Create quirky features
We’ve chosen three of the best eye-catching Chelsea show features to easily recreate.
Soft chamomile lawn
This seating area in the best courtyard garden at the show in 2007 was a cosy little spot, with a soft chamomile lawn underfoot on which to relax and take your shoes off. It’s an easy-to-maintain area, that won’t deal with a heavy amount of trampling, but will be pleasant to lightly unfurl your toes among to release the scent!
Chamaemelum nobile is the best-known species, though this is a flowering type, so less amenable to foot traffic. C.
nobile ‘Treneague’ is preferable as it doesn’t flower and is no-mow! It simply just needs a light trim with shears in late summer. Plant in a sunny spot in light soil for best results.
Make a statement with mulch!
These hazelnut shells were used to great effect in the mythical Sonic Pangea garden in 2013. They represented woodland creatures dropping debris through a forest! Hazelnut mulch is lightweight, attractive and long-lasting, but not readily available in the UK. There are plenty of alternatives though, such as cocoa shell mulch (from www. cocoashellmulch.co.uk), a bi-product of the coffee bean industry in a decorative copper colour, which suppresses weeds and is rich in nutrients. Or why not try cockle shells? You could even incorporate it in to a beach theme. Available from www.onlineshells.co.uk.
Living sedum roof
The best courtyard garden t Chelsea 2007 appears gain here, with this living roof which is perfect for
enhancing a little shed. Make sure your structure s sturdy and robustly fix a wood frame structure uch as hollow pallets on to the top. Line with pond ner and fill with Perlitenfused potting compost for ood drainage. Then mix p a selection of coloured edums, sempervivums and saxifrages for good measure and plant on top! And water well, too. Enviromat sells ready-to-roll sedum mats at www.enviromat.co.uk.