Chelsea 2008

So the Chelsea Flower Show is upon us once again and the media is full of claims about this being the ‘cutting edge’ of garden design, showing the latest trends and fashions. There are always claims that the show gardens are like the London Fashion week of the gardening world - but let’s remember a couple of things about Chelsea. First of all, it’s not a garden design show - it’s a flower show. That means that the actual design of the gardens is only really considered at the outset, and the judging is done by assessing whether the finished garden meets the designer’s original brief (as well as the quality of construction and planting). The judging panel contains a number of high profile designers so there is clearly some filtering of the schemes for quality and content, but they are certainly not ‘cutting edge’.

The second thing to remember is that the show is organised by the RHS and is a high profile media frenzy. The show gardens all have significant budgets and therefore are sponsored by big names who want the gardens to gain exposure. This means that they must be accessible to the mass market and must reflect the qualities and values of the sponsors and the RHS - we only need to look at the gradual taming of Diarmuid Gavin’s Chelsea gardens to see this effect. This all combines to mean that the designs selected are less like London Fashion Week and more like a designer clothing label launching their latest high street collection.

For the London Fashion Week equivalent of garden design we need to look at events where designers are given free reign to come up with ideas and where funding is provided by the show’s organisers rather than commercial interests. The French Chaumont festival is the classic example, as was the short-lived Westonbirt festival. The good news is that it looks like the Westonbirt festival may be relaunched at a new venue in the near future, giving a chance to show some truly ‘cutting edge’ schemes.

Anyhow, it’s true that there are some common trends at Chelsea this year - we’ll wait to see how many of them filter down into the domestic market.

Lots of still water - much of it overflowing it’s container to create a smooth edge, and much of it using organic black dye to get that great reflective quality. Of course the downside for the domestic market is that open water may be an issue for clients with children, and the perfect flat surface doesn’t look quite so good when it’s covered with a slick of pollen or leaves.

Lots of green planting, using foliage texture and form to add interest rather than relying on colour. This is really not a new trick for planting design as more often than not the flower lasts a fraction of the time that the plant is in leaf, so if the foliage doesn’t work together then the flowers won’t save the scheme.

Green roofs are everywhere - and not just using the old favourites like Sedum’s. Green roof technology is becoming more mainstream and there are now several solutions available on the market, so they no longer require specialists to design and install (apart of course from a structural engineer to make sure the roof can take the load). They are generally low maintenance solutions and can be used for anything from a rabbit hutch to an office block - perhaps this is Chelsea reflecting the current mood rather than dictating it, but any higher profile for green roofs must be a good thing.

As well as the green roof, there is a lot of vertical planting in evidence this year. Unlike green roofs there aren’t yet (m)any commercially available systems to support vertical planting - this is quite a challenge as the system has to be strong enough to support a considerable weight, has to contain sufficient growing medium for the plants and then has to be able to deliver the required amount of water to all of the plants without leaving the ones at the top parched and the ones at the bottom drenched. Perhaps, despite all our misgivings at the top of this post, this shows how Chelsea can drive the market - if increased awareness of vertical planting leads to increased demand for a commercial solution then we may well see more and more of this technique rather than just resorting to the usual solution of planting climbers.

How much???

Money - in Cabaret they said it makes the world go round, but Pink Floyd reckoned it was the root of all evil.  Either way, it’s a subject that always comes up when we’re discussing gardens with clients.  One thing that we always discuss is the likely cost of the project - and how this compares to the client’s thoughts on their budget.  This is one reason why our case studies specifically include the project’s budget to give some idea of the likely cost before they get in touch with us.  It’s difficult to come up with a precise figure for the garden’s cost at the initial consultation but we can at least make sure that the designer and client are both in the same ballpark.

Very few clients have unlimited funds for their garden so as designers we have to be realistic and work with an eye on the client’s budget.   This has a couple of effects on the design process.  For example, during the initial design of the sketch plan a lower than optimal budget will mean that hard landscaping such as paved areas, retaining walls and steps may be limited and of course there is less scope for things like water features, lighting and bespoke structures.  Once the sketch plan is agreed there are still areas where the budget can be manipulated such as specifying treated softwood rather than a more desirable timber such as cedar or oak, or selecting a different paving material.  We can even split the project into discrete phases for construction over several years - in such cases we recommend that we finalise a ‘master plan’ for the site in advance to ensure that the finished project works as a unified scheme rather than an assembly of disparate elements.

The outcome of this is that we will always work with our clients to achieve the optimum balance of design content versus project budget.  Obviously we can’t work miracles and there will always be a ‘rock bottom’ cost for any given garden, but we’re always happy to discuss options.