Don't miss the full list of the RHS Chelsea Flower Show Sanctuary Gardens 2022
This year there are 27 Chelsea gardens, divided into six categories.
• Six Show Gardens
• Two Artisan Gardens
• Five Balcony Gardens
• Five Container Gardens
• Three Feature Gardens
• (Plus the Houseplant Studios)
And here are the six RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2021 Sanctuary Gardens.
What is a Sanctuary Garden? These are gardens designed to harness the healing power and serentiy of nature. They each combine design innovation – in some surprisingly small spaces – and tradition to form some spectacular real and conceptual gardens.
Finding Our Way: An NHS Tribute Garden
Designer Naomi Ferrett-Cohen www.naomiferrettcohen.com
Sponsor University of Oxford & Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Contractor Burnham Landscaping Ltd www.londonstone.co.uk
Intended as a tribute to the efforts of the thousands working in the NHS, ‘Finding Our Way’ is a space in which to reflect on the events of the pandemic. Working with the NHS, UK Universities undertook a huge research effort to find new treatment and vaccines for COVID to help end the pandemic. This garden is an opportunity to thank everyone for all their incredible efforts.
Entering the garden, the sheer imposing verticals of the timber canopy represent the sharp descent into fear at the outset of the pandemic. The rills and pools of water throughout the garden represent the collective efforts of those working together in the NHS and universities. The sounds of the water work in tandem with the warm palette and soft textures of the planting to create an immersive experience.
A warm palette of earthy apricot tones runs through the planting with a mix of grasses and perennials. The grasses, which include Stipa gigantea and Anemanthele lessoniana, will bring softness and movement to create a relaxed garden space as well as coppery-red tones to give an autumnal feel. Perennials interplanted into the grasses will build on the autumnal colours featuring Persicaria amplexicaulis ‘Firetail’, Symphyotrichum ‘Little Carlow’ and Dahlia ‘Thomas A.Edison’ the way.
The Parsley Box Garden
Designer Alan Williams www.formplants.com
Contractor Landform Consultants www.landformconsultants.co.uk
Sponsor Parsley Box www.parsleybox.com
Inspired by the celebrated Nordic restaurant Noma, four-time winner of Best Restaurant in the World, The Parsley Box garden focuses on conserving nature’s bounty through fermentation and preservation. With this premise of self-sustainability at the heart of the garden, the borders will be brimming with edibles to forage and ferment as well as homegrown vegetables to bring flavour to dishes while minimising food waste.
Fragrant herbs, edible flowers and perennials will also feature in the borders, adding texture and dimension to the garden. Various trees provide height and scale, Arbutus unedo, Malus ‘Evereste’, espalier fruit trees and Cornus kousa.
A custom made outdoor kitchen area with a green wall and storage sits at the edge of the garden alongside a wooden cantilevered pergola stretched over a Dutch oval dining table. Planting spills from tiered planters constructed in aged brass. These planters enable the garden to be accessible to all generations whilst adding a sense of abundance in nature and serving as a boundary to the space.
The colour scheme is primarily burnt ochre, orange, and rust with highlights of rich purple. The garden is primarily herbs and edibles, demonstrating that a garden doesn't have to be perennial heavy to still be stylish and beautiful.
The Boodles Secret Garden
Designer Thomas Hoblyn www.thomashoblyn.com
Sponsor Boodles www.boodles.com
Contractor The Garden Builders www.gardenbuilders.co.uk
The Boodles Secret Garden was inspired by the well-loved children’s story by Frances Hodgson- Burnett, a contemporary interpretation of the journey to an enchanted, life changing sanctuary.
From naturalistic planting in the outer beds of tree ferns, you are enticed through a high, intricately carved, louvred oak wall into an enchanted, secret garden brimming with jewel like plants. The wall has been created by contemporary furniture maker Jan Hendzel Studio from sustainably sourced oak, found within five miles of Chelsea.
The colour themes are muted greens and creams in the outer beds using Dicksonia antartica, Miscanthus sinensis and spires of Verbena hastata. Past the wall, the secret garden is brimming with jewel like plants. Acis autumnalis, Dahlia campanulata and Fuchsia magellanica var. molinae, introduce droplet structures and soft pink into the planting in the safe space.
The Psalm 23 Garden
Designer Sarah Eberle www.saraheberle.com
Sponsor Bible Society www.psalm23garden.co.uk
Contractor Landform Consultants www.landformconsultants.co.uk
Psalm 23 of the Bible speaks about the journey of life, through dark valleys and by quiet waters, and has a strong resonance with contemporary life and its stresses. This garden represents a spiritual oasis within an urban setting, a place of escape to re-engage with nature, a place to strengthen mental health and wellbeing.
Its design is inspired by the landscape of Dartmoor where the designer, Sarah Eberle grew up, and is created a place that draws you in and allows you to pause for a moment, listen and be at peace.
To reflect both the journey and destination found in Psalm 23, the garden features time-worn granite stone, glass to retain water creating a sense of awe and infinity and water for reflection and contemplation.
Key planting includes Crataegus monogyna, Carpinus betulus, Vaccinium myrtillus, and Drosera intermedia.
The Finnish Soul Garden
Designer Taina Suonio www.biodivercity.fi
Sponsor Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry of Finland www.mmm.fi
Contractor Conquest Creative Spaces www.conquestspaces.co.uk
This urban Helsinki seaside garden, located on a secluded peninsula by the main public beach will comprise a sauna with a cool-off area and a recreational facility for nearby city dwellers. It incorporates natural Baltic seaside vegetation and aims to provide a haven for relaxation, recuperation and recreation.
Key features include a modern version of a traditional Finnish sauna with a green roof and a water feature to depict the open sea ahead.
The garden hopes to promote traditional ways we can live in harmony with our natural environment to protect it. Finland has made it a priority to protect its horticulture and environment against the devastating effects of invasive plant pests and diseases in order to give future Finnish generations the opportunity to enjoy its unspoilt nature.
The use of aquatic plants recreates a natural green seaside scene and the flowers of the planted cool-off area of the sauna reflects the understated charm of autumn. The garden also features native trees, a native Karelian terijoensalava, Salix × fragilis var. bullata, and rare sulkaharmaaleppä (Alnus incana ‘Laciniata’).
The Calm of Bangkok
Designers Tawatchai Sakdikul and Ploytabtim Suksang www.ginggaanbai.com
Contractor AJ Watts Landscaping www.ajwl.co.uk
Bangkok is well-known as being one of the most colourful, busy and sleepless cities in the world. Known locally as ‘City of Angels’, it has a hidden side, which is culturally rich, peaceful, delicate and beautiful.
This design represents the two sides of Bangkok and bring them together in a minimal, modern garden that explores the variety of the city’s spirit and energy. Bangkok’s spirit and frenetic energy is conveyed through tropical planting, while its calm simplicity can be found in the shelter and a handcrafted hammock.
Colours of green form a cool palette to present the calm spirit of the city while hot reddish and purple tones portray Bangkok’s energetic vibe.
Head to our Chelsea Flower Show hub page for all our coverage of Chelsea