When two different designers, unprompted, say virtually the same thing about one of our products it makes us sit up. Our Darleymoor Buff Yorkstone featured strongly in both The Scotty's Little Soldiers Garden and The Wellbeing of Women garden at RHS Hampton Court Flower Show this month.
Photo: Jonathan Ward
Graeme Thirde, designer of Scotty's Little Soldiers Garden, had a considerable challenge, colour-wise, as the charity, which supports children of men and women killed while serving in the Armed Forces, uses a lot of yellow in its branding. “It's a difficult colour,” agreed Graeme, “but blue and yellow always work.” He chose a bluey-grey gloss paint to contrast with the yellow on the painted timber uprights. “I love the timber,” he added. “The bluey-grey works well with the yellow planting and with the light.”
Photo: Jonathan Ward
As this was a garden that welcomed the public to walk through it, the pathway was an important feature and Chris Harrington of Harrington Porter Landscapes sourced the Darleymoor Buff Sawn Yorkstone from us. Graeme was very pleased with the result. “It's a nice, clear colour, blends well with the Cotswold chippings and,” he added, “it sets off the planting really well.”
Photo: Jonathan Ward
The Wellbeing of Women garden, designed by Wendy von Buren, Claire Moreno and Amy Robertson to publicise the charity that supports research into women's health, also used Darleymoor Buff Yorkstone, both as bespoke paving slabs and setts.
Photo: Jonathan Ward
Radial cutting was integral to the design. The round patio had a bespoke circular paving stone at the centre and an edging of bespoke curved coping stones, with the space between laid with setts that Tattersall Landscapes cut radially to shape on site.
To access the patio, there was a path of irregularly shaped planks. Each stepping stone was a slightly different size to accommodate the restricted space, and staggered to represent the fact that scientific research is not a smooth journey. The slabs were laid on a right-hand curve and, to maintain a smooth flow around the inside of the corner, the shapes were cut to a radius point and then fanned out.
Photo: Helen Gazeley
Combined with medicinal plants, including the Lady Fern Athyrium felix-femina, the palette majored on blue (part of the charity's logo) which was lifted by the Darleymoor Buff Sawn Yorkstone. “We like the colour, it's got a pinkish tinge,” said Claire, “that works well with the planting.”
Photo: Jonathan Ward
So, there you have it. Two independent designers saying exactly the same thing. We fell in love with Darleymoor Buff Yorkstone for its relatively even colouring and texture. It creates an uncluttered backdrop against which sculptural plants and their shadows really star and its pinky warmth works especially well with blue, which is such a predominant colour in so many planting designs.
Incidentally, The Wellbeing of Women wowed the public too, as it won People's Choice in the Small Garden category.
