Watch videos from my top three show gardens and my favourite garden from every other category, plus much more from my day at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show.
Will at The RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2022
The Mind Garden was my number one favourite show garden, designed to be a place for people to connect, be themselves and open up. The curved walls cascade through the garden creating calm seating areas among woodland and meadow style planting. The garden path opens out, reflecting the feeling of release when you open up. I particularly liked this garden as it reminded me of the new Feel Good Gardens we introduced at Coolings this spring.
Re-create the look using these plants: Amelanchier, Achillea, Papaver, Polemonium
Although this garden is focused on the key role the beaver plays as ecosystem engineers, it’s a fantastic showcase of the positive effects rewilding can have on the environment. Wildflowers mingle with grasses in the planting zones and marginal plants are used along the edges of streams.
Re-create the look using these plants: Carex, Geum, Veronica, Ferns, Digitalis
This garden reflects the challenges of inheriting poor soil conditions thousands of homes set to be built on brownfield sites will face over the coming years. The planting is based upon low-maintenance plants which rehabilitate polluted soils and clean the air through higher rate CO2 absorption.
Re-create the look using these plants: Allium, Hostas, Geranium (hardy), Campanula, Asplenium
A real escape from the digital world! This garden represents the cycle of life, heights within the garden depict the highs and lows of life, and the curves are the twists and turns of everyday journeys. The water wheel is a symbol of the passing time and even the sound it creates is similar to a ticking clock. Each plant colour presents human emotions with green for healing, red for passion, yellow for warmth, white for purity and black for everyday troubles and worries.
Re-create the look using these plants:
Heuchera, Acer, Stachys, Actea, Salvia
This balcony garden is a fantastic example of what can be achieved in a small space, the planting wraps entirely around the balcony creating a fully immersive experience. I loved the vibrant backdrops of orange and blue, reminding me of warmer climates! It’s an amazing space to escape busy life and enjoy some time alone.
Re-create the look using these plants:
Agave, Eucalyptus, Euphorbia, Hebe, Sedum, Sempervivum
This garden was full of all things edible! The galvanised containers were bursting with small fruit trees, flowers, herbs and even edible aquatics, perfect for those who enjoy cooking. Combined with larger shrubs and trees, like the Sambucus and the Birch, which can be tapped for its sap, it really brings a touch of wildness into a city space.
Re-create the look using these plants:
Nasturtium, Sambucus, Betula, Rhubarb, Angelica
This garden had really divided opinions! Two urban households have removed the defining boundary between their front gardens to make one open positive space for gardening, socialising, wellbeing and environmental gain. The planting is a mix of native hedging, flowering fruit trees, interesting perennials, evergreen grasses and wildflowers.
Re-create the look using these plants:
Artemisia, Iris, Nepeta, Penstemon, Ajuga, Digitalis, Silene