We talk to the designers behind some of this year’s Main Avenue gardens about what has influenced and inspired their choices
The Mind Garden
PROFILE
Designer Andy Sturgeon
Chelsea history 2001 (Silver Gilt), 2005 (Gold), 2006 (Gold), 2007 (Gold), 2008 (Gold), 2010 (Gold and Best in Show), 2012 (Gold), 2016 (Gold and Best in Show), 2019 (Gold and Best in Show)
Sponsors Project Giving Back for Mind
Contractor Crocus
Theme A garden about making people aware of their surroundings through all of their senses
Contact 01273 672575, andysturgeon.com
“I did swear I was never going to do another Chelsea garden,” says Andy Sturgeon, who has won multiple Gold medals and three Best in Show awards for his previous designs. “I was suckered by the unique opportunity to be my own client and choose which charity to partner with.” Andy’s Mind garden is being funded by the charity Project Giving Back, and this has given him a unique freedom to create exactly what he wants.
“This is the first time I have been 100 per cent in control of the brief and I have designed a garden that really functions as a garden, although I increasingly realise that I must be a frustrated architect,” says Andy. “Walls are a significant element of this design concept, starting loosely at the top of the garden, then coming closer in the centre before spreading apart again. It was only after the design had taken shape that I went back and identified certain allegorical references to the mental health issues at the heart of the work done by Mind, my partner charity.”
A backdrop of birches will create a woodland-edge atmosphere, filtering sunlight and introducing a sense of age and scale. The rest of the planting plan is equally naturalistic, featuring ornamental grasses threaded through with colourful emergents such as eremurus, amsonias, baptisias and Lychnis coronaria.
“This sort of loose but gardenesque planting is really shown off well by a solid backdrop, but it is important that the plants don’t dominate the walls,” says Andy. “In fact I have just been reworking the structural heights, because the plants are all growing a bit taller than I originally expected.”
WHAT TO LOOK OUT FOR
1 Andy’s choice of a native boundary of hazel, field maple, Viburnum opulus, Euonymus europaeus and hawthorn is part of a wider trend emerging for biodiverse hedges at this year’s show.
2 The feature walls will be covered in a beautifully textural clay render by Guy Valentine, who is using three subtly di erent colours that will create a perception of many di erent shades. guyvalentine.com
3 Betula pendula and B. pubescens provide a woodland backdrop. “They have a wonderfully gnarly but gentle presence that reminds me of my childhood, playing in the countryside.”
4 Benches, hewn from great blocks of windblown oak, by wood sculptor Johnny Woodward, will thread through the garden. Their organic shapes have a textured finish enhanced and preserved by the Japanese charring technique of shou-sugi-ban.
5 The sound of water will echo around the garden, as it falls from a series of ceramic spouts created by ceramicist Thea Thompson.
New Blue Peter Garden – Discover Soil
PROFILE
Designers Juliet Sargeant
Chelsea history 2016 (Gold and People’s Choice)
Sponsors Project Giving Back for Blue Peter
Contractor Gardenlink
Theme A garden designed for both children and adults that celebrates the wonder of soil and its role in supporting life and helping to mitigate the effects of climate change
Contact 01273 834083, julietsargeant.com
This is a show garden with a strong message: soil is life-supporting and complex but it is also vulnerable and we damage it – not only when we seal it with impermeable surfaces, but also when we grow plants without replenishing it. In a bold move, Juliet has placed bare soil at the front of the garden, in one of two elevated and sloping polygonal planters, both of which take their shape from the pattern clay makes when it dries and cracks. Barley will be found growing at the back of the lower planter, as a reminder of the role of soil in nurturing our crops, while the upper one will be covered with wildflower turf. Before the show, and once the garden is installed in its permanent home at RHS Garden Bridgewater in Salford, children will be invited to enter the garden by hopping over stepping stones and on to the permeable hexagonal paving. Steps will lead down to a seating area where a clear acrylic cylinder is filled with compost and worms. “This is an invitation to children to think about compost, and to see what an easy thing it is for us all to do,” explains Juliet. Next they can descend into the semi-subterranean chamber where an animation shows what the journey through soil might be. “It captures the beauty and wonder of soil, with a soundtrack of clicks and scratches from the Sounding Soil project by the University of Zurich, which records the complexity of sounds in different soils.” Back in the garden, there will be areas of brightly coloured flowers in shades of blue, orange and yellow, and an intermittent ‘rain shower’ that sends jets of water through a shower head, a fun element that also demonstrates how soil erosion occurs.
