How to bring Chelsea to your garden

With the RHS Chelsea Flower Show in full swing, Jon Bond finds out how to get the year’s look at home from the local gardening experts in the know

The RHS Chelsea Flower Show is the event of the year for the green-?ngered, showcasing the very best�of talent in horticulture and garden design. This year’s event aims to demonstrate how plants and green spaces can improve lives, particularly with regards to mental health, as research increasingly shows that gardening can be bene?cial for our wellbeing. We asked three experts how you can bring 2018’s trends to your own back garden

Chilstone

David Bartholomew�

MARK CRAMPTON, WORKS MANAGER AT CHILSTONE, EXHIBITING AT 2018’S SHOW
Chilstone is creating a mini version of a formal front garden and entrance on its stand, with architectural stone columns and balustrade complementing the garden design. Chilstone’s garden is easy to recreate at home, with a tranquil Kew fountain in the centre of a formal pond, surrounded by an abundance of soft alliums, fragrant Salvias, and tall delphiniums in purples and whites. Columns support a sedum roof to create a grand entrance behind the planting.
Says Mark: ‘We wanted to evoke a real house and garden to show off our expertise in hard landscaping, using architectural stone and garden ornaments to celebrate 65 years of handcraftsmanship.’
www.chilstone.com

Jo Thompson

JO THOMPSON,�DESIGNER OF THE WEDGWOOD GARDEN, 2018
‘We’re going to see plenty of colour at Chelsea this year, and a move away from the rectilinear gardens that have dominated in the past. I’m expecting to see lots of irises and gardens that take more notice of their settings. There are many gardens that have been designed as entertaining spaces, re?ecting how people are wanting to spend more time in nature, to bene?t from its therapeutic effects.’ www.jothompson-garden-design.co.uk

Hever Castle

Sarah Price

NEIL MILLER, HEAD GARDENER AT HEVER CASTLE
‘If, like us at Hever, you’re inspired by romanticised Mediterranean gardens that celebrate colour and texture, then designer Sarah Price is your woman. If you want to create a bit of Sarah Price magic in your back garden, look at using sustainable materials and romantic plant combinations, such as Asphodelus, Dianthus, delicate poppies and scented herbs.
‘Sarah’s use of red aggregates, clay and terracotta in her show garden might just bring back ‘terracotta’ as a trend for 2018. It’s a good material for providing a sense of warmth, and brings colour to a garden come winter.’
www.hevercastle.co.uk