At a glance: A compassionate garden that has been shaped by lived experience
Although Arit Anderson has created feature gardens at Chelsea before, this is her first judged show garden. Her sister has Parkinson’s, so she has some understanding of the neurodegenerative disorder, but the garden was still designed in collaboration with the community it hopes to support. “The whole garden started with a workshop with people who had Parkinson’s who were gardeners,” she explains, “because we felt we had to make sure we understood their needs.”
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This produced a set of guiding principles, including making the garden accessible without taking away from its beauty, and fostering ease of movement. A gently winding path forms the backbone of the design, deliberately avoiding abrupt changes of direction. “People with Parkinson’s have myriad symptoms, but walking can be quite difficult,” says Arit. “If you’re walking in a straight line and then have to do sharp left or right turn, it can sometimes pre-empt a symptom called freezing.”
Along the path, there are resting spaces, including a central seating area framed in planting. It is wrapped by a distinctive sculptural but functional element called a ‘hand-rill’ – combining the steadying presence of a handrail with the feature of a rill, with water running down an inner channel. The soothing sound and cooling feel of water can help prevent or reduce the effects of freezing.
On one side the planting features a bright, colourful, uplifting palette, including plants such as peonies chosen by the workshop members, while the other side has a more tranquil woodland feel with muted shades, and an original bronze sculpture by artist Jack Eagan. The journey ends at a sweeping wooden structure, reminiscent of a nautilus shell, created by Millimeter to be “a bit of a hug”. Around this, she is using plants for nighttime interest and gentle lighting, as many people with Parkinson’s also experience insomnia.
Designer Arit Anderson Sponsor Project Giving Back supporting Parkinson’s UK Contractor Landscape Associates Suppliers Claire Austin, Deepdale Trees, Hardys Cottage Garden Plants, Harkness Roses, Hillier Nurseries, How Green Nursery, Pheasant Acre Plants Relocating to The John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford, a UK Parkinson’s Centre of Excellence
