Exhibitors
SHOW GARDENS | COURTYARD GARDENS | CHIC GARDENS | CITY GARDENS
PLANTS | FLORAL ART | LIFELONG LEARNING | MARKET PLACE
Courtyard gardens
A W Gardening Services
Sanctuary
Designer: Adam Woolcott & Jonathan Smith (A W Gardening Services)
Sponsors: Bannold, Nolte Kitchens, Croudace Homes, Cox's Architectural Salvage
Contractor: Conway Landscapes
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The designers, Adam Woolcott and Jonathan Smith, found the inspiration for this garden while driving through a built-up area a few years ago. They saw a church surrounded by a green oasis, protected from the rest of the world by an ancient flint wall. There, within those walls, they saw a place of sanctuary, where wild flowers could flourish undisturbed and also where the overworked and stressed could find temporary respite from their busy lives.
Taking inspiration from this churchyard, Adam has designed a garden surrounded by a flint wall, within which there is a cobbled path leading to a stone bench in a quiet corner under a yew tree. Also set in the flint wall is an ancient gothic style door, which once led out into the open countryside, but now only serves to keep the stresses of the modern world out. An ancient piece of church masonry has also been used to create a water feature. However, the overriding emphasis of this garden is the planting of native, wild flowers, climbers and shrubs.
When Adam was six years old, his parents built him a wooden box, filled it with soil and gave him some plants. It was from that moment that he became hooked on gardening and everything to do with plants.
For Adam, the RHS Chelsea Flower Show is an opportunity to share his own passion for plants and gardening with many more like-minded people.