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Bristol Gardener wins gold at Chelsea Flower Show
Bristol-based garden and planting designer Jane Porter has won a gold medal at the 2022 RHS Chelsea Flower Show.
‘The Still Garden’ was also awarded Best in Balcony and Container Garden category.
The Still Garden was inspired by remote areas of Scotland, with the garden intended to bring a sense of the wilds to a tiny urban space, says Porter.
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The Still Garden is the first Scottish garden at Chelsea Flower Show for 17 years
The award-winning design features plants that thrive across the Highlands and Islands in reclaimed whiskey casks transformed into planters, against a backdrop of a dry-stone slate wall constructed to look like a glen between mountains.
RHS judges praised both the planting and the unique wall as being “one of the most exciting pieces of construction here.”
The Still Garden is the first Scottish garden at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show for 17 years and evokes Scotland through the native plant selections and textures in the planting.
The garden was inspired by Porter’s childhood memories of Scotland and Guernsey
Some of the statement plants included a specimen multi-stemmed Sorbus aucuparia with frothy blossom and a Gunnera manicata – with its huge leaf forms that contrast with needle-like heathers and feathery ferns.
The garden even contains edible plants, including Juniper and Angelica which are gin botanicals, and Sea Kale and Blueberries that are grown across Scotland.
Porter says The Still Garden was inspired by childhood memories of exploring the landscapes of both Scotland and Guernsey.
RHS judges praised the slate wall as “one of the most exciting pieces of construction here.”
“83 per cent of people in the UK live in cities and many of them, if they have outside space, will have something small. These spaces have to work hard for us.
“Container gardening lets us choose our soil, meaning we can grow plants from places that inspire us, regardless of where we live.”
After the show finishes, all the plants and materials from the garden will be re-used and the large slate wall will move to Good Food Matters charity – a community garden in Croydon where people come together to learn how to grow and cook their own produce.
The garden contains edible plants such as Juniper and Angelica which are gin botanicals
Jane now works on residential and public projects in London and Bristol, and looks after two historic gardens for Bristol Museums.
She was recently commissioned to design the planting for the newly refurbished Royal West of England Academy.
All photos: Ellen Wilkinson
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