The deluges the country has seen in recent days did not deter the exhibitors at the BBC Gardeners’ World Live show in Birmingham. Clad in anoraks and wellies, they defied the elements to create a series of imaginative and colourful floral displays and gardens bound to inspire the green-fingered. Their rewards came at the NEC on Thursday night, with the announcement of the show garden awards. Platinum, the highest
available, went to two designers: Alexandra Froggatt for her “Watchmakers
Garden” (also named Best in Show, above) and Lucy Bravington, with Worcestershire-based
landscapers DesignIt, for the “High Line Garden”. In her creation, Froggatt pays homage to the show’s host city, with the recreation of a garden typical of the
back yard of a craftsman in the city’s historic Jewellery Quarter in the 19th
c.
A lovely touch is the kitchen garden, crammed with heritage vegetables. It’s
surrounded by cottage garden flowers, naturalistic grasses and rustic paths and
fences.
Bravington’s Platinum design (above) was inspired by New York’s High Line – a beautiful
garden on a bridge over a disused railway line. She’s mixed trees, perennials
and ornamental grasses with industrial steel elements to create a sense of
privacy. Gold awards went to Gadd Brothers in the APL Avenue for their “Getaway
Garden” (designed for a young professional couple with a small linear
garden), and Hana Leonard for “Here we go Round the Mulberry Bush” a garden with a
circular theme that is sheltered by an airy tree.
Several of the gardens have an
international flavour, among them “A Glimpse of South East Asia” by Timotay
Landscapes (above). Filled with colourful tropical planting, it’s a fusion of ideas
inspired by the natural landscapes of Indochina. It features a shallow pebble pool which
has beside it a large day bed and a hammock for chilling out (rather damp when I took this photo, but perfect for when the sun finally appears).
I loved the drama of the four horses charging out of the MS Society Revelation
Garden, which won a silver merit, but if, in my dreams, I could chose a garden to take home, I’d
go for another Gold show garden award winner, the John Lewis Home Solutions
Garden created by Waitrose Partner Shaun Beale (below).
As well as mixing soft and
sculptural planting, it has plenty of space for relaxing whatever the weather,
with a garden office, water feature, and an eyecatching espaliered hedge for privacy.
BBC Gardeners’ World Live runs until Sunday, June 16 at the
NEC, Birmingham.
Details at www.bbcgardenersworldlive.com
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