Exhibitors
SHOW GARDENS | WATER GARDENS | SMALL GARDENS | CONCEPTUAL GARDENS
INSPIRING SPACES | WINDOWBOXES & HANGING BASKETS
PLANTS | GROWING & SHOWING MARQUEE | MARKET PLACE
Small gardens
The Pathlogic Team
Choose Your Path
Designer: Neil Goldsmith and Sabina Edwards
Contractor: Mark Palmer, Bethwins Estate & Garden Management
Click on the images to view a hi-res version
Choose Your Path shows the garden as a different kind of outdoor room and is essentially a garden of opposites. The design is confident and responsible, practical and inclusive. Neil Goldsmith’s engineering background came into play during the concept stage of this design while Sabina Edwards was inspired by 'modern/chic with a dash of quirkiness' adorned with natural planting and an eco-friendly ethos. This garden offers a solution to the popular opinion that wild gardens are generally scruffy and unkempt – this garden has sleek and clean lines with smooth textures that shine and sparkle.
The copper-covered containers are the heart of the garden and its big surprise. They halve and rotate, thus creating alternative paths, views and uses within the garden. To the rear of the garden is a seating area formed from polished spruce roundels which have been salvaged under license from a local wood. The Travetine paving in this area is inlaid with a tree slice; a gentle reminder of the greatness of nature. Behind the roundels is a ledge created from coloured recycled glass chippings, and backed by a slim metal water rill. This snug area is separated from its environs by shutter fence panels chosen to allow separation without total segregation, allowing the design to sit comfortably as one part of a much larger garden-scape.
All plants have been chosen for their ability to tempt birds and insects into the garden through colour, nectar, and seed. Security for the ground dwellers is provided by low growing plants. The otherwise dead space under the seating area is utilised by leaving entry/exit holes in the sides. During the build this area will be left with a little rubble and/or wood inside to provide shelter for any number of beetles and other small creatures. The ledge in the seating area is made from recycled glass.
In among the borders are a variety of grasses used for textural interest as well as seeds for winter interest. The tallest is Melica altissima 'Atropurpurea' with its one-sided, deep purple spikelets. Luzula nivea bears tight clusters of white flowers and Sesleria caerulea has bluish-purple spikelets over evergreen foliage. Dotted throughout will be the orange yellow of meconopsis and oenothera, the blues of centaurea, purple of hesperis and lime green of smyrnium and nicotiana. The 'dry' beds are dotted with saxifraga, sedum and sempervivum among the red grass, Imperata cylindrica 'Rubra'. The plants chosen for shape and drought tolerance; the warmth of the stones creates a suitable place for various creatures to bask in the warmth of the sun.
Both Neil and Sabina are making their debut at this year’s show. Neil’s background is in engineering design but he found that he is happiest designing in an organic way as he loves horticulture and the outdoors. After her youngest child started school, Sabina realised that this was the perfect time to reassess her career. She began studying for an RHS Certificate in Horticulture which led to a Diploma. Her particular interest is the environment and she is currently looking to gain a firmer understanding of permaculture.