RHS Announces new Chelsea Feel Good gardens
The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) and BBC Radio 2, have announced that a new category, The BBC 2 Radio Feel Good Gardens, will be included at this year’s RHS Chelsea Flower Show.
The gardens will celebrate BBC Radio 2’s fiftieth anniversary and will be named after different BBC Radio 2 presenters.
The five gardens will show how plants can enrich and indulge one of the five senses – touch, taste, smell, sight and sound.
This exciting new category will see five different designers present their interpretation of one of the five senses.
The Jo Whiley Scent Garden will be designed by Tamara Bridge, who was 2015 RHS Young Designer of the Year, and Kate Savill. Tamara and Kate have asked fragrance designer Jo Malone to help create the garden, which will include aromas that transport you to a time or place such as woodland walks, rain on warm paving or freshly cut flowers from the garden.
The Anneka Rice Colour Cutting Garden is being designed by Sarah Raven and every square inch of space will give flowers, flowers and more flowers. Sarah has enlisted the help of one of the UK’s best known interior designers, Tricia Guild OBE as they share a passion for colour. Gold, the colour of 50th wedding anniversaries, features in this garden to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Radio 2.
The Chris Evans Taste Garden, (pictured above) is designed by Jon Wheatley. Jon has asked friend of the Radio 2 breakfast show, Mary Berry, to help celebrate the tastiest plants growing in UK gardens, by growers on allotments and in many communities.
The Jeremy Vine Texture Garden (pictured banner above) is designed by Matt Keightley and is an immersive tactile garden that features bold geometric forms juxtaposed with a soft and elegant planting pallet. Varying material finishes and planting structure seemingly evolves through the space to create a garden people want to interact and relax in.
The Zoe Ball Listening Garden, designed by James Alexander-Sinclair, aims to reproduce the feeling when you stand too close to a speaker stack at a concert; the sensation of feeling music through your whole body. It will be visible in water features and felt through the floor. The music will be from the last 50 years of Radio 2.
The BBC Radio 2 Feel Good Gardens are half the size of the big show gardens and will have the backdrop of the Royal Hospital Chelsea.
Sue Biggs, RHS director general is incredibly excited about Radio 2 being at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show and looks forward to celebrating the joy of gardening with their listeners: “Growing plants and gardens help us to feel better both physically and mentally. We spend too long at our computers or on our phones; these gardens are a reminder that we need to give our senses a treat, get out into the garden and get close to nature,” she says.
Lewis Carnie, Head of Radio 2 commented that they were delighted to be broadcasting from the Show to kick off their 50th anniversary celebrations: “We know many of our listeners take great pleasure from the great outdoors and I’m looking forward to seeing how the designers of the gardens interpret the spirit of Radio 2 and our presenters in flower and vegetable form!”
Chris Evans will broadcast from the RHS Chelsea Flower Show from 0630 to 09.30 on Monday 22nd May. Chris is thrilled to be taking the Radio 2 Breakfast Show to Chelsea and to working with Mary Berry on one of the Radio 2 Feel Good Gardens: “We’re going alfresco and gardening bonkers for a very special show at the world’s most prestigious horticultural happening. We cannot wait,” said Chris.
This show category promises to be a great way to celebrate Radio 2’s anniversary with the added bonus that visitors will get that ‘feel good’ feeling, we all associate with gardening.
Photo credit: Garden diagrams ©RHS Image Library
