2016 – Nature & Nurture

Representing an urban nature reserve, the garden created a calm space for people to relax in the city, and played on its title to combine nature conservation with human health and wellbeing, emphasising the physical and mental benefits of green spaces.

The garden brought its ecosystem into a city environment, highlighting the importance of hedgerows and field margins in the UK landscape, as they act as key habitats for wildlife. The design’s two distinct sections allowed visitors to walk onto the garden amongst large beds of wildflowers and naturalistic style planting on one side, representing the busy and dense lifestyle many of us experience living in cities. Meanwhile the other section offered a purposefully spacious and calming space with a large shallow pond and island seating area, allowing visitors to look out across the garden to underline how beneficial a green space in the city could be for public wellbeing.

An assortment of UK native wild plants and naturalistic style ornamentals were woven through grasses and a calming colour scheme of pinks and purples, such as clovers and cornflowers, were set amongst the dense green foliage.