Homebase Teenage Cancer Trust garden wins gold at Chelsea

Judges at this year's Chelsea Flower Show have awarded the Homebase Teenage Cancer Trust garden a prestigious gold medal.

The garden, which is designer and broadcaster Joe Swift's first Chelsea garden, draw cultural inspiration from Joe's local area of Hackney in London. He designed the garden to capture the power of plants and natural forms within urban and suburban environments.

Matthew Compton, Head of Trading for Garden and Seasonal at Homebase, said: "We are delighted that this wonderful garden and our hardworking team have been rewarded with a gold medal. We are hugely grateful to Joe for creating the garden with us and inspiring our everyday Homebase customers in such a beautiful setting. We are very excited about our new in-store Chelsea Collection - a special plant collection inspired by the garden, which comes with an easy-to-follow planting plan so that people can have a go at recreating the look."

Accepting the medal, Joe, said: "This is my first show garden at Chelsea Flower Show and the design inspiration was so personal to me, so I am immensely proud to receive this award. I would like to thank Homebase for their support during the design and build of the garden."

The Homebase Teenage Cancer Trust Garden attracted crowds of visitors on Monday having been officially opened by honorary Teenage Cancer Trust patron and The Who frontman, Roger Daltrey CBE.

The aim is to connect the garden and visitors through a series of 'views' with four large cedar wood frames creating snapshots. These views vary as you move around the garden and draw the eye through the long vistas of the garden, as well as playing a key role in dividing up the space into distinct 'rooms'. The combination of natural materials, water and plants invite the visitor to get close to and connect directly with the garden in an energising and original way.

Stone and wood provide texture and contrast, appearing in stylised forms. Oversized, horizontally sliced boulders and wooden sculptures decorate and punctutate the space, as well as providing seating from which to relax and enjoy the garden. The stone has all been sourced from a single quarry in Yorkshire, with many of the plants also coming from the UK.

The sustainable garden consists of trees such as stemmed Cornus Mas and Prunus 'Amber beauty' alongside a London Plane tree, which were all selected for their sculptural forms and the interesting colour and texture of their bark. Evergreen shrubby plants add solidity and a hint of Mediterranean to the dry planting palette, while textural foliage and perennials inject shots of colour throughout.

The warm colour tones of gold, orange, acid yellow and splashes of burgundy will bring the dark and mid greens of the gardens base foliage to life. Combined with the yellow stone, the garden will infuse a feeling of freshness and originality.

Gardeners will be able to recreate the magic of Chelsea at home this year using plant varieties inspired by Homebase's show garden. The Chelsea Collection is available in stores now and aims to inspire gardeners of all levels to re-create a bit of Chelsea magic, inspired by Joe's design and themes. All of the plants within the Chelsea Collection are covered by Homebase's five-year plant guarantee on hardy plants.

Simon Davies, Chief Executive of Teenage Cancer Trust, commented: "This is the first time that Teenage Cancer Trust has ever been part of the Chelsea Flower Show and we are very proud that Homebase invited us to be involved. The garden is an inspiring and stimulating space, a vision we also have when we build our specialist cancer units."

With an eye on sustainability, at the end of the show sculptures and large structures will be sold and proceeds will be donated to Teenage Cancer Trust, the official charity partner of Homebase.

Source : Home Retail Group
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