RHS Chelsea Flower Show
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The M&G Garden

The designer’s vision of a garden created from a disused limestone quarry includes a large botanical range of flora from Malta. Designed with great impact it delivers a stern message about the vulnerability of Malta’s natural landscapes and resources

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Limestone columns are scarred with the distinctive marks of a disc saw used to cut the limestone blocks
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Overview of how a garden could be made from the wasteland of a disused quarry.
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A rugged mastic tree, Pistacia lentiscus, overlooks a sunken area filled with limestone blocks and Maltese flora.
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Limestone columns are scarred with the distinctive marks of a disc saw used to cut the limestone blocks
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Overview of how a garden could be made from the wasteland of a disused quarry.
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A rugged mastic tree, Pistacia lentiscus, overlooks a sunken area filled with limestone blocks and Maltese flora.
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At the show

  • Best Construction Award to Crocus for the M&G Garden
  • The carob tree planted within is a protected species in Malta
  • With imposing columns of limestone and the garden on different levels illustrates quarrying over time
  • Planting choice represents the steppe, garrigue, maquis and cliff top habitats

From the garden

Inspired by an abandoned Maltese quarry, The M&G Garden features monumental blocks of limestone planted with grasses, evergreens, perennials and ground cover unique to the arid Mediterranean island. The plot is divided into a series of zones, each with its own ecology, from shrubland through garrigue landscape to cliff top. The message behind the designer’s creation is that humans need to take action to preserve the fragile environment of our planet. Sustainable water disposal, recycling and composting: all are vital if Malta is to save its distinct and delicate landscapes.
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Time-lapse build of the M&G Garden

Watch the M&G Garden at RHS Chelsea Flower 2017 being created in this time-lapse video

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Time-lapse build of the M&G Garden
Time-lapse build of the M&G Garden
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Interview with designer James Basson
Interview with designer James Basson

More on this garden

Full garden plant list

Full garden plant list

James Basson's Chelsea vision

James Basson's Chelsea vision

Create this at home

Inspired by the M&G Garden

2m x 1m Planting Plan

Create your own - ‘Malta’ themed area  inspired by the M&G Garden.

The garden is inspired by the principles of ecological sustainability and the urgent need for action to preserve the fragile balance of our planet. It uses the unique environment of Malta to explore the cyclical relationship between destruction and creation, as the country provides a microcosm of our planet’s plight today.

Plant Shopping List & Key

A Asphodelus fistulosus x4
B Euphorbia dendroides x2
C Euphorbia spinosa x1
D Ferula communis x2
E Foeniculum vulgare x2
F Isatis tinctoria x3
G Thymbra spicata x3

Alternatives:

E Euphorbia mellifera x2
G Achillea ‘Credo’ x2
E Miscanthus sinensis ‘Kleine Fontäne’ x2
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Get involved

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