The RHS and The King’s Foundation Curious Garden

The garden

The garden explores and celebrates the diverse nature of plants and all the ways they enrich our lives and our industries. The garden aims to spark curiosity and inspire a new generation of both gardeners, who grow for health, happiness and the environment, and to encourage people into careers working with plants, the environment and rural crafts. It celebrates the work and skills of trainees learning their crafts, from gardening to millinery and wood-work, and is a garden that evokes a sense of art and creativity.

At the heart of the garden is an oak framed building, which represents a museum of garden curiosities. The fabrics and cordage are woven from plants, the dyes and pigments are created from plants. It demonstrates how to grow plants and experiment with different propagation techniques. There will be studies of plants, as well as tables and shelves displaying ferments, pickles, jams, books, sketch pads, balms, infusions, oils etc. Beams are adorned with hanging dried flowers, and seed heads will need to be large enough to excite curious visitors during the show, so that they can appreciate the breadth of plant potential in our everyday lives.

The building also demonstrates important environmental actions such as water saving, with a water butt and compost ideas on display, to show the varied nature of garden spaces and to tell the story of the “curious gardener”

The planting

The garden will be surrounded by mixed, native, broadleaf hedging and the areas around the building filled with shade-loving and woodland species.

The planting palette will demonstrate the living examples of the plants found in the indoor exhibition. Dye beds, veg beds and cut flower beds will feature alongside ponds and water plants to show that biodiversity and water provision is key to using gardens as a home for wildlife. These beds will guide visitors through the space and into the building, which will have wooden floorboards and feel like a colourful but rustic museum.

Mixed herbaceous beds will create a riot of colour. A small seating area in front of the building and its single, lime rendered, brightly coloured wall, will be the perfect spot to sit and admire a mix of flowers, herbs, shrubs and trees, under- and interplanted with escapees from the productive areas to further celebrate the beauty of “useful” plants.

Every plant will have a function for pollinators and many will also be chosen for their economic function, being used in some way commercially around the world. The garden will feature many shrubs and trees, including some quirky topiary. Trees will be planted throughout the space, showcasing beauty and biodiversity.

Key plants:

• Delphiniums: colour, pollination and favourites of The King
• Wheat: to showcase the functional versions of plant groups we often view as ornamental
• Coreopsis tinctoria: dye plants as function for fabric and industry
• Pistachio: for evergreen structure, topiary and productivity
• Mulberry: for height, form and edibility as well as biodiversity
• The Sir David Beckham rose, which will be launched at RHS Chelsea

Plants supplier: Jon Wheatley, Jekka Mcvikkar, Hardys

The designer – Frances Tophill

Frances started her love affair with plants doing an NVQ and apprenticeship at The Salutation Garden in Kent followed quickly by a degree in Horticulture with Plantsmanship at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh.
 
Her practical gardening experience is extensive. She worked a season at Monet’s garden, has worked at the Andromeda Botanical Garden in Barbados and has done WWOOF(World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms) work at a number of different locations, including work on vineyards and in viticulture. Frances has spent many years working in gardens with vulnerable adults, including adults with learning disabilities and mental health challenges. She is passionate about conservation and sustainability and has worked in native tree planting for the Conifer Conservation Project in Edinburgh and for Moor Trees in Devon.

Frances is the Patron of Thanet Urban Forest and works with the RHS on the Campaign for School Gardening.  She has most recently been Head Gardener and Grower at Sharpham Trust and currently works on a freelance basis as a consultant, gardener and designer on various food growing, community and sustainability projects in Devon where she is based. 
 
In 2022 Frances was awarded Best Show Garden for a sustainable garden design and build at Gardeners’ World Live. On screen she is known for her work on Gardeners’ World and Love Your Garden.

About the charity – The King’s Foundation

The King’s Foundation works globally to create sustainable communities through placemaking projects and transforms lives through practical education programmes. Inspired by Royal Founding President, King Charles III, their vision is a world where we live in harmony with nature to improve the wellbeing of people, places and the planet. They provide over 15,000 students every year the chance to learn practical skills, rooted in nature and tradition that help them play an active role in their communities. From opportunities for secondary school pupils to post-doctoral academics, they enhance knowledge, wellbeing and confidence across their education offering – all inspired by the natural world.

Garden legacy

The final destination for the garden, after the RHS Chelsea Flower Show, will be at a college for young adults, where the dye garden plants are set to be used by fashion students, and vegetable and herbs by catering students. RHS Ambassador VP Floella Benjamin is championing the garden living on after the show.