In an unforgettable display at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show, The Newt in Somerset is transporting visitors to the arid landscapes of South Africa with its feature exhibit, the Karoo Succulent Garden.
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This installation, on show all week, reveals the extraordinary diversity and resilience of indigenous succulents from the Karoo - one of the world’s most unique desert ecosystems.
It aims to offer important lessons about climate adaptation, a common theme at the show, which also features several show gardens concerned with drought-tolerant planting, sandscapes, Mediterranean plants and an evocation of a volcanic landscape.
The Karoo region of South Africa is one of the most extraordinary botanical treasures on the globe. This semi-desert area is defined by its extreme climate, with scorching summers reaching more than 40°C, and freezing winter temperatures of -15°C. It also experiences low annual rainfall of between 5-25cm. Despite these harsh conditions, the Karoo is an internationally recognized biodiversity hotspot – in fact, it is the only arid region on Earth to achieve this status.
What makes the Karoo so exceptional is its unparalleled plant diversity. The region hosts more than 6,350 vascular plant species, with an amazing 40 per cent of these being endemic and not found anywhere else on the planet. The sorts of plants that grow there include things we might in the UK think of as houseplants or tender annuals, such as aloes, crassulas and stapelias. The diversity is down to the mosaic of different soil types here, stemming from a broad range of geology, and microclimates created by the topography of the land.
The Chelsea Flower Show display highlights the variety of geology through a collection of metamorphic stones lined up on plinths along the outside of the exhibit in a timeline to help visitors understand the context for the planting.
The main ‘garden’ area is in six parts, each showcasing different aspects of the Karoo ecosystem and several habitats, including a ‘forest’ of the iconic quiver tree, perched on a shale hill; glittering white quartz fields dotted with small, gem-like succulents; and the famous butter bush landscape.
The show garden was designed by estate architect Katie Lewis. “Trying to convey the essence of different succulent landscapes and condensing them into one composition had its challenges,” she admits. “We built both scale models and full-scale samples to help our thinking evolve."
She devised the concept and brought it to life in collaboration with Ernst van Jaarsveld and Cornell Beukes, master botanists from The Newt’s sister estate Babylonstoren in South Africa. “This garden showcases our rich diversity of succulents,” explains Ernst. “I hope it inspires people to use rocks and plants to create something beautiful and architectural.”
As well as the plants though, the display has a sense of fun in its many playful interactive elements, from water-spouting wildlife sculptures to a sonic rock piano - an arrangement of stones that resonate at different frequencies when struck - which has been particularly popular with visitors.
Following the show, the whole installation will be relocated to The Newt in Somerset, where it is planned to become a permanent feature of the extensive gardens.
