‘A Place to Meet Again’ Lifestyle Garden for RHS Hampton Court Palace Garden Festival, 2021.

 

Credits

Mike Long
Lead Designer

Kebur Landscape Division and Association of Professional Landscapers
Main Contractors

RHS Hampton Court Palace Garden Festival
Location

RHS Silver-Gilt Medal, People’s Choice Award and Best In Category
Garden Achievements

Introducing the Association of Professional Landscapers (APL) ‘A Place to Meet Again’ lifestyle garden at the RHS Hampton Court Palace Garden Festival 2021.

This is my second show garden and I am so excited to be able to announce that I have been invited to design a garden for this prestigious RHS show. I have been involved with the APL since 2015 and truly feel honoured to have been asked by the association to design their second-ever judged show garden at Hampton Court.

The garden will be project managed by the landscape team at Kebur Garden Materials in Farnborough, bringing in other highly skilled landscape contractors from within the APL nationwide. Collaborations of this kind are so exciting as you have the opportunity to bring together a wide array of skills and share and learn from the experience and skills of others involved.

The design encompasses areas to lounge, to stand and have drinks and have various repurposed features to create interest throughout the scheme. Main paths will be laid in a smooth Brazilian slate with limestone pavers breaking up the hard landscaping into different areas. A contrasting, 90% recycled brick-slip forms a boundary wall to the east.

The planting knits together the contemporary styled hard landscaping, keeping colours to a palette of greens and whites. Taxus balls border the main path whilst a large Carpinus hedge forms a nature friendly backdrop to the space. Various Hydrangea’s add additional height and structure throughout the central borders and a multi-stemmed Betula is planted central to the scheme with Sorbus and Clethera growing over two 1.5m repurposed feature pipes. Two large Trachelospermum Jasminoides are entwined across the reclaimed oak and scaffold pole pergola, used especially for their scented white flowers, creating a visual and aromatic feast for the senses. The planting is chosen to give interest between Spring and Autumn, in a UK climate.

Garden design for RHS Hampton Court - Water feature with brass taps and limestone brick rill - Garden Designer Suffolk
Garden design for RHS Hampton Court - Feature clock made from old sawmill blade - Garden Designer Suffolk
Garden design for RHS Hampton Court - Feature seat with Sorbus tree grown across a pipe that frames a borrowed landscape - Garden Designer Suffolk
Garden design for RHS Hampton Court - Reclaimed scaffold board deck and sunken seating area - Garden Designer Suffolk
Garden design for RHS Hampton Court - Reclaimed scaffold board form a boardwalk and gin bar - Garden Designer Suffolk
Garden design for RHS Hampton Court - Repurposed RSJ's form stepping stones over a water rill - Garden Designer Suffolk