Garden showcasing Welsh Slate wins a pair of awards at RHS Chelsea Flower Show

Garden showcasing Welsh Slate wins a pair of awards at Chelsea Flower Show

A garden at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show which showcases a range of Welsh Slate products from Accredited Supplier Breedon Trading has won a brace of awards on its first day.

The Terrence Higgins Trust Bridge to 2030 garden, designed by Matthew Childs and built by Yoreland Design won a Silver-gilt medal for its design and a Best Construction Award for its build.

Supported by grant-giving charity Project Giving Back, it celebrates the work of Terrence Higgins Trust and its 2030 vision of there being no new HIV cases, where people with HIV are supported and live well and there is good sexual health for all.

The garden is inspired by rejuvenated slate quarry landscapes, which are used as a metaphor for resilience and how much things have changed with HIV in the UK since the 1980s.

Key features in the garden include a striking monolith Welsh Slate stepping stone bridge and steps produced from custom cuts and bi-product of Ffestiniog slate. Supplementing this is a textural path produced from Type 2 pillared, rustic and narrow pillared walling, all from the Ffestiniog quarry.

The path is complemented by a contemporary dry stone wall produced from reclaimed Ffestiniog walling slate, in addition to planting in crevices created by Ffestiniog primary off-cuts - sawn off-cuts from slate blocks before they are split.

Boulders from Welsh Slate’s Penrhyn Quarry also feature throughout - one as a balancing sculpture, one as part of Welsh designer Swyn Anwyl Williams’ furniture design, and another with cuts as a water feature.

Reclaimed Ffestiniog roofing slates clad the interior sides of the tiered garden pond at the front of the garden, and paths and garden mulches are formed from Welsh Slate aggregate - Grey Blinding 14mm to dust and Grey 10mm to 20mm.