We're delighted to announce that garden designer Kate Gould has chosen a soothing palate of green and white, with little explosions of joyous yellow for The Greenfingers Charity Garden at The RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2019. Creating a sense of tranquility was essential, considering the garden is designed to be a calming, interactive and uplifting space where life-limited children with complex needs, their families, friends and carers can come together for play, relaxation or peaceful reflection.
The lush green garden is set over two levels, with a lift and sloped walkways, an accessible space for people of all ages and abilities, it’s a garden that will not require huge maintenance to keep it looking good.
Every Chelsea Flower Show garden begins with a plant list but changes do occur mostly due to weather conditions but all being well around 2000 plants will make it and these will be some of the stars on The Greenfingers Charity Garden come 19 May 2019.
Kate is slightly breaking with tradition with her outdoor use of Aspidistra elatior, commonly known as the Cast Iron Plant, normally seen indoors and was much beloved by the Victorians. Belonging to the lily family, this plant is hardier than people may imagine, fully capable of dealing with poor light, murky conditions and will blend in beautiful swathes with Hosta 'Devon Green’, Hosta sieboldiana and tree ferns like Dicksonia antarctica, a relic of the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods. Named in honour of James Dickson, 1738-1822, a British nurseryman. The 'trunk' is the decaying remains of earlier growth and forms a medium through which the roots grow. The garden will be showcasing their very own new plant; ‘Choisya Greenfingers’, sales of which will generate royalties for the Charity.
Hardy tropicals, textured foliage and grasses such as Carex 'Ice Dance’, Deschampsia 'Tatra Gold’ and Stipa tenuifolia will give the space quite a tropical feel whilst topiarised domes of Carpinus betulus and Taxus baccata will add height and architectural detail as will plants such as Angelica archangelica and Acanthus 'Rue Leden’ with its characteristic scrolling foliage brings classic elegant green architecture.
When choosing trees and shrubs, uppermost in Kate’s mind were species that could withstand sun and wind exposure. For the upper deck Acer ginala was a must, a small maple standing at around four metres high with deciduous leaves, perfect in a garden setting such as this. Other trees selected include, Hippohae rhamnoiodes, Pinus nigra, Amelanchier canadensis and Arbutus unedo, as well as other evergreens.
The calm of the green and white palate will be broken up with tones of yellow courtesy of Iris ‘Benton Primrose’,Lupinus 'Gallery Yellow' and weather permitting, the glorious Peony ‘White Emperor', this semi-double form boasts white flowers from deep cups around a centre of soft yellow stamens and white carpels. Fans of pretty perennials will not be disappointed with creamy lemon tinted stunners like, Aquilegia chrysantha 'Yellow Queen’ and RHS Plant of the year 2011 Anemone ‘Wild Swan’.
With its sensitive planting and magical water-feature, the innovative garden design aims to highlight and promote the therapeutic benefits of the outside spaces created over the past 20 years by Greenfingers Charity.
The Greenfingers Charity Garden has been made possible thanks to the generosity of a private donor. This is the first Greenfingers Charity Garden at RHS Chelsea Flower Show and Kate Gould’s first full size Main Ave Show Garden at Chelsea. The Garden is located at: MA 336
For further info about Greenfingers Charity please contact Linda Petrons linda@greenfingerscharity.org.uk Tel: 07908 221240
For further info about the Greenfingers Charity Garden at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show please contact Rosie Harkness r.harkness@rosetintedpr.com Tel: 07958 704266 or to book an interview or speak to Kate please contact Bronwynne Britt bronwynne@kategouldgardens.com Tel: 07527 048892.
