M&G Garden at RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2021
The M&G Garden has an extensive and successful history at the Chelsea Flower Show, as the title benefactor for 11 years. This year, at the September 2021 show, M&G is sure to be another extraordinary Show Garden.
This garden designed by Harris Bugg
Studio and constructed by Crocus, the motivation behind The M&G Garden is
making nature and wildlife available in urban spaces. Due to the exhibition of this
garden at Chelsea flower show 2020 before it was canceled, Harris Bugg Studio has
nipped the final design to better align with the different time of year and
lighting occasions.
"The garden is imagined as a
peaceful oasis, pocket park-like in its design, providing respite from a
hectic, urban world, and bringing new life and purpose to a long-neglected
corner of a city. It is for people and wildlife to share; to come together and
enjoy all the benefits of being in nature."
Design Features of The M&G Garden 2021
The goal of The M&G Garden is
to show how nature, flora, fauna and greenery can, if cleverly designed, come
to life in city areas and gives city residents the chance to gain the mental
and physical health benefits of green therapy and time outdoors.
Garden creators Charlotte Harris and
Hugo Bugg of Harris Bugg Studio want to motivate other creators, inventors and
communities to feel empowered in creating health-boosting, supportable green
spaces in town and cities.
To make the garden flexible for a city
space, The M&G Garden will feature plants that are tolerant to an urban
climate, like silver-leaved sea buckthorn which stands strong against powerful
winds. For a pop of the unexpected, more delicate plants and flowers less
frequently seen in a city setting will bring beauty and wonder, including autumn
olive and tubular flowers.
Design features
- plants that are tolerant to a city climate
- silver-leaved sea buckthorn
- tubular flowers
- autumn olive
- naturalistic pool
- 100 meters of metal sculpture
There will also be an element of
water in garden in the form of a naturalistic pool. It will serve the practical
purpose of preventing floods and aiding run-off but will be beautiful, too,
framed by violet-blue Iris sibirica.
The main organizational feature,
and one that brings the perfect juxtaposition of city vs. natural, will be over
100 meters of metal sculpture. It will weave its way through the space. With
different finishes in different parts of the garden, including bronze-copper,
matte and gloss, the metal will complement the planting as well as giving a nod
to the city's industrial past.
What happened to the Chelsea Flower Show 2020?
Hugo described the moment he heard
that Chelsea Flower Show 2020 was canceled saying, "We had mixed feelings
and anxiety." The original garden was designed to make the most of summer
light.
"We had always imagined a very
dappled-light, shaded garden with lots of lovely fresh foliage coming up. Actually
now we'll be towards the end of the summer where the shade will be darker and
we'll be into a different season."
The planter confesses that some
plants from the original design won't make the cut for the new September
garden, including milano celenum decipiens. "That was a really tough plant
that we gave to Crocus to try and get to flower for us. They look fantastic
[now] but they're not going to make it."
Though, Hugo Bugg does say that
other plants have been given the time to grow and will now be the "stars
of the show."
M&G Garden History at Chelsea Flower Show
The M&G Garden, a FTSE-100
listed savings and investments business, have been the title sponsor of RHS
Chelsea Flower Show for 11 years. They have also sponsored the RHS Greening
Great Britain scheme for 3 years and are in their 2nd year as a founding donor to
the National Community Land Trust Network’s Cohesive Communities program.
M&G 2018, designed by Sarah
Price and built by Crocus, won a Gold Medal in the Show Garden category. The Garden
had a Mediterranean theme which showed off a terracotta color scheme and
reclaimed French roof tiles. Planting highlights were 2 twisted pomegranate
trees.
M&G 2019, designed by Andy
Sturgeon and built by Crocus, won two medals: Gold in the Show Garden category
as well as Best Show Garden overall. Motivated by nature’s power to restore, it
was a woodland garden that featured stone platforms, fountains, and delicate
flowers.
Project Giving Back launches at Chelsea Flower show
A unique association has been declared
today that will provide funding for gardens motivated by UK charities and
not-for-profit associations at the Chelsea Flower Show in 2022, 2023 and 2024.
Project Giving Back is the vision of two private individuals who want to offer
a significant springboard to a wide range of charitable causes whose work has
suffered during the worldwide corona virus pandemic.
Project Giving Back will team
established and emerging designers, landscapers and nurseries with a range of
UK charitable organizations to help raise awareness of the diverse and varied
way they support people, plants and the planet.
Chelsea Flower Show, which receptions
168,000 visitors each year and reaches millions more through the RHS website,
BBC programming and wider media coverage, offers an unrivalled platform to
share their stories.
RHS Manager says: “We have seen
many charities over the years create inspirational gardens at RHS Chelsea,
sharing incredibly important messages and after a very difficult year
financially and emotionally for so many, this project hopes to give many more
the amazing opportunity to create their own. I can’t wait to see what gardens
will be created as part of this fantastic project over the next three years.”
Arne Maynard said: “Designing and
building a garden at the Chelsea Flower Show is incredibly challenging and
rewarding and for many designers, myself included, it can kick start their
career. I am looking forward to helping shine a light on a diverse range of
charitable projects. I am fortunate to have built a successful career doing the
job I love. It’s now time to give back and this seems a wonderfully unique and
rewarding way of doing just that.”
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