Chelsea Goes Potty

One of the strongest themes at Chelsea this year was the merging of natural hard landscaping with planting – everywhere you turned there was natural stone and wood rubbing shoulders with informal, lush planting.

This was not only evident in the show gardens but on the stands as well and no where more so than on the Foras natural material stand designed and constructed by Cambridgeshire based landscape company Giles Landscapes.

The stand aimed to demonstrate the marriage of planting material with natural sandstone, highlighting the colours in the stone with dramatic planting using a palette of purples, black, crimson and pink to highlight the natural purple stripes within the pieces.

Stone planters were home to both edible and ornamental plants demonstrating that vegetables, herbs and natives have a rightful place amongst the more glamorous species and highlighting the fact you can create a beautiful and practical area of planting within the confines of a planter.

Massive stone sculptures sat majestically amongst waves of herbaceous planting –at one with each other and neither fighting for attention – showing that sculpture should fit into a garden and not fight against it’s leafy neighbours .

Jane Besser of Giles Landscapes says…

‘It seems that garden art is moving on a step and becoming an integral part of the design of the space – clients are wanting to express their personalities in their outdoor space as well as indoors and art does that instantly – Sculpture be it practical as a planter or as a piece of art in its own right gives the eye something to settle on within the space or used as a focal points rewards them for exploring the garden. You can create so many different moods with sculpture and it can also add a touch of mystery – there is nothing more exciting than turning a corner and discovering a beautiful focal point half hidden from view – and that’s what our gardens should be about – discovery!’

Jane wins a merit at Chelsea.

Click play to listen to a BBC Radio Cambs interview with our very own Jane Besser.

Sue Dougan Show - 13th June 2006

© BBC Radio Cambs 2006