100 Sweet Summers

The garden

The garden centres around an oak-framed cabin decorated with recycled wine bottles, collected from those shared with friends and family over many happy years. Surrounding the cabin are favourite flowers from their past, creating a colourful and nostalgic retreat where they can enjoy quiet moments and welcome visits from their grandchildren.  

Drawing on a craft she loved in her youth, the lady owner has created several macramé features for the cabin, including a swing for the grandchildren, a parasol and decorative curtains, adding a handmade and personal touch to the space. The garden celebrates the couple’s joyful mid-century youth through bright colours, a glasshouse and playful elements that evoke carefree summer days.

At the same time, it reflects their forward-thinking outlook and commitment to sustainability. Innovative Bioo panels harness natural biological processes to generate electricity, providing sustainable lighting for the garden. This technology demonstrates how nature and innovation can work together, reflecting the couple’s hope to protect and nurture the environment for future generations.

Designed with a vibrant colour palette, the garden creates spaces both for peaceful reflection and for spending time with family. 100 Sweet Summers ultimately celebrates cherished memories of the past while embracing the possibilities of a more sustainable future. 

The planting

Planting has been selected to support biodiversity and seasonal interest, with colourful flowers such as zinnias, single dahlias and snapdragons providing valuable nectar for pollinators. A chamomile lawn planted between stepping stones offers a low-maintenance and sensory alternative to a traditional grass lawn, reducing mowing while adding fragrance and texture.

Key plants:

• Dahlia ‘Sissinghurst’ – named Dahlia of the Year for 2026, this variety adds a topical highlight to the garden while celebrating the revival of colourful, traditional garden favourites. Dahlias provide vibrant late-season colour and reinforce the nostalgic planting theme
• Canna ‘Stuttgart’ – with its striking variegated foliage and bold presence, this canna creates a strong visual focal point within the garden while adding height and a slightly exotic character to the planting
• Eryngium × olivierianum BIG BLUE  – this architectural plant provides strong structure and contrast within the borders. Its spiky blue flower heads add texture and are highly attractive to pollinators, supporting biodiversity in the garden
• Veronicastrum virginicum ‘Erica’ – this tall, elegant perennial introduces vertical structure and movement to the planting, helping to create layered borders and visual depth
• Zinnia elegans JAZZ MIXED – zinnias bring joyful, nostalgic colour to the garden and represent the cheerful summer annuals often grown in traditional gardens. They also attract pollinators and extend the season of interest

Sustainability notes

The garden promotes environmental responsibility through thoughtful material choices, nature-friendly planting and innovative technology. Recycled wine bottles are incorporated into the cabin structure, while reclaimed scaffolding boards are used for the decking, demonstrating how everyday materials can be creatively reused in the garden rather than discarded. The design also highlights Bioo panels, which generate electricity from natural biological processes in the soil, offering a glimpse into how future gardens may integrate clean, nature-based energy solutions.

About the designer – Kitti Kovacs

Kitti’s inspiration for design comes from a deep passion for both people and plants, and from seeing how powerful a well-designed garden can be in transforming everyday life. With a background in art and events management, she was naturally drawn to garden design as a way to combine creativity, storytelling and nature. Gardens offer a unique opportunity to create living spaces that evolve through the seasons while bringing beauty, wellbeing and a strong connection to nature into people’s daily lives. She is particularly passionate about creating low-maintenance, sustainable gardens that offer interest across all four seasons and aims to design spaces that are not only visually inspiring but also practical, environmentally responsible and supportive of wildlife.  

About the sponsor – QVC

Sponsoring a garden at the show gives QVC a valuable opportunity to connect with passionate gardeners while showcasing ideas and inspiration in a real garden setting. Through My Garden Escape, QVC’s channel dedicated to gardening, the brand shares the latest gardening trends, plants, outdoor furniture and accessories with viewers looking to enhance their outdoor spaces.

By supporting the 100 Sweet Summers garden, My Garden Escape can bring these ideas to life, demonstrating how colourful planting, creative design and thoughtful garden features can inspire people to transform their own gardens. The garden reflects the same spirit of inspiration and discovery that My Garden Escape aims to bring to viewers at home. Taking part in the show this year allows QVC and My Garden Escape to engage directly with visitors, celebrate gardening creativity and highlight how accessible and enjoyable gardening can be for everyone.

The garden legacy

Elements of the garden will be reused in Kitti Kovacs Garden Design’s clients homes, in residential settings.