A Modern Apothecary garden for RHS Chelsea

One garden to look forward to at this year’s RHS Chelsea Flower Show, is undoubtedly Jekka McVicar’s ‘A Modern Apothecary’ garden, designed for St John’s Hospice.

Jekka has been growing and designing herb gardens for over 30 years and it has been her dream for many years to create a herb garden at Chelsea. The dream has finally blossomed because St John’s Hospice are not only sponsoring the garden but will also have it moved to be planted at the hospice after the show.

The inspiration for the garden is based on conversations with doctors and care professionals about what we can do to improve our own health within the context of gardens and plants. The design will feature research-based plants known to be beneficial to the health and well being of society.

A quiet place of reflection seeking to highlight the important relationship between medicine and nature, the garden will also provide rehabilitation to all the senses within its small tranquil space with wellness at its heart.

The garden will contain red-leaved herbs, for example Atriplex, Brassica and Lactuca – red leaves are high in anthocyanidins, which in the area of cardiovascular disease protection, are strongly linked to oxidative stress protection. Jekka will combine native plants with grasses to provide a border.

Jekka and her team will be growing all of the herbs that will be featured in the garden.

Recently appointed an RHS Ambassador, Jekka is an expert in the field of herbs and has accumulated 62 RHS medals for her outstanding exhibits.

St John’s Hospice is an independent charity located within the Hospital of St John’s and St Elizabeth in St John’s Wood, London. It provides specialized palliative care to more than 3,000 terminally-ill patients and their families every year.

Image credit: RHS Image Library