WHAT TO LOOK OUT FOR
1 Pollarding is used as a way to include eucalyptus in a smaller garden. Juliet has chosen elegant E. nicholi, which has willow-like leaves and a weeping habit. hardy-eucalyptus.com
2 Alstroemerias are key plants that provide pops of orange and yellow. Look out for the new cultivar ‘Little Miss Connie’ with yellow flowers with a pale-pink blotch, which is being launched at the show. parigoalstroemeria.co.uk
3 The painted steel panels that form a low fence across the garden were inspired by the shapes of fungal threads found in soil. Designed by Juliet and fabricated by screen and fence specialist Stark & Greensmith, they also provide a surface for displaying artwork by the children of Salford, which has been printed on magnetic sheets. starkandgreensmith.com
4 German artist Anneli Ketterer has created nine unique panels of soil art, which will be hung on the back wall of the garden. Each one reveals the texture and profile of a section of soil surface taken from around Salford and stabilised with resin.
Brewin Dolphin Garden
PROFILE
Designer Paul Hervey-Brookes
Chelsea history 2009 (Silver), 2010 (Silver Gilt), 2013 (Gold), 2014 (Bronze), 2018 (Gold), 2019 (Gold)
Sponsor Brewin Dolphin
Contractor Big Fish Landscapes
Theme A garden that demonstrates how it is possible to rehabilitate a post-industrial plot to create a new environmentally sustainable space
Contact paulherveybrookes.com
Paul Hervey-Brookes has taken inspiration from former industrial sites for his eighth Chelsea garden. “I’m fascinated by the wild landscapes that appear when brownfield sites are left alone. With a minimal touch, they could become a lived-in garden.”
The layout centres around two ‘C’ shapes that back on to each other, representing a 19th-century factory building. “One is brick and the other is curved concrete, and the garden wraps around them.” A pool will collect rainwater, mitigating flooding.
“As with many industrial sites, the soil would be heavily polluted or damaged,” says Paul. “Instead of importing topsoil and covering up the problem, I’ve used plants that rehabilitate soils and trees that clean polluted air.” The garden will contain a lot of ‘pioneer’ species that colonise neglected sites or are highly adaptable on different soils. “They’re not necessarily ‘Chelsea pretty,” says Paul. “It will be quite a green, semi-wild space.”
Every single material used in the garden is recycled and Paul and his contractor have travelled up and down the country choosing recycled raw materials and scouring reclamation yards.
“Planting a native hedge is not enough for the environment at this moment in time. In this garden we know where all the materials are from and where they’re going afterwards.”
Paul has been a show garden judge since 2016. “You can’t judge if you’re making a garden. But being a judge, they expect more from you. My biggest challenge will be getting people to understand the garden in a few seconds. It’s not a historical pastiche, it’s an old and new space at the same time.”
WHAT TO LOOK OUT FOR
1 Pioneer plants that colonise neglected sites, such as Plantago, Anthriscus, valerian and wild strawberry, as well as those that do well on poor soils, such as Rosa glauca. Paul has also included verbascums as they self-seed almost anywhere and persicarias and sanguisorbas as they are able to adapt to di erent soils.
2 The birch tree, which takes in the most carbon dioxide of all the tree species, plus hawthorn and hazel as they are pioneers.
3 Recycled materials used in imaginative ways: “We’re using concrete shavings from the A46, bricks from an old factory in Herefordshire and slate fencing from Penryth, Wales.”
4 The ground fridge, which is essentially a huge ball 1.5m below ground that is cooled or warmed by the soil. It doesn’t need electricity and can store produce from the garden, such as wine or jam. “Inspired by survivalists, it’s an ice house for the 21st century,” says Paul.
