What a show—and in my view, the best in years—with so many quality gardens that have not only blown the public’s mind but also mine.
From a people’s perspective, the teams and I did incredibly well, winning two gold and two silver gilt medals. ‘Garden Of The Future,’ designed by Butler & Parker and sponsored by The Gates Foundation, was a massive challenge as we built a rammed earth, cement-free building with the prototype waterless toilet that filters waste and turns waste into biochar. The lead landscaper here was Herman Pobrati, CEO of Acacia Gardens. The paving was rough-hewn limestone slabs from Allgreen.
The next gold medal we won was the British Red Cross garden designed by Worland & Bannister, entitled ‘Here For Humanity ’, and led by landscaper Matthew Beasley, Luxe Exteriors. This was a challenge for numerous reasons, but the result was amazing. Here, I would give special thanks to Riverdale Falls, as he worked tirelessly to achieve an amazing water feature garden. The paving slabs were handmade by Mr Bannister.
Manoj Malde’s stunning design won silver gilt, which was a shock to many, including me, but hey ho. The garden was built by lead landscaper Justin Himpson and his right-hand man, Els Tisserand, both excellent landscapers and pavers. The garden was sponsored by VIIV Healthcare and entitled ‘Tackle HIV Stigma’. The limestone hexagons in this garden were supplied by BBS Natural Stone. They were also CNC cut to perfection and looked outstanding. I would highly recommend BBS Natural Stone.
Lastly, Nicola Oakey’s ‘Songbird Revival’ garden, sponsored by Songbird Survival and ‘Project Giving Back’, again won a silver gilt medal and was beautifully built by Rupert and Andy Crowton of Crowton Rowarth Ltd.
On the whole, the latest trend at Chelsea was crazy paving, which I happen to love and have batted on about its revival for years and years. Crazy paving is rising and will be seen in many more gardens up and down the UK. When laid correctly with tight, even joints, it shows massive amounts of skill and dedication. Keith Chapman, lead landscaper for Kate Gould and his team, perfectly demonstrated this here (see figure), as did Allon Hoskin and his team here (see figure ).
The one and only Kazuyuki Ishihara produced some stunning basalt paving similar in design to crazy paving. This garden also won coveted Best In Show award.
My favourite garden was Baz Grainger’s ‘Save for a Rainy Day Garden’, sponsored by Killik & Co and built by the Landform team, was a design that had everything I would love in my garden and more. See figure
Summary
Trends certainly filter out from Chelsea into the mainstream, which is a proven fact year in and year out. On trend is definitely limestone, and in the UK, we have some of the best, such as Purbeck, Derbyshire Limestone, and, of course, Portland. These are not cheap but amazing products. These products are supported by a cheaper version in the form of crazy paving and a more sustainable option, too, as off-cuts or otherwise waste material can be used.
Going forward, I would love to see more UK-sourced limestone and natural stone specified in designs. Perhaps smaller patios with more planting are key.
By Gareth Wilson
