Hi, Will here from Coolings Potted Garden Nursery! I spent a fantastic day at The RHS Chelsea Flower and have plenty of inspiration to share with you! You can see my video highlights from my day over on our Instagram page (@coolingsgardencentre) or see the YouTube link at the end of this page. I have listed my top three highlights from the show below, along with the plants used in each so that you can re-create the Chelsea look in your own garden. Keep an eye out for more of my inspiration from Chelsea over the coming weeks on our Facebook pages. Happy gardening!
A wooden structure in the garden only adds to this effect along with a stone built cover to the waterways.
They use ferns, such as Dryopteris walichiana, and Rhododendrons to add different shades of green. Structure of leaf gives a real depth and natural feel to this garden with only a light smattering of colour from flowering plants such as Persicaria, Thalictrum and Actaea.
A peaceful sanctuary has been created here and you get a real feel of being in the mountains on which this is based.
A mini woodland of Silver birch (Betula), Hawthorn (Crataegus) and Hazel (Corylus) contains a wood egg shaped hide which can be winched up to give a higher view of the garden and a space to relax and unwind.
The use of charcoal logs to create borders and barriers was really effective as the black made the flowering plants stand out and created a lovely smell around the garden.
Flowering plants like Rudbeckia, Kniphofia and Helenium were well combined to create the autumnal colours which were smattering the garden and combined with tall grasses such as Miscanthus, a wonderful prairie garden feel has been managed.
The main attraction to this garden though is that it is fully organic, which has never before been seen at Chelsea.
The use of different ferns to create different heights within the garden was really effective, combined with the moss, the bark and rocks you really got a sense of being in the distant past.
The tree ferns, such as Dicksonia antartica, making up the overhead canopy gave the feel of being on the edge of an ancient land and if I sat on the bench I would feel that a dinosaur could walk past at any moment!
Being among the smaller ferns, such as Dryopteris, Asplenium and Polystichum, I was reminded of my treks through the Scottish and Welsh mountains, this made me realise how much I need to go back for some more adventures!