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Chelsea Flower Show 2006
Silver Award for North East England passion
The passion of North East England was in full bllom at the 2006 RHS Chelsea Flower Show, with the region receiving a SILVER award for its Courtyard Garden.
The North East England Passion Garden was one of 50 on show to over 157,000 visitors this week at the world’s greatest flower show. The courtyard garden, with its vibrant purple and red planting scheme set against luxuriant, dark foliage, was a celebration of the exuberant spirit of the North East people and was inspired by the region’s rich heritage, culture and diversity of landscape.
Killingworth based Landscape Management Services created The Passion Garden on behalf of the ‘Passionate people. Passionate places’ campaign. Founded by landscapers John Carmichael and Harry Fenwick in 1993, the company has created gardens for the Chelsea show each year since 2002, previously winning a Silver-Gilt and a Bronze award.
John Carmichael of Landscape Management Services said:
“This award is very well deserved by the whole North East England Passion Garden Team who have created this award winning garden.
“Not only has it received a SILVER award from the Royal Horticultural Society but the passion theme is also receiving a very positive response from the public here at the Chelsea Flower Show, which is helping to raise awareness of North East England.”
For this 2006 garden entry, the company worked with a range of local craftspeople to produce a 21st century garden inspired by the passion and strengths of the North East.
The garden included references to Hadrian’s Wall through limestone paving and walling; an intricate, rusted steel sculpture echoes Antony Gormley’s Angel of the North in Gateshead and a series of blown glass tubes in organic forms refer to Sunderland’s tradition of glass making.
A wild area which includes ulex europaeus, betula pendula and anthriscus sylvestris, among others, alluded to the sweeping dales of the County Durham countryside. While the renaissance of the Tees Valley and the region’s passion and zest for life was portrayed in the exuberant colours of the planting in the ornamental area, where allium ‘Purple Sensation’, imperata cylindrical ‘Red Barron’, aquilegia ‘Ruby Port’ and achillea ‘Cerise Queen’, among others, packed a visual punch.
The three rivers of Tyne, Wear and Tees, that have so strongly influenced and continue to shape North East England’s development, were also represented in the form of three, burbling rills.
The garden included a wild area featuring indigenous plants found in the varied natural landscapes of the North East as well as an ornamental area to complement the structural elements of the garden. The colours are rich throughout with prominent hues of purple to communicate the region’s passion.
Held annually for six days each May, the Chelsea Flower Show is one of the most important events in the horticultural calendar. In view of this, a new guide to gardens of North East England, designed to create interest in the region’s gardens and inspire visits to the region, was launched at the show.
The new guide to the gardens of North East England, available from 6 June 2006, includes profiles and features on gardens open to visit across the region. It features a wide range of attractions, from historic gardens that provide elegant backdrops to grand country houses such as the forest garden at Gibside influenced by Capability Brown, to the other end of the timescale and The Alnwick Garden with its Grand Cascade, Labyrinth and one of the world’s largest tree houses.
Stacy Hall, Director of Communications at One NorthEast, said: “The RHS Chelsea Flower Show is a fantastic world stage on which to promote North East England and to showcase the region’s gardens to both a national and international audience.
“This award is fantastic news for the region. It will help to highlight the wonderful historic and contemporary gardens in both the region’s countryside and vibrant towns and cities attracting more visitors to North East England.”