5 A potager, featuring tasty delicacies that are expensive to buy in the shops.
A Rewilding Britain Landscape
PROFILE
Designers Lulu Urquhart and Adam Hunt
Chelsea history First Chelsea
Sponsors Project Giving Back for Rewilding Britain
Contractor Landscape Associates
Theme A garden that shows the key role beavers can play in reversing the loss of nature in the UK and in boosting biodiversity
Contact 01373 888720, urquharthunt.com
In recent years, there’s been an increasing emphasis on environmental issues at the show, and Chelsea first-timers Lulu Urquhart and Adam Hunt are set to take that one step further with a ‘naturally’ rewilded landscape, complete with beaver dam.
“As a design partnership, concerns about ecology and environment are central to all our work, and we will be making this garden as authentic as we can even though that might involve treading an interesting path,” says Adam. “Combining the requirements of a Chelsea show garden with the magic and beauty we see in rewilded landscapes merges two potential different aesthetics, but the RHS is behind what we are trying to do, and everyone has been unbelievably supportive.”
The garden combines a riparian landscape of wetland, flowing water and a beaver pool, with drier upland sections retained by a wall of loose-set stones retrieved from a defunct Exmoor quarry. A characterful beaver-watching hide will be constructed from old timber and repurposed corrugated iron, and the plants are all native species, including a venerable crack willow (Salix x fragilis) and tiny violas, an important fodder species for fritillary butterflies.
“We are presenting a vision of a traditional landscape that we have lost only recently, but our message is very future oriented,” says Lulu. “We should be able to live alongside all our fellow creatures. A natural mindset is helpful to our planet, and also deeply satisfying for ourselves. With this garden, we aspire to transport Chelsea visitors for a millisecond to a place where that idea becomes reality.”
WHAT TO LOOK OUT FOR
1 The plants in this garden will all be species native to the southwest of England, such as the beautiful wild orchid Epipactis palustris, although Lulu and Adam are keen to emphasise that none of these will be wild collected.
2 To present as authentic a rewilding landscape as possible all the plants, including native grasses, will be shown as one would see them in the wild, with their previous year’s growth and pre-season seedhead remnants left on, together with the brown, former season’s dead foliage.
3 The beaver lodge and dam are made by Ben Garden of Water Artisans, and will highlight the fact that beaver structures help to mitigate flash floods and act as carbon sinks. waterartisans.com
4 A raised path of wavy-edged oak boards will wind through the garden, its design inspired by a Neolithic path, called the Sweet Track. “It’s just one person wide, which forces you to slow right down and take in your surroundings,” says Adam.
5 A rewilding soundtrack will be played through the garden, helping to transport visitors to the countryside.
The RNLI Garden
PROFILE
Designer Chris Beardshaw
Chelsea history 1999 (Gold), 2005 (Bronze), 2006 (Gold and People’s Choice), 2007 (Silver Gilt and People’s Choice), 2012 (Gold), 2013 (Gold and People’s Choice), 2015 (Gold), 2016 (Gold), 2017 (Silver Gilt and People’s Choice), 2018 (Gold and Best in Show), 2019 (Gold)
Sponsors Project Giving Back for the Royal National Lifeboat Institution
Contractor Chris Beardshaw Ltd
Theme A calm but confident garden that reflects the history of the RNLI, the people that are part of it, and its forward-thinking ethos
Contact chrisbeardshaw.com
A huge amount of research has gone into the Royal National Lifeboat Institution’s first Chelsea show garden. Chelsea veteran, and long-time RNLI supporter, Chris Beardshaw has met with lifeboatmen and women, as well as those who run and support the charity, and has delved into its almost 200-year history. The result is a thoughtful and confident garden that avoids any sense of cliché. “It needed to be more than a lifeboat on a pebbly beach with some maritime plants,” says Chris.
Throughout, the garden marries hints of the charity’s Georgian beginnings with contemporary touches, reflecting the charity’s forward-looking ethos. A green oak pavilion towards the back of the garden features classic carved lettering and turned columns in the neoclassical style, but is spliced with a contemporary arcade. The building is partly concealed by dense planting and trees, as it would have been in the Georgian era.
