RHS Chelsea 2023 - Gardens Supported by London Stone

Two hundred years since the animal welfare charity was established, this garden creates a modern wildlife sanctuary, hoping to inspire visitors to take ideas home. Look closely and you'll see, not just the large wildlife observation hide, but sparrow nesting boxes, hedgehog boxes, log walls and flowing water.

A rill made of recycled plastic adds movement, sound and water for wildlife. The garden uses shrubs that are easy to place in domestic gardens, and the whole, enclosed by hedging and overhung by a canopy of native trees, is reminiscent of a woodland setting. The garden, one of fifteen funded this year by Project Giving Back, is built by Landscape Associates and designed by Martyn Wilson of Wilson Associates Garden Design. “Animals are at the heart of this garden,” he says. “I was inspired by my passion for wildlife and walks with my dog in a local semi-ancient woodland, as well as visit to RSPCA West Hatch Wildlife Centre.” At the Centre, he witnessed the rehabilitation work that’s carried out on animals as diverse as seals and hedgehogs.

With the emphasis on natural materials and sustainability, it's no surprise that Martyn chose natural stone and clay pavers for the hard landscaping. Britannia Buff is a mellow Yorkstone quarried in Britain—long-lasting and traditional. In addition to paving, Martyn added Britannia Buff coping stones to the walls. This traditional way of protecting walling from water ingress also adds definition to its contours. Martyn contrasted the Yorkstone with Dorset Antique clay pavers, from our Cottage Garden range. Designed to be laid flat, rather than on edge, these have a very traditional appearance as well as being a sustainable, long-lasting, recyclable material produced in a closed-loop system. The RSPCA Garden won Silver-Gilt and, after the show, will be relocated to Stapeley Grange Wildlife Rescue Centre, Nantwich, Cheshire, an RSPCA education hub.

A small space can be more of a challenge than a large one, as you try to make the most of every inch while still making it feel spacious. In this, its third year, the RHS Balcony Garden category aims to show the potential of small spaces. It’s also a category aimed at helping emerging designers, who are mentored by experienced Chelsea doyen Paul Hervey-Brookes. The Folio Society Reading Room Garden is designed by Katherine Holland and built by Phil Sutton Landscapes. They're a team that proved its worth at RHS Hampton Court 2022, winning Silver for A Journey, in Collaboration with Sue Ryder. Here they’ve gone a step further, winning Silver Gilt. “The garden has been inspired by my love of reading a good book whilst in the company of plants,” says Katherine, who left her City job when she rediscovered her childhood love of gardening after moving house.

From balcony doors, you step out into a green oasis, with drought-tolerant planting to the fore. This not only makes allowances for high temperatures in summer but makes caring for plants easier for a flat-dweller, saving them from continually carrying water through their home. Sympathetic to the likely location of such a garden, a water feature bubbles away. Its movement creates white noise to curtain the space off from traffic noises.

The Shifting Garden is designed by The Chelsea Gardener, a garden centre and destination in Sydney Street, SW3, and emphasises sustainability in the face of extreme weather patterns.

Providing a dramatic backdrop, and a design feature that can easily be copied at home, is the black slate-clad wall that forms the boundary of the garden. The dark colouring of 6m2 of black slate cladding intensifies the greens of the foliage. Dark colours recede into the background, so this gives the feel of a larger space, especially with the cunning addition the curvaceously edged mirror that suggests space beyond. What is striking about the slate cladding is its vertical placing. More usually placed so that the cladding blocks run horizontally, its effect here is less man-made and more organic. It also supports a key concept of the garden—representing water, without using water. Along the beds, recycled plastic-rod screens blur the view through, as if through water. The vertical lines of the cladding imply a waterfall over rock. The Chelsea Gardener gains their own well-deserved Silver Gilt, rather neatly completing a hat trick of awards for the gardens we're supporting this year. Our congratulations to everyone involved! Look out for our next feature, on Chelsea Flower Show's 2023 trade stands. Or take a trip down memory lane to look at London Stone supported show gardens of 2022. If you’d like more information on the products that contributed to the success of these gardens, then don’t hesitate to get in touch, or click on the links above.