Bangkok garden set for Chelsea
“The Calm of Bangkok” designed by Tawatchai Sakdikul and Ploytabtim Suksang, will bring the spirit and energy of this vibrant city to the 2021 September RHS Chelsea Flower Show, with a delicate and peaceful design in the Sanctuary Gardens category.
The garden’s designers point out that Bangkok, the capital of the Kingdom of Thailand, is well known for being colourful and one of the busiest cities in the world. The ‘City of Angels’ is, on a hidden side, culturally rich, peaceful, delicate and simply beautiful. For the Chelsea garden, the designers want to present the variety of spirit and energy of the city through each element of their minimal modern garden.
At first thought, we see Bangkok as the bustling chaotic city and so the front part of the garden will represent this through the hot colour theme of mixed plants – the city’s frenetic energy conveyed through tropical planting. Straight lines on the ground lead the way into different feelings behind the busy activity – a water feature with relaxing sound prompts visitors to experience calmness inside a shelter representing a gracefulness inside the big city.
A hand-woven hammock, made in one of Thailand’s small, rural villages, and screen will provide a gentle and cosy feel, creating a relaxing private space to welcome friends.
The designers want to create a private space to make visitors feel a mixture of emotional experiences such as feeling at ease and warm, as well as being refreshed and at peace at the same time.
Tawatchai and Ploytabtim (pictured above) are founders and designers at Ging Gaan Bai, a landscape design company in Bangkok, specialising in minimal modern design. It was Tawatchai’s obsession with art and drawing that motivated him to study architecture in college. Ploytabtim grew up in the norther part of Thailand where there is a rich art and cultural environment. She too studied architecture and wanting to combine local art and culture into her work.
Individually, both designers started to enter gardening competitions which saw them both winning awards. Apart from their strong friendship, the pair realised their common interest and expertise in putting together landscape and garden designs with a minimal modern design and how this could be developed.
They formed ‘Ging Gaan Bai’ (which means branches and leaves) in 2007 and within the company they can fully express their strong fascination in minimal modern design. Their ideal is to create more than just a garden but also an outdoor living space that conform with personality and lifestyle of clients. Their minimal modern garden designs have now become their distinguished signature and their reward is to see the happiness and quality time that comes from their designs for their clients.
We wish both designers well in their planning and preparations for RHS Chelsea and feel sure that this will be one of the popular gardens with visitors.
Picture credits: All images © Tawatchai Sakdikul and Ploytabtim Suksang
