Reckless Gardener - Online Gardening Magazine,

Hampton Court Palace Flower Show

New designers create big concepts for RHS flower show

Five new garden designers have been chosen by the Royal Horticultural Society to face their first major public challenge to design a garden for £6,000 at the Hampton Court Palace Flower Show (4-9 July).

The five designers will be exhibiting in the new category, 'Conceptual Gardens', which will challenge new designers to push the boundaries of garden design and express a high level of innovation and creativity.

Wayne Richards, from Berkshire, has designed 'The Danger of Need', (design plan below) a challenging multi-media installation inspired by the Garden of Eden, blending nature, art, science and live performance. Visitors will be invited to spy on 'Adam' and 'Eve', played by two actors, inside the lushly-planted garden which is surrounded by a wall of peep holes and television screens transmitting the scene from inside. Wayne completed a diploma in Garden Design at Merrist Wood College in 2005 and is now studying for an RHS General Certificate in Horticulture at Berkshire College of Agriculture.

Andrew Duff, from Surbiton in Surrey, will be creating 'Abstracted Conglomerate', a garden of abstract shapes simplified from natural forms. Its main structure uses different heights of concrete forms each hugging each other and in turn creating a useable space. Tight yew hedges embrace the outer edge whilst scented thyme forms a strip across the main terrace. Andrew graduated with a BA (Hons) in Garden Design in 1998 and has been teaching garden design since.

Sarah Price, from Esher in Surrey, has designed 'Repetition & Difference', (below) a garden which aims to demonstrate how environmental consideration benefits modern design aesthetics. From a distance the garden will appear as a haze of colour; a mass of indigo spires pinpricked with accents of ruby red. Chamomile is used as a wildlife-friendly alternative to pure grass. Sarah graduated from Oxford College of Garden Design in 2004 after completing a BA (Hons) degree in Fine Art in 2002.

Michelle Wake, from Kingston in Surrey, has been inspired by rivers and has created 'The River Unwound' (below) which deconstructs the elements of a river to create an thoughtful and attractive conceptual garden. Michelle graduated with a degree in Garden Design from Greenwich University in 2005 and is in the early stages of a career as a garden designer.

Vaughan Aston, from Colliers Wood in London, will be exhibiting 'New Eden'. This post-industrial garden (below) aims to explore the potential of using industrial materials in a garden context to broaden the scope of what is considered acceptable in a domestic garden. Vaughan graduated with an MA in Landscape Architecture in 2005. He has since completed a number of horticultural courses and is currently studying for a diploma in Garden Design.

Bob Sweet, Head of Shows Development at the RHS, said, "The Hampton Court Palace Flower Show has enjoyed a longstanding role as the launch pad for new design talent. Many of today's leading lights in garden design began their careers at this show and have gone on to enjoy success on the international stage. We hope that this new category will do the same this year for our five promising candidates and unveil the next crop of garden design luminaries."

Visitors to this year's Hampton Court Palace Flower Show can also enjoy around 20 show gardens, approximately 20 small gardens full of ideas, and around half a dozen water gardens, a category unique to the show. The UK’s best nurseries and plant specialists will be displaying and selling plants, including many new varieties, in the eight large marquees.

Full details on the Conceptual Gardens

For tickets to the Hampton Court Palace Flower Show, call the ticket hotline on 0870 906 3791 (public line) or 0870 906 3790 (RHS members). Tickets range from £12.50 to £29 with children aged 5-15 years £5 and under-5’s going free. For further show information and online booking visit www.rhs.org.uk/flowershows.