For the many garden and plant lovers among us, there is nothing quite like visiting the RHS Chelsea Flower Show in London for absorbing the very latest in and innovations. It is also, of course, breathtakingly beautiful, and every year I come away feeling completely consumed by the new planting combinations and landscaping ideas I’ve seen, eager to recreate them in my own backyard. An overarching theme at this year’s show was the impact a garden can have on our wellbeing.
Whether to help with recovery from or living with an illness, or with mental conditions. The , designed by Ula Maria for sufferers of muscular dystrophy and winner of the 'Best Show Garden' award, is a superb and impressive example of this. It was designed as a place of solace and refuge, inspired by a birch grove and underplanted with woodland shrubs such as ‘Alba’ grass, and ‘Mayflower’.
The garden is a humbling reminder to us all of the restorative and hopeful power that plants and gardens hold. Unsurprisingly, there was also a big focus on environmental issues and sustainability this year, with flooding and drought informing the design schemes in several key gardens at the show. I talk about this in more detail below, plus highlight several other key trends and planting ideas that I’m certain you will be able to recreate in your own backyard.
With a little planning you can easily recreate these Chelsea trends at home, even in a small outdoor space. With so many of us all over the world expe.