At a glance: A garden that celebrates the value of the spaces in-between town and country
Designed by Sarah Eberle to celebrate the Campaign to Protect Rural England’s (CPRE) centenary year, On the Edge explores the overlooked bits between urban and rural landscapes – spaces she is passionate about. “The edgelands are so important for people who live in towns and cities,” she says. “This is their first stop with nature.”
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The garden concept is of a community plot on the fringe of a town. At its centre lies a fallen tree, which has been carved into the shape of a woman; a piece of land art that represents Mother Nature. In front of her face is a shallow pool, and her hair is made of the branches of a willow tree. It flows along a dry-stone wall that blends with the wood of the tree and snakes around to the end of the garden, concluding in a semicircular wall with boulders for sitting on.
Here, in a small glade-like gathering space, an old farmer’s trough overflowing with water creates a planting area for damp-loving species. There will also be some “fly-tipped” plants that have made their way in from people’s gardens, and the wider planting scheme relies heavily on native plants and wildflowers that are often dismissed as weeds. “It’s about the beauty in the ordinary,” Sarah says, highlighting plants such as buttercups, hazel and hawthorn. One of her biggest challenges has been growing many of these native plants in pots for the show – conditions they are not fond of.
Sarah will be working with a diverse team of craftspeople on the garden including stonemasons, willow workers and sculptors. After the show, it will relocate to Sheffield – where the CPRE began 100 years ago – as part of a regenerative community project.
Designer Sarah Eberle Sponsor Project Giving Back supporting the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) Contractor The Outdoor Room Suppliers Crocus (trees and large shrubs), Kelways Plants (plants) Relocating to A regenerated housing development in Sheffield
