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Garden name

The B&Q Garden

Designers

Laurie Chetwood and Patrick Collins

Awards

Gold

Video tour of garden

Description of garden

This garden aims to offer attractive and productive solutions for an increasing number of urban food growers. Using both the vertical and horizontal plane, the garden makes great use of space.

This is the tallest garden ever built at Chelsea thanks to the nine meter glass tower covered in plants which rises above a glass banqueting table. The planting on the tower is achieved using two methods, on one side a collection of window boxes hang filled with large crops like tomatoes, peppers and edible flowers, on another, a hydroponic living wall is full of culinary herbs.

Mirroring the tower is an insect hotel, filled with boxes of insect habitats and materials for wildlife to nest in and use. The individual boxes were made by school children and put together to create a colourful and useful display.

Further edibles come from the structural pleached limes which have been trained into a neat aerial hedge and mulberry trees have been pruned into horizontal canopies picking up on the geometry of the garden. Bay hedging continues below the trees and large raised beds span the garden and are planted with waves of herbs, roses, lavender and red orach.

Laurie and Patrick have gone to pains to make sure this garden is sustainable not just in terms of growing food but also in terms of how the green tower feeds itself. By using solar, heat and wind energy, waterbutts and a borehole, the self-contained tower should be able to continue growing even if there's a drought and national power-cut.

Photo

The B&Q Garden

Inspiration / influences

For this garden Patrick and Laurie responded to the idea that London would only have four days worth of food supplies if it was cut off from the outside world. Other influences stem from childhood experiences with growing and foraging food.

List of plants in the garden

Tilia europaea 'Pallida' - Common Lime

Morus platanifolia - Mulberry

Crambe maritime - Sea Kale

Lavandula pedunculata Subsp. Pedunculata - Portuguese Lavender

Meum athamanticum - Spignel

Atriplex hortensis var. rubra - Red orach

Rosa 'Prosperity' - Rose

Rosa 'Jacqueline du Pre' - Rose

Rosa 'Souvenir du Dr Jamain' - Rose

Rosmarinus officinalis - Rosemary

Allium fistulosum - Welsh Onion

Allium schoenoprasum - Chives

Allium 'Purple Sensation' - Ornamental Onion

Camassia quamash - Camas

Also

Laurie Chetwood and Patrick Collins, previously designed The Perfume Garden at RHS Chelsea which won the award for Most Creative Exhibit.

Links

List of 2011 show gardens - Chelsea Flower Show

Chelsea Flower Show photographs

TV schedule - Chelsea Flower Show

List of 2011 show gardens - Chelsea Flower Show

Archive: Meet the 2010 garden designers