Garden and Green

Chelsea Flower Show - Topiary to Make Return

The RHS Chelsea Flower Show is the place to spot new gardening trends, and this year is shaping up to be top for topiary, as formal, clipped design returns to the show. The 2008 RHS Chelsea Flower Show, sponsored by Marshalls Landscapes Plc, takes place on 20-24 May.

A number of show gardens at this year’s RHS Chelsea Flower Show will be incorporating topiary or clipped shrubs into classical, romantic and contemporary designs. Inspired by the modern spaces of the Cadogan Estate, Robert Myers has designed ‘A Cadogan Garden’ sponsored by Cadogan Estate Ltd. It is a contemporary garden which will incorporate

panels of clipped myrtle or box to form a foil and contrast to the planting behind.

Tom Stuart-Smith has designed ‘The Laurent-Perrier Garden’ sponsored by Laurent-Perrier, which is a garden of elegant understatement based on juxtaposing opposites. The garden

features a grove of 30 year old hornbeams which extend over the garden and are pruned so that the foliage forms a number of rounded clouds that seem to float in mid-air.‘The Savills Garden’, sponsored by Savills and designed by Philip Nixon contains a perennial mix of flowers within frames of Buxus. The garden is inspired by the Tate Modern, and the journey through its varied spaces.

‘The Reflective Garden’ designed by Clare Agnew and sponsored by Ruffer LLP, is geometric in plan and structure, but inspired by nature. Tall structural trees and flowering plants are in huge contrast to cool still reflective pools and horizontal groundcover. The planting is leafy and textural, with bold use of Calamagrostris and Buxus cubes. Alex Baulkwill, Show Manager of RHS Chelsea Flower Show, says: “Topiary is often associated with grand, stately gardens, or very contemporary design, but at Chelsea this year it will be seen in a variety of different settings. Visitors to the show will see that many designers have incorporated elements of the art within their gardens, to contrast or

complement their designs. I hope that it will demonstrate that topiary doesn’t need to be a bold focal point in a garden, but experimenting with it can add a subtly stylish twist to a garden.”