Pea family will inspire Seedlip Chelsea garden

Landform Consultants’ lead designer, Dr Catherine MacDonald, who is designing The Seedlip Garden for the 2018 RHS Chelsea Flower Show, will mark first for Chelsea with a garden inspired by the humble pea.

Sponsor Seedlip, producers of the world’s first distilled non-alcoholic spirit, are returning to Chelsea with their second consecutive show garden.

The garden will consist of plants from just one species – the pea (Fabaceae) which is a main ingredient for one of Seedlip’s popular drinks. It will feature in the new Space to Grow category.

Celebrating three ‘pea pioneers’ from three centuries – Mendel, Lamborn and Branson – the garden will highlight the cultural, culinary and scientific significance of the pea. It will also herald the world exclusive launch of two pea varieties bred by Dr Calvin Lamborn – the creator of the Sugar Snap Pea.

The plant palette, aesthetic and multi-sensory elements within The Seedlip Garden, are all relevant to the pea, producing a contemporary and educational compendium in praise of Pisum Sativum.

Key design features will include a garden ‘pea’ path, formed of circular elements, leading to a ‘Peavilion’, a shrine housing a collection of articles relevant to the pea.

Designer, Catherine (pictured left) comments that she is really excited to be working with Seedlip founder Ben Branson and his team again: “They are an incredibly passionate and inspirational group of people and there’s a natural synergy with their company vision that gives me the opportunity to blend my scientific background with my design skills,” she said.

Ben Branson, is delighted that they were honoured to win a Gold medal with Catherine at the 2017 RHS Chelsea Flower Show and is excited to do it all again this year: “2018 is the year of the pea and an opportunity to celebrate our most treasured ingredient, the humble Garden Pea,” he says.

Catherine started her working life in the field of genetics before retraining as a garden designer. She has designed four gold medal winning show gardens as well as two best in category and a People’s Choice.

Landform Consultants are a multi award-winning landscaping consultancy who have worked with many of the world’s top designers.

Photo credit: photo of Dr Catherine MacDonald above left; credit Brian Whar