Show Garden Design – New London

Tell us about your garden

Discover our compact urban garden, which has a wider feel thanks to its contemporary woodland theme. The enclosed space echoes natural woodland glades, along with the planting and walls.

Fencing materials further enhance the sense of the woodland through our use of rustic timber and traditional stone walling. The rill also complements the woodland theme with its discreet movement of water.

Tell us about the planting

The planting material is varied but reflects the theme of the garden. We have used pastel colours to provide a subtle counterpoint to the woodland tones.

We are using winter box (sarcococca confusa), which has an incredibly beautiful scent that will fill the garden with the fragrance. Plus it adds evergreen structure to the herbaceous planting.

This will be complemented by a tapestry of woodland spring planting including Helleborus ‘White Lady’, a sophisticated pure white hellebore, and dainty Muscari armeniacum. Also known as grape hyacinths, these small spring bulbs add an injection of vivid blue and are fantastic ground cover plants.

Any other interesting features?

The decking is made from certified sustainable wood sources. It is a blend of Siberian larch and balau timber. All this wood is treated with natural preservatives to make it environmentally friendly.

We have also used porcelain paving. It’s a man-made paving material without the maintenance issues and environment impact that you get from natural quarried stone.

Plus it can be used indoors as well as outdoors. And the paving slabs are also non-slip and non-porous.

How is the garden educational?

The garden is designed to provide an outdoor classroom for budding naturalists, as well as a haven for wildlife.

The timber fencing has the names of tree species carved into them, as well as retained bark patterns. This means that visitors can identify common trees and learn about them.

The rear walls are designed to create wildlife habitats, not only with the planting but also with space for bug hotels and bird boxes.

This design will allow the garden owners to observe the wildlife found in urban spaces. Finally, the results and findings of these observations can be recorded and then displayed within the garden.

Award: Gold Medal and Best at Show

Askham Bryan College was awarded a Gold Medal, as well as the Best at Show trophy. The students were crowned 2016’s Young Gardeners of the Year!

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