Natural Balance

Back to nature was the theme of this year’s Chelsea Flower Show. Top designers recognised the move towards naturalistic woodland and meadow gardens and the restorative power of green – a natural antidote to technology and climate change

- Alice Spenser-higgs

YOU CAN HAVE IT ALL

In the gold-awarded Morgan Stanley garden, designer Chris Beardshaw proved that it is possible to have a flower-filled garden that also ticks the right boxes in terms of recycling and repurposing, efficient water and energy use and practical plant choices. He repeated groups of plants, weaving a thread of colour throughout, using up to 100 different herbaceous plants, many low-water users like salvia, lavender, irises, scabiosa, geum, geranium, euphorbia and verbascum. His rationale: planting closer together crowds out weeds.

THE POWER OF GREEN

Awarded Best on Show, this woodland garden was designed by Andy Sturgeon for M&G Investments, main sponsors of the Chelsea Flower Show. With a clear message that green is the new black, it may have looked natural, but nothing was random. A superb design utilised plant forms, leaf shapes and textures to create movement and drama, offset by huge burnt-oak sculptures inspired by rock formations in Australia.

TREE HUGGING IS GOOD

The underlying theme in more than one garden was that forests and woodlands are fragile eco-systems that are under threat. The gold-awarded ‘Resilience’ garden was designed by Sarah Eberle to evoke an appreciation for forests and trees, while considering how woodlands could become more adaptable to climate change, pests and diseases. The wildflower planting under the trees almost stole the show, with flowering herbs, wildflowers and lilies in a graceful repetition of colours, and a swathe of blue perennial flax and spikes of red viper’s grass (Echium russicum) for drama.

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