Five years ago we were in the middle of building the ultra-futuristic ‘2101’ garden for RHS Tatton, which went onto win a gold award. The concept was around planting for climate change, with huge cowboy-film style Saguaro cacti, as well as the large round ‘mother-in-law’s cushions’ golden barrel cacti.
We used large format porcelain paving to create a large path and seating area, with shaded pergola to shade from the intense sun. There was also a rain garden, designed to absorb excess rainwater, for climate extremes.
People don’t realise just how much work goes into making a show garden picture-perfect, planning every tiny detail. I even travelled to southern Spain to visit a farmer who had fields of huge cacti.
Although it was a futuristic garden, there were still plenty of design ideas that people took away, from the rain garden planting, planting to create shade, and the striking Corten steel we had fabricated to make a number of structures.
One in five councils have plans for rewilding
The Guardian and Inkcap Journal did a joint study that found that one in five councils have plans to rewild public land to help restore the environment. The study asked 206 councils what did the term mean to them and what plans did they have to rewild their environment.
One example was North Somerset Council who said that they had plans to rewild as much land as possible. This is great news that the public sector is embracing the benefits of allowing land to regenerate and restoring natural environment that brings with it new insects, birds and other wildlife.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/jun/20/rewilding-not-just-for-toffs-as-one-in-five-councils-in-great-britain-gets-onboard-aoe
What am I reading?
I’ve been reading about the work of inspirational digital landscape artist Jakob Kudsk Steensen from Denmark. The artist explores how technology can bring us closer to nature. Using a combination of VR and digital rendering software he cleverly explores ways we can interact with nature in a gallery setting.
https://www.wallpaper.com/art/jakob-kudsk-steensen-berl-berl-vr-exhibition-halle-am-berghain-berlin
