DANGEROUS BY DESIGN
To stimulate an exciting response I designed a garden on behalf of House & Garden magazine that would startle and thrill visitors. Fifteen live piranhas in their underwater hunting ground brought a frisson of nervous excitement to this Chelsea Show.
My second Chelsea underwater Aqua Hortus exhibit in the Grand Pavilion featured five biotopes of underwater gardens containing plant and fish specimens from all over the world including the deadly Piranha – a definite ‘first’ for Chelsea.
Each tank contained a biotope or ‘habitat’ which showcased a collection of tropical aquarium plants and live fish stock found in waterways from across the world including Africa, Asia and South America. This included plants such as Cryptocoryne (water trumpet), Nymphaeazenkeri, (the Red Tiger Lotus) from the lakes of Africa and Cardaminelyrata (Japanese cress or Chinese ivy) from Asia plus the carnivourousUtriculariagaminifolia. In addition to the ferocious piranha, each underwater ‘garden’ was populated by fish native to that region, including Cichlids from the stony lake beds of Africa, Tiger barb which swim the warm waters of Asia and popular aquarium fish like the colourful male Guppy.
I have sought to feature an underwater garden for some time, as these are becoming an increasingly popular trend in homes, hotels, shops, clubs and restaurants throughout the world. My ultimate aim for this garden was to remind us of the importance of protecting our natural waterways and the harmonious habitats of its flora and fauna.
My design impressed the judges and they kindly awarded me a Gold Medal.
