On a campaign

Gardens with a message

By Jean Vernon

Every garden and exhibit at Hampton Court Palace Flower Show has a message for the visitors. Many are advocating new and innovative ideas in garden design, or simply encouraging gardeners to make more of their plot, but some gardens have a much more serious message.

A garden of relaxation

The Combat Stress Therapeutic Garden is a soft, gentle garden with restful planting that avoids the bright fiery colours of orange and reds, but it highlights an uncomfortable truth. Areas for contemplation, reflection and rest have been cleverly integrated into the overall design for its ex-service personnel users, undergoing treatment for post-traumatic stress and other psychological wounds. After the show the garden will be relocated to the Combat Stress headquarters.

Look closely and you can see that the paths are resin bound for wheelchair access. The benches are ‘safe’, backing onto walls and designed so that there is nowhere to hide an IED (Improvised Explosive Device) and there are clear lines of sight to remove the fear of being ambushed. It doesn’t detract from the look of the garden. “Raising awareness is terribly important. In light of the current conflicts there will be more people affected in some way and it’s not always immediate. We want to raise awareness about PTSD and that there is help out there for them and their families,” says Garden Designer Fi Boyle. “I want to remove the stigma of mental illness, it’s something they have no control over and there should be no shame in it. There is help and it can be sorted out.”

A prickly issue

Another garden tackling a prickly subject using plants and horticulture is the Pansy Project Garden. One of the Conceptual Gardens at this year’s show, it features shattered slabs of concrete under planted with 4000 pink pansies. It’s a clever but uncomfortable use of metaphors and highlights the work of The Pansy Project resisting homophobic hate crime.

Do you need to go?

A Matter of Urgency is a slightly tongue in cheek look at a surprisingly common problem. The colourful and themed bright pink planting is a real showstopper, but the giant pink tap is slightly confusing until you realise that it represents the pressure (and the rest!) felt by sufferers of an overactive bladder.

Look deeper into the garden and the planting and the design is a perfect replay of those moments when ‘caught short’ you hop around looking for a convenience. Frenzied planting of dancing agapanthus and more regimented plants reflect the frantic but focussed search. The tap of course needs little explanation and the pathway out of the garden is straight and clear in an almost ‘phew, thank goodness’ kind of way. “We wanted to raise awareness,” says Garden Designer Jill Foxley. “One in five adults, men and women suffer from an overactive bladder. It is embarrassing but our message is, it can be sorted, go to your GP.”