Elisabeth Wright-McCalla

Elisabeth Wright-McCalla

With a fine art and visual design background, Elisabeth decided in 2019 to extend her career into garden design. While studying an open learning course for a KLC Design Diploma, she started Botanical Spaces Garden Design, designing bespoke and sustainable gardens in her hometown of Whitstable in Kent. 

See the The Anywhere Courtyard garden

Elisabeth says: “Designing from home can sometimes be a solitary business and sharing promotes creativity. Meeting like-minded people and getting to work alongside some amazing designers and contractors as well as the prospect of achieving my own RHS Chelsea garden is an advantage to my creative progression and experience.”

Elisabeth’s tips to designing a container garden:

• Put in plenty of evergreen structures such as ferns and tropical plants to ensure year-round happiness. Plant long-flowering perennials like salvias, leaving some space for a few annuals to add seasonal interest.
• To provide ample nutrients and ensure free-draining soil, mix horticultural grit with compost and topsoil.
• For a vertical year-round dimension, incorporate trailing succulents into the garden. Additionally, consider adding herbal plants to containers located close to the kitchen for convenient use in cooking.
• A drip irrigation is key to minimizing water and keeping the plants happy and healthy during extreme weather and it also gives you more time to sit and enjoy the garden.

You may also be interested in...

• Buy tickets to RHS Chelsea Flower Show
• Read more about the show
• See all the RHS Chelsea Gardens 2024