The Chelsea Flower Show is an Yearly celebration of everything garden held in the grounds of the Chelsea Royal Hospital in London. Aside from its showcase of new plant types and various furniture and ornamentation pieces to groom your backyard with, you will find expansive gardens that overflow with ideas for your very own little storyline. Surprisingly, the show lasts for only five days — that is difficult to believe when you see the degree of detail and sophistication in the show gardens created by designers from all around the world.
I made the trek throughout the pond this season and came back totally inspired and itching to execute some of these ideas in upcoming projects. The following is a collection of images from the 2012 show that highlight various techniques that could work in your own garden.
Matt Kilburn
Contrasting background colours. Contrast is king in backyard spaces. Many times, comparison can be created by various hardscape and softscape elements, but care should be paid to colour tones also. Inside this backyard by Andy Sturgeon, a wealthy, dark gray wall provides the perfect backdrop to highlight the contrasting colours and types of the foliage in front.
Matt Kilburn
Incorporating industrial materials. Cor-Ten steel is now a remarkably common material in the backyard. Its colour tone contrasts beautifully with the surrounding foliage in this backyard space made by John Warland and Sim Flemons. The stuff’s weathered feel makes for interesting shadows throw from trees.
Matt Kilburn
Form meets function. Constructed attributes can function as a fantastic focal point in a garden whilst at the same time adding function to a distance. Inside this backyard by Jason Hodges, plush outdoor furniture integrates into the landscape that a cantilevered dining area table protruding out of a retaining wall.
Matt Kilburn
Outdoor relaxation. Who wouldn’t want to curl up with a novel in this concealed hammock space? Have a cue from this distance by Jo Thompson — hammocks are a great way for lounging when space is constrained.
Matt Kilburn
Low-maintenance lawn substitutes. Meadow gardens were a big fad at this year’s show, popping up in both conventional and more abstract software. Meadow gardens are a great low-maintenance alternative to yards, since they need much less water and upkeep. Paths could be cut through the meadow for access, and the flowers simply reseed themselves.
Matt Kilburn
Classical thoughts in modern settings. Pleached hedges, a classical form of living architecture resembling hedges on stilts, are making a comeback in modern garden design. This backyard by Arne Maynard efficiently utilizes pleached hedges to make enclosure farther down the path whilst enabling garden beds to flow seamlessly through the backyard.
Matt Kilburn
Controlling movement throughout the backyard. How you move throughout the backyard is an important consideration. Breaking up a path with stepping stone, like in this backyard by Chris Gutteridge, is a fantastic way to encourage visitors to slow down and revel in the environment.
Matt Kilburn
Smart spatial solutions. Inside this backyard, Jason Hodges found a fantastic solution for a challenging angle transition from the stairs into the paving stone. The brink planting of black mondo grass adds an intriguing contrasting feel to the room and complements the colour tones of the spiky phormiums in the backdrop.