spring.”
WHAT TO LOOK OUT FOR
1 Carbon-neutral garden cabin with a charred timber (shou-sugi-ban) exterior will frame immersive views of the garden.
2 Trees will play a huge role and will include Betula nigra, Pinus sylvestris, gnarled Syringa vulgaris and Cornus canadensis – the latter two should be in flower.
3 Planting will mostly be a wispy haze of white from the likes of Thalictrum delavayi and Anthriscus sylvestris ‘Ravenswing’, with scent and abundant flowers coming from Phlox divaricata ‘May Breeze’ and ‘Clouds of Perfume’. Annuals will provide dark pops of colour, while zesty green foliage will brighten shady areas.
4 Boundaries of Fagus sylvatica hedging and charred larch panels provide a foil for the interesting bark of the trees.
A Swiss Sanctuary
PROFILE
Designer Lilly Gomm
Sponsor Switzerland Tourism
Contractor Collinson’s Landscaping
Contact 07852 908375, lillygomm.com
“I was asked to encapsulate Switzerland in a garden,” says Lilly Gomm. “It was definitely a challenging brief.” Instead of attempting to recreate the Alps in her Swiss Sanctuary garden for Switzerland Tourism, the designer has wisely set out to demonstrate how the impressions we bring home from our travels can provide inspiration for our own gardens.
“From the beginning, I knew my design was going to be all about the plants because Swiss native flora is so much more varied than most people realise. Obviously, there are lots of wonderful alpines, which I am placing right at the front of the show garden. And there are many woodland and meadow species, but I will also be including some Mediterranean plants people might be surprised to see in a Swiss garden. The point is to include a range of plants visitors could be inspired to grow for themselves, whatever their garden location.”
Despite the restrictions that have made travel so difficult over the past few years, Lilly managed to make a research field trip, during which she was introduced to some Swiss garden designers. “Speaking through an interpreter, I tried to explain my brief and how I intended to fulfil it, and they all scoffed and tutted at me. I thought for a minute that I had somehow insulted them, until my guide explained that they were just astonished by the enormity of the challenge.”
WHAT TO LOOK OUT FOR
1 Gentians will feature prominently in the garden, including the intensely blue Gentiana acaulis, which is such a feature in the Swiss Alps.
2 A bespoke iron bench has been designed to evoke the railway tracks that criss-cross Switzerland and represent the country’s excellent train network, of which it is justifiably proud.
3 The range of plants. Many were sourced from Kevock Garden Plants near Edinburgh in Scotland, although they are being grown on for Lilly by Bernhard’s Nurseries in Rugby, Warwickshire, which is also looking after the plants for Paul Hervey-Brookes’ Chelsea garden.
4 Large stones will serve as garden-sized representations of Switzerland’s mountainous landscape, framing a miniature ‘lake’ at the heart of the garden.
Connected, by Exante
PROFILE
Designer Taina Suonio
Sponsor Exante (Xnt Ltd)
Contractor Nicholsons
Contact rmgardens.fi
Taina Suonio has helped plant many Chelsea show gardens and is described by fellow landscape designer Nigel Dunnett as “a true ecological artist”. She was the first Finn to create a Chelsea garden in 2019 and is now returning with her third, a calm woodland sanctuary.
The centrepiece is a large wooden building that evokes an oak stump, serving as an office or relaxation space. It has three large windows, including a glass roof, giving the feeling of immersion in nature. It will be softened by a green roof and climbers: “They’ll make the garden feel magical and the building entrance less obvious.”
The garden will feature plants native to Europe, including Britain, and Finland. “They’re common plants people can easily grow,” says Taina. “We need to think more carefully about what we plant, because of climate change and pests and diseases, and need to support natural biodiversity. We need to learn to appreciate the smaller details.”
Beech, wild crab apple, field maple and Betula pendula (the Finnish national tree) will be underplanted with brambles, dog rose, elder and Viburnum opulus. Cow parsley, Solomon’s seal, foxgloves, ferns, erythroniums and lily of the valley (Finland’s national flower), will evoke a woodland walk. “I grew up in the countryside, and as a child always felt secure in the forest,” says Taina. It’s fitting, then, that the garden will move to a children’s hospital after the show.
WHAT TO LOOK OUT FOR
1 The oak structure, which will have a very minimal interior that gives it a Scandinavian feel, will be wired up for home working.
2 The water feature at the back of the building gives the impression of a window but is, in fact, a tank filled with rainwater harvested from the roof.
3 A green roof is one of Taina’s specialties: “The planting around the ceiling window will echo the forest plants around it. It will look as if the whole roof is planted.”
4 Duckboards will lead to the garden building, echoing those that traditionally lead up to Finnish summer cottages.
5 A wooden bench by Jonathan Blackburn will sit alongside works by willow artist Kate Morrell. jonathanblackburn.co.uk; katemorrellwillowworkshops.co.uk
Out of the Shadows
PROFILE
Designer Kate Gould
Contractor Kate Gould Gardens
Contact 01923 839733, kategouldgardens.com
“If I were to describe my garden in three words, I’d say, lush, tropical and useful,” says Kate Gould of her Out of the Shadows Sanctuary garden. Kate last exhibited at the show in 2019, so it’s a process she’s not unfamiliar with but the past few years have seen many of us redefine how we live. “More than ever we are asking our gardens to work really hard – particularly city gardens. The pandemic has made us value such spaces and consider them more mindfully.”
