Fauna & Flora Show Garden: countdown to Chelsea Flower Show

Accredited Designer, Jilayne Rickards MBALI and designer of the Fauna & Flora Garden at RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2023, visited the Eden Project in Cornwall to check on progress of the plants being grown for the Central Africa-based show garden – one of her last visits before the garden build commences in May. 

Offering RHS Chelsea Flower Show visitors a window into the spectacular Afromontane landscape of Central Africa, the Fauna & Flora Garden will celebrate the charity’s mountain gorilla conservation work. The garden maps the journey of an ecotourist on a gorilla trek, tracing a rough track through a succession of lush and changing landscapes on either side of the Protected Forest Area boundary wall.  

Eden Project is supplying many of the garden’s tropical plants – including banana trees, giant lobelia and African tulip trees - and, after Chelsea, the Garden will be relocated to Eden’s world-famous rainforest biome.

From the beginning, Jilayne conceptualised ideas, keeping sustainability at the forefront of her ideas. To execute this, much research on suppliers, materials and their carbon footprint had to be carefully considered.  

Jilayne said:

"Every design decision has been based around the need for the garden to be as sustainable as possible. It has been difficult and hard work, certainly not an easy option, but with good teamwork and thinking outside the box, we show it absolutely can be done.  And the more sustainable options are selected, the easier it will become for all. With this garden, we are looking to lead the way in sustainable design and construction and we hope to inspire others in our industry along the general public that gardens can be beautiful as well as have a low environmental impact."

 
Three solutions to the Fauna & Flora garden

• Minimal hard landscaping which increases planting opportunity and therefore biodiversity
• The majority of plant supply is from The Eden Project which grows chemical & peat free in recycled or recyclable pots
• The electric generator used for construction reduces emissions from dirty energy

Tips from Jilayne: How-to do things sustainably

• Consider a softer approach to retaining walls: planted Geowebs, vegetated specialised Envirolok bags, embrace slopes planting them up to stabilise the soil, dry stone walls, or timber sleepers suitable for in-ground use. Consider hedges for boundaries.
• Take a look at where you buy your plants, are they peat free and what about their packaging? Ask plant nurseries about their use of chemical pesticides or herbicides; opt to buy from independent plant nurseries that grow their own plants peat-free and only use natural predators to control potential pests
• Check out your suppliers and ask them awkward questions such as where do they get their products from? If timber, is it FSC, PEFC or Grown-in-Britain certified?

The garden will be on display at the RHS Chelsea show 2023 and will be moved back to the Eden Project afterwards.

Read more here.