Chris Beardshaw's inspiration
Gardening guru and designer Chris Beardshaw tells RHS Online what has inspired his 2008 show garden.
I didn’t have to look far from Tatton for the inspiration for my show garden, which was commissioned by Cheshire Year of the Garden. Both the diversity of Cheshire’s natural landscape, extending from the edge of the craggy Peak District in the east to the fertile river valleys in the west, and the county’s magnificent collection of showcase gardens all prove a rich ideas resource.
From Arley Hall’s herbaceous borders — praised by Gertrude Jekyll – to the pioneering plant collections of Arthur Bulley at Ness and David Keighley’s more recent acquisitions at Dunge Valley — it is their spirit that I want to celebrate.
But I also want to showcase concepts of my own. My ground plan is for two parallel 20m (67ft) herbaceous borders extending to an alcove wall of Cheshire red brick and grey Pennine limestone. The colour scheme of the 3m (10ft) wide borders progresses seamlessly from blues and violets through to fiery hot reds and oranges - to fool the eye into believing the borders are much longer than they are. Herbaceous stalwarts crocosmias and achilleas are used to provide 'warmth and heat', while at the cool end of the spectrum you’ll find aconitums and white chrysanthemums. To these I’ve added grasses, which will bring a contemporary twist to the classic herbaceous border. And they’ll be punctuated with trees and shrubs, such as Catalpa, which I’ve chosen for its bold foliage and colouring.
My garden is flanked by four other gardens, designed and built by the landscapers and plantsmen of four of the county’s gardens of distinction: Ness Botanic Gardens, Chester Zoological Gardens, Arley Hall and Gardens and, our host venue, Tatton Park.
But that’s not all - my team and I will also be fulfilling a second and quite different landscaping vision behind that alcove wall: a version of the region’s natural landscape, in an escarpmement over which native vegetation tumbles through a series of levels from bare Pennine-like heights to river valley lushness. Natural, unstructured and evocative of the world just beyond Tatton.
When the show opens on July 23 I will be there to meet visitors. I hope you will find peace, beauty and inspiration in my creation, and in all the show has to offer.