Exhibitors
Chic gardens
Helios
Upstairs/Downstairs
Designer: Kate Gould
Sponsor: Helios, The Green Room Consultancy
Contractor: The Green Room Consultancy
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This private basement garden is a ‘downstairs’ outside room designed for two people to share in the summer. Upstairs/Downstairs is a garden for relaxing. Water provides soothing sounds, and a canopy of lush green foliage creates a private environment with interesting views and dappled light.
The garden is slightly retro with bold red colouring in the hard landscaping, which compliments the muted plant palette. Planting is 'jungly' and bold and includes Dicksonia antarctica, Dryopteris erythrosora, Hosta ‘Frances Williams’, Acanthus mollis and Acer palmatum. The plants are suitable for shady areas and need minimum maintenance.
A ‘day bed’ offers somewhere to relax, or even sleep in at night. From the daybed a glass water feature (right) can be partly seen through a thin screen of bamboo. The water feature looks like a window and is edged with stainless steel louvres.
Where possible, materials in this garden have been recycled or reclaimed and the wood is from environmentally-sustainable sources.
This is the garden designer’s, Kate Gould, second time at Chelsea; in 2005 Kate was awarded a Silver Medal for a small garden in the City Garden category. Kate started Helios in 1998, after working in office jobs. The Green Room Consultancy is a new business that she set up with a partner this year.