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RHS Chelsea Flower Show

May 21–25th

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Explore Chelsea

A Celebration of Caravanning

Designer Jo Thompson explains how you can get the Chelsea look with some of the design features from her garden.

“I like things to have more than one function if possible, especially in a small space...”

  • Doris the caravan

    Retire that caravan!

    Old caravans, particularly ones as easy on the eye as Doris will happily provide a charming place to work, read or anything else you want to get up to at the bottom of the garden. Before the show they had been spotted on a well-known shopping website for good rates, but post-show demand might well push the prices up!

  • Hammock

    Make a hammock

    If you’ve got two uprights the perfect distance apart, string up a hammock for long lazy afternoons with a book. What about making one from scratch? It is essentially a large piece of durable fabric (about 3mx1m) secured by cords onto a ring.  If this sounds too ambitious, buy a cheap one and embellish to your own taste. Do make sure that the uprights you hang it from are strong enough to take a person’s weight.

  • screen

    Screen off parts of the garden

    A key design tip is to break up your garden into different parts that are revealed as you pass through, rather than everything being seen at once. These attractive timber screens break up the space, add height and in winter provide interest when the planting has died back. A local joiner made them from 60mm x 30mm kiln-dried European oak, and set them in a curved profile about 30mm apart to permit peeks through.

  • Viburnum plicatum 'Mariesii'

    Plants for horizontal accents

    Viburnum plicatum ‘Mariesii’ has an outstretched, horizontal form, with tiered branches. We’ve used lots of verticals in the garden, so these plants provide some horizontal relief.

  • Betula utilis 'Fascination'

    Trees for structure

    We’ve used Betula utilis ‘Fascination’ to add height in the garden. I like to use trees to provide structure where I possibly can, rather than building something - and the wonderful bark colour is a brilliant foil for the green hedge.

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