At a glance: A biodiverse wildlife garden with restrained planting and eco-Brutalist architecture
“I love the idea of making more from less,” says Baz Grainger, who is taking inspiration from eco-Brutalism for his third Chelsea garden sponsored by Killik & Co. “It is about paring back to almost a single material and maximising that throughout the architecture, the landscape.”
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Framing the view from nearly every angle is a Brutalist clay-rendered structure, strengthened with 100 per cent recycled steel, while some steps and a water feature are made from a new 85 per cent recycled ‘eco-concrete’ launching in the UK this year.
Inspired by the Norfolk Broads, with areas of wetland and grassland, the garden is also a response to declining biodiversity figures. “In the UK, we like to believe that green spaces are part of our culture, but we’ve lost 50 per cent of our biodiversity since the 1970s – and we’re 25 per cent worse than the majority of the planet,” Baz explains. He has included blackberry bushes and dog roses for a native hedgerow habitat, and a selection of fruiting and nutting trees providing forage for humans and wildlife – all hung with handcrafted bird and bug houses.
At the front of the garden is a grassland inspired by the hillocks and ‘goat paths’ at the West Sussex rewilding project Knepp. It surrounds a sunken flood zone fed with a cascade of diverted rainwater.
A restrained yet biodiverse planting palette includes more than 20 different grasses, the common reed Phragmites australis for repurposing in traditional crafts, and the versatile Geum rivale, used here as both a wetland plant and a grassland perennial.
At the far end of the garden, there is a terrace with daybeds, which is accessed via stepping stones over the water.
Designer Baz Grainger Sponsor Killik & Co Suppliers Plants from Creepers Wholesale Nursery, Deepdale Trees, Peter Beales Roses, Pondplants UK; Structures by Clayworks, Guy Valentine, Hot Metal Works and Norfolk Weaver Relocating to Homewards, Lambeth