Her city garden features a relaxed seating area, Jacuzzi with swim jet (“if you want a swimming pool but don’t have the space, you need to think practically”), a space for yoga, pull-up bars, an outdoor shower and firepit with pebble seating. Despite all these elements, it is still a garden first and foremost, filled with lush foliage choices. “The garden is for a couple who love tropical-style planting. They also want somewhere with continuity that they can use year round and that will look good from out of those huge glass doors and windows so many city homes now have. You need bulk and structure to hold the space.”
And there’s a responsibility to having a garden too that Kate is keen to emphasise. “What we have to do in all our towns and cities is ensure that there are enough green spaces to join the dots for wildlife to thrive, and to help cool the cities and clean the air. Even the smallest amount of greenery is important.”
WHAT TO LOOK OUT FOR
1 Statement tropical planting includes Chamaerops humilis that Kate describes as “chunky old beasts”, forming striking shapes in the garden canopy. Other tropical-style planting includes Cycas revoluta and bamboo Phyllostachys viridis.
2 Ibstock bricks will be used in a hit-and-miss herringbone pattern to create a perforated brick wall that will allow a play of light and shadow. This is typical of Kate’s gardens, which always use the detailing of materials to good e ect.
3 Lighting from Catellani & Smith will enliven the ”dark and moody” planting and hard-landscape materials as daylight begins to fade. catellanismith.com
4 A contemporary metal pergola will give form and definition to the space; its colour is picked up in the brickwork and gives a warm background to the planting.
The Place2Be Securing Tomorrow Garden
PROFILE
Designer Jamie Butterworth
Sponsors Sarasin & Partners, Place2Be
Contractors On the Ground and Form Plants
Contact 01753 628664, formplants.com
There are two unusual aspects to Jamie Butterworth’s first Chelsea garden: it’s for children but there’s not a slide, swing nor piece of climbing equipment in sight. It’s also been designed as a real garden, with its presence at Chelsea intended simply as a pit stop that will raise awareness for mental-health charity Place2Be before it is installed at Viking Primary School in a deprived area of north London. Jamie explains that the children need a safe, calm space where they can talk to the school’s counsellor, teacher or family member about what’s on their mind. “The garden is essentially a sanctuary space, a place that can stimulate conversation and where children will feel safe. The design is so simple, it’s based on the golden ratio. We use only three materials: sandstone from the Forest of Dean, oak in the form of two beautiful carved seats by Alison Crowther, and metal to create a crisp edging to the planting. The rest is plants.”
The sunken heart of the garden is an open space where the two oak seats provide the main seating area. Gravel ‘tiptoe’ paths lead up through woodland planting to a number of rocks where children can also perch. The lush planting creates an amphitheatre effect, with the predominant colours of blue and yellow being the children’s choice.
WHAT TO LOOK OUT FOR
1 Soft-yellow bellwort. Jamie hopes to use two species of this choice shadeloving spring flower with bell-shaped flowers: Uvularia grandiflora and the taller, later U. perfoliata. Look for his pairing of this subtle flower with the elegant perennial grass Melica altissima ‘Atropurpurea’.
2 Clipped copper beech (Fagus sylvatica f. purpurea) is one of Jamie’s favourite plants for adding depth, especially when it is combined with selinums and cenolophiums.
3 Alison Crowther’s oak seats. Their unusual shape references the Play-Doh bean bag design by one of the school children. Each 1.5m-wide seat is big enough for a child to curl up in. alisoncrowther.com
The Boodles Garden
PROFILE
Designer Thomas Hoblyn
Sponsor Boodles
Contractor The Garden Builders
Contact 01359 252056, thomashoblyn.com
This is Tom’s second garden for luxury jeweller Boodles. “The garden celebrates the 60th anniversary of Anthony Wainwright, grandfather to the current chairman, undertaking a 16-day expedition to travel the world. We had access to old photographs of the trip and there were some really strong images that have informed the garden.”
The garden highlights plant and cultural references from around the world. “It’s a contemporary fernery courtyard complete with meandering stream and stumpery,” says Tom. “One of the key ferns is Todea barbara [grown by Dave Root at Kelways], which is a bit of a rarity. It looks a little like Osmunda regalis but has a mini trunk at its base.” Other plants include Enkianthus campanulatus, Styrax japonicus, Primula bulleyana and Iris ‘Caesar’s Brother’ for a splash of colour. “Ferns tend to look better when they’ve got something coming up through them,” explains Tom. “Wood is a key element throughout – all of it found, reclaimed or recycled. We have created a Japanese doorway as an entrance to the garden. It was inspired by one of Wainwright’s images but our version is made of sweet chestnut laths, made for us by British coppice woodland workers.
“I’m most nervous about the stumps. We’ve been growing epiphytic ferns, lichen and moss on them. Once we’ve placed them so they look right in the garden, we can plant out from there.”
WHAT TO LOOK OUT FOR
1 Water feature created by expert Bamber Wallis. He took a mould of ripples in the sand from the beach at West Wittering to cast into the concrete base of the stream, which gives the flow of water movement and character. bamberwallis.com
2 Chinese noodle bench made from a piece of found oak from Lincolnshire and crafted by woodsman Alex Walshaw. alexwalshaw.com
3 Clay-rendered walls imprinted with fern fronds will give a rustic appeal to the contemporary courtyard garden.
4 Mounded beds that partially obscure views to allow for a sense of discovery.
5 Feature trees with interesting form and habit will include Cornus controversa with its tiers of horizontal branches and the snake-bark maple Acer davidii.