Clay - The ‘Super Soil’

The garden

If we take a closer look around us, clay soils bring us so many benefits from the bricks that our homes are built with or laid in our gardens, the tiles on our roofs, to the pots that we plant into or even the mug we drink that much needed tea or coffee from.

Malvern is in Worcestershire, a County renowned for its growing of fruit and vegetables, alongside the neighbouring counties of Gloucestershire and Herefordshire and all this is down to the wonderfully fertile clay soils. The feature garden showcases the use of clay materials in a contemporary styled garden with nods to traditional artisan crafts. 

A timber framed structure created with locally sourced timber from Herefordshire, is clad in clay tiles manufactured in the West Midlands by a 200-year-old family run business, from soils sourced in Staffordshire. Feature walls also clad with tiles are set amongst the planting and shelter the space alongside hedging suitable for clay soils including native species.

The accessible pathways are created using self-binding gravel and lead to brick paver terraces sourced from the West Midlands. The pathway winds past a series of raised timber beds with a window into the soil ‘horizons’, demonstrating differing methods of working with clay soils from traditional mulching to a ‘No Dig’ approach, or ‘Chop and Drop’ method. 

Whilst clay pots created by artisans in England and sourced from a Herefordshire business will include planting displays and additional opportunities for planting if you really can’t get into the clay soil.

A striking sculpture created by the renowned sculptor Simon Gudgeon brings art and a focal point into the garden and is inspired by the fruit growing history of the the Three Counties. 

The planting

Trees, shrubs and plants throughout the garden demonstrate those species best suited to planting in clay soils, including an orchard area underplanted with wildflower turf providing a space for the public to sit and enjoy the garden and the Festival. 

Trees and Plants – Hortus Loci, Hedging – Ready Hedge 

The designer – Martyn Wilson

Martyn is a multi-award-winning garden designer and the director of Wilson Associates Garden Design. He started his show garden design career at the RHS Malvern Spring Festival in 2014 where he then went on to design and create a further four RHS medal winning gardens including the much loved RHS Gold medal winning RAF100 Garden.

Other medal winning successes include an RHS Gold medal garden at the RHS Hampton Court Flower Festival, Gold medal at BBC Gardener’s World Live and more recently and RHS Silver-gilt for the RSPCA, at the prestigious RHS Chelsea Flower Show. 

Suppliers and collaborators

Timber Framed Structures – Whittle Earth, Clay tiles and Clay pavers – Ketley Brick and Dreadnought Tiles, Mulches and Composts – Rolawn, Wildflower Meadow – Wildflower Turf, Sculpture – Simon Gudgeon, Pots – Tom’s Yard.