Chelsea show garden rebuilt in National Forest
DESIGN WON GOLD AT THE FLOWER SHOW
A GOLD medal-winning Chelsea Flower Show garden has been transplanted to the National Forest.
The Meta Garden: Growing the Future was designed by landscape architect Joe Perkin.
It has been tweaked by Joe for a larger space at Conkers, Moira, and to blend into the surrounding woodland.
The design highlights mycelium, the crucial relationship between soil, fungi and plants, which together form the basis of resilient forest ecosystems.
John Everitt, chief executive of the National Forest, said: “This is a forest of people, as much as trees, and is a forest for everyone.
“We are stronger growing together, as an entity, like the forest itself and the unseen mycelium that underpins its biodiversity.
“The networks of the National Forest are strong and are essential to the changes we have seen over the past 30 years to create it.
“We believe in the power of trees to transform people’s lives and the landscape, and are excited to see Joe Perkins’s Meta garden relocated to the Forest.
“Many more people will be able to see it here and enjoy his interpretation of our interdependence through a forest-inspired garden.”
Joe said: “I hope visitors to the garden will feel immersed in and inspired by nature’s interconnectedness and the myriad of macro and microscopic networks in nature that depend on each other to heal, grow and thrive.
“There is an urgent need to redress the balance of our relationship with the natural world, and there is so much to learn from the connections in nature, both in terms of how we learn to support and preserve sustainable forest ecosystems and in how we come together as communities – in-person and on platforms like Facebook and Instagram – to tackle climate change.
“The best bit is that the garden now has a permanent home, here in the National Forest, and that it’s open to people here, can help strengthen communities and gives children a chance to interact with nature.”
The naturalistic woodland garden also includes a stylised meadow, showcasing a diverse range of plants native to the UK and from around the world.
The planting scheme explores the effects of climate change on native plants and includes non-native species which could be well suited to predicted future climatic conditions.
Steve Hatch, Meta’s vicepresident Northern Europe, said: “The Meta Garden: Growing the Future is all about celebrating people, organisations and communities coming together across the UK, including on Facebook and Instagram, to enjoy, create and maintain woodlands, forests and green spaces for all of us to enjoy.
“The hope is millions of people will be able to learn from and enjoy the garden in the years to come.”
I hope visitors will feel immersed in and inspired by nature’s interconnectedness
Joe Perkin, designer