A recipe for RHS Chelsea success
Take one prison door, one Victorian safe, a series of fans and a whole heap of plants and mix them altogether. Spend months preparing, and ten days creating the garden and what do you have?
Yorkshire based garden designer Jamie Dunstan, hoping to claim a coveted RHS gold medal at this year’s RHS Chelsea with his ‘Winds of Change’ urban show garden.
Jamie, who this year has formed a partnership with Wakefield based company Stockton Drilling, has created a garden that pushes the boundaries of garden design whilst embracing the core principles of modern gardening – home grown plants, garden living and reclaimed materials providing an eco focus to the garden.
“Exhibiting at RHS Chelsea in the previous two years has been a fantastic experience and I have learnt so much from it,” commented Jamie. “This year it was important to me to design a garden that incorporated reclaimed materials - used in a different way from their original intended purpose - and also inspire visitors as to the wide scope of possibilities with regard contemporary garden design.“
Yew hedging, sedum on the roof of the shelter furnished with fireplace and 1970’s retro chairs, and soft grasses and cherry trees form part of the planting scheme which has been carefully selected to provide texture and contrast to the more industrial elements of the garden - pathways from reclaimed cobbles, reclaimed riveted timber and steel, and of the course the architectural feature elements.
“This year’s garden is a symbiosis of hard and soft landscaping which has been a joy to create,” said Jamie. “Since Chelsea last year I have had the pleasure to enjoy several commissions ranging from business properties, to bespoke new housing developments, to private commissions. Each one has provided inspiration in some small way and this garden is a tribute to the success of the last twelve months.”
‘Jamie Dunstan Garden Designs’ receives commissions from throughout the UK which has included courtyard gardens, two acre sites, and celebrity gardens as well as instructions from architects and property developers who have been attracted to Jamie’s creativity, knowledge and professional acumen.
Sponsors Stockton Drilling, who install pipes from land to sea to enable the energy companies to bring renewable energy to their customers, have previously sponsored a yacht at Cowes Week. This is their first RHS Chelsea sponsorship.
“We are delighted to provide sponsorship for Jamie after he designed and created a striking and innovative garden for us,” commented Fiona O’Connell proprietor Stockton Drilling. “His refreshing approach to garden design and commitment to the project exhibited his considerable talents and ability to demonstrate that gardening can be developmental and forward thinking and we are confident that he can fulfil his dreams at RHS Chelsea this year.”
RHS Chelsea Flower Show commences on 24th May and runs until 28th May. The ‘Winds of Change’ garden can be found at Stand RHW/29.
