Imperial imagery
Legendary Japanese landscape gardener and master of Ikenobo, Ishihara Kazuyuki, returns to the show for his 12th year, with a garden based on the Kyoto Imperial Palace in Japan’s ancient capital. It’s a far cry from the designer’s Garage Garden last year, which featured a vintage Mini car in a car port disguised by Japanese maples, artfully positioned rocks and masses of moss. This year’s offering is an interpretation of the pond garden within the old palace and is designed to reflect its tranquillity. Expect blazing red, yellow and orange Japanese maples but little in the way of flowers except for irises and more moss. “Moss is beautiful when presented in the right way,” says Ishihara, who strives to create landscapes rather than gardens.