RHS Chelsea Show Gardens Highlights
The RHS Chelsea Flower Show, sponsored
by M & G Investments, 25-29 May
Tickets now on sale: www.rhs.org.uk/chelsea
The crème de la crème of the garden world will be wowing visitors at RHS Chelsea
Flower Show 2010. Leading designers such as Tom Stuart-Smith, Tom Hoblyn, James
Wong and Andy Sturgeon have drawn inspiration from literature, romance, the Far
East and the Fynbos of South Africa, promising gardens to delight visitors. In contrast,
the Eden and Leeds City Council gardens draw on influences closer to home including
local communities and the British landscape. Here are some of the highlights of
RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2010:
The ‘Places of Change’ garden by the Eden Project, will be the largest RHS Chelsea
Show Garden ever built. It features five designated zones: crops and food; floristry
and leisure; medicine and health; industry and manufacture which act as a metaphor
for the hidden treasures that lie within communities and the most unexpected places.
Eden’s Paul Stone is coordinating a team of experienced and novice garden designers
on the project. These include amateur designers from the UK’s homeless centres.
Robert Myers, who has won four Gold medals and the RHS People’s Choice 2009 accolade,
returns for a sixth time. ‘Enlighten’ is the theme of his design for Cancer Research
UK. Robert has designed an ornamental, urban roof garden which celebrates the increased
understanding of the causes, diagnosis and treatment of cancer, offering a beacon
of hope.
Tom Stuart-Smith, who has won 9 Gold medals and 3 best in shows, will create for
Laurent-Perrier a visionary garden of romance and elegance that offers a private,
intimate space for entertainment or quiet reflection. The centrepiece of this modern
garden will be a bronze Pavillion designed by award winning architect Jamie Fobert.
James Wong brings the exoticism of the Far East to RHS Chelsea Flower Show for Tourism
Malaysia. His inspiration comes from the traditional ‘kampung’ (malay village) way
of life. Elements of this rural idyll will be transposed to create a chic courtyard
garden in urban Kuala Lumpur. The diverse planting will mix edible crops with rare
pitcher plants, endangered bat lilies and unique orchids.
A re-creation of a section of the Leeds Liverpool Canal is the central feature of
Leeds City Council’s The Hesco Garden. The design highlights the link between the
natural landscape and public recreational space. This is demonstrated by an innovative
planting scheme using hardy annuals, showing their versatility for gardeners with
their extensive season stretching from early spring to the autumn.
Thomas Hoblyn’s design for Foreign Colonial Investment Trusts celebrates Voltaire’s
eighteenth century classic, Candide. Set in a Turkish smallholding, it depicts the
eponymous hero’s journey across oceans and rapids represented by two pools linked
by a scalloped flowform. A risqué sculpture series depicts Candide’s love quest,
Cunegonde, and her transformation from a precocious girl to a social climbing courtesan,
thorough a series of lusty ‘thought bubbles’.
Phillipa Pearson and Jonathan Denby’s design for South Lakes Hotels - The Victorian
Aviary Garden - moves forward a hundred years to the nineteenth century. The aviary
is the central feature of this Cumbrian garden now used as an informal outdoor room
with its two side wings planted with shrubs for year round interest. The aviary
theme is reflected in other areas of the garden with a bird-themed mosaic path.
The box edged borders combine late Victorian planting styles with a more modern
approach.
The Daily Telegraph Garden designed by Andy Sturgeon is a contemporary gravel garden
influenced by the Maquis shrubland of the Mediterranean, the Chaparral of California
and Mexico, the Matorral of central Chile and Fynbos from the Southern Cape. Spaces
within the garden are created by Cor-ten steel screens with linear natural stone
paths leading to a courtyard dominated by a stately cork oak. The sound of water
creates a contemplative, spiritual space.
The Children’s Society Garden designed by Mark Gregory has been inspired by The
Children’s Well-Being report. The survey of nearly 7,000 10 – 15 year olds revealed
that what made children most happy were their family, friends and having freedom
of choice. The garden reflects this need with a covered lounge seating area where
families can unwind and relax around a safely designed fire pit.
Details of the RHS Chelsea Flower Show sponsors M & G Investments garden will
be announced next week.