FIELD GUIDE
What to look out for at this year’s marvellous RHS Chelsea Flower Show, taking place 21-25 May
The National Autistic Society Garden (1) by Sophie Parmenter and Dido Milne captures the autistic experience, framed by innovative cork walls. At its heart lies a kinetic sculpture, a metaphor for the inner complexities of the mind. The garden transitions gracefully from a vibrant meadow to a peaceful woodland, offering a sensory journey. This thoughtfully designed space is a testament to understanding and inclusivity.
Tom Stuart-smith reveals a tranquil ‘edge of woodland’ themed design for the National Garden Scheme Garden (2), celebrating 100 years of charity garden openings. Nestled in an open hazel coppice and populated with robust, droughttolerant flora, the garden’s focal point is a communal timber hut made from Uk-sourced cleft oak. This structure symbolises community and mirrors the charity’s ethos. The plant selection, tailored for clay soil and contemporary climate conditions, ensures the garden’s resilience, with plans to relocate it to Maggie’s Centre at Addenbrooke’s Hospital after the show.
Tom Massey and Je Ahn’s Wateraid Garden (3) envisions a future for British gardens highlighting sustainable water management. This innovative space showcases a rich selection of droughtresistant plants and environmentally friendly, repurposed materials. At its heart is a rain water harvesting pavilion, ingeniously designed to capture and filter rainwater. Made from steel with overlapping steel sheets, it’s set among lush greenery, featuring species like Hottonia palustris and Hesperaloe parviflora.
The Boodles National Gallery Garden (4) by Catherine Macdonald, celebrating the gallery’s 200th anniversary, artfully mirrors masterpieces by Canaletto, Claude, Klimt and Menzel through bespoke metal arches. Inspired by Seurat, Van Gogh and Monet, its planting scheme abstractly interprets pointillism and impressionism with green tones and blurred plant swathes. Plans are underway to rebuild part of the garden in front of the gallery at Trafalgar Square.
Ann-marie Powell’s Octavia Hill Garden (5), in collaboration with Blue Diamond and the National Trust, is a tribute to the social reformer and National Trust co-founder. This urban wildlife haven, designed for physical, mental and social wellbeing, boasts open-air ‘sitting rooms’, pollinator-friendly plants and a dragonfly-wing-inspired steel canopy. The garden will find a new home at Bridgemere Show Gardens in Cheshire, an RHS Partner Garden.