The dense planting scheme builds from front to back, in shades of whites, blues, mauves and pinks, with the odd dot of yellow to lift it. “The whole colour scheme is influenced by those very hazy summer days on the coastline – when all of the colours are slightly tempered, and the intensity drawn out of them.” Not everything in the garden will be in full flower. “It needs to feel like a real garden, not shouting too loud,” says Chris.
“The men and women in the lifeboats are very modest about what they do, and the garden reflects that,” says Chris. “The garden is understated, but it has a real sense of confidence –a place where you would feel comfortable spending some time.”
WHAT TO LOOK OUT FOR
1 The planting scheme includes unusual cultivars of garden favourites, plus perennials that may be less familiar to visitors, including Amsonia and Anthemis punctata subsp. cupaniana. Baptisias provide subtle colour and erodiums serve as a less showy alternative to hardy geraniums. Plants that Chris loves to use in gardens, such as the clear-white Paeonia lactiflora ‘Duchesse de Nemours’ and Rosa glauca, are also included.
2 The timbers used to build the first lifeboats are reflected in the materials and plants in the garden, from the green oak pavilion to the mature trees that include Ulmus parvifolia, a species of elm resistant to Dutch elm disease, and Pinus sylvestris. Eccentrically clipped Pinus mugo will appear almost as a dramatic rock scape in the garden.
3 A curved Purbeck stone path in the centre of the garden reflects the shape of the bow wave as a lifeboat enters the water.
4 Bespoke urns made by the Whichford Pottery, the shape of which have been inspired by the curvature of a lifeboat’s hull. whichfordpottery.com
The Meta Garden: Growing the Future
PROFILE
Designer Joe Perkins
Chelsea history 2019 (Gold, Best in Construction and Best in Category)
Contractor The Landscaping Consultants
Sponsor Meta
Theme The beauty and importance of British woodlands, and the key roles that fungi play in the forest ecosystem
Contact 01273 230511, joeperkinsdesign.com
Joe Perkins has had two years to think about his Chelsea 2022 garden, as it was originally planned for 2020 – back when Meta was still simply Facebook. He has spent that time pondering British woodlands and researching the incredible role of fungi in forest ecosystems. His resulting garden highlights the symbiotic relationship between the soil, fungi and plants, and the beauty and versatility of sustainably grown timber.
At the heart of the garden is a hexagonal pavilion – which was originally built for the 2020 show and has been waiting in for storage for the past two years – inspired by the complex interaction between fungi and the roots of trees. Beneath it is an immersive, sunken central seating area. The surrounding garden will represent the British countryside with woodland, a stream and a stylised meadow. The white, yellow, purple and red planting scheme will include almost 3,000 plants. “I’ve included some that aren’t native and could replace species that are under stress due to climate change, as well as native species that should be able to cope and a few that may struggle.”
Joe won a Gold medal for his previous Facebook garden in 2019, plus Best in Construction and Best in Category awards: the first time that a ‘new’ designer has scooped all three. “My eldest son pointed out that I’m unlikely to do the same again. But if people understand the garden and like it, I’ll be happy.” And this time, his garden will have a permanent home: the garden will be relocated to the National Forest as part of the Queen’s Green Canopy tree-planting campaign for the Platinum Jubilee.
WHAT TO LOOK OUT FOR
1 The central pavilion is a collaboration between Joe and architect Farshad Khazei. It was designed using an algorithm so it can be adapted for the future. It is made from Thuja plicata and manufactured plywood.
2 An interactive installation created by Cinimod Studio will bring to life the complex fungal communication webs beneath our feet via a light display. cinimodstudio.com
3 Future-proof plants native to southern Europe and North America will include Dodecatheon, Allium siculum and Ornithogalum umbellatum. The garden will also include plants that are either rare or threatened by the changing climate, such as Linnaea borealis.
4 Non-native trees that are productive in forestry and well adapted to a changing climate will include Castanea sativa and Pseudotsuga menziesii, along with hawthorn, a tough and recognisable part of the British landscape.
5 Textile artist Amanda Cobbett will be loaning her life-like embroidered mushroom sculptures to the garden. amandacobbett.com