Words by Gillian Goodson. Gillian is the Principal Designer and Owner of Gillian Goodson Designs and has created and worked on multiple award-winning gardens.

The Savills ‘plot-to-plate’ garden designed by Mark Gregory at this year’s Chelsea Flower Show was a riot of colour with ornamental and edible planting designed to highlight sustainable living, design, and planting methods. Sustainably rehoming the kitchen garden was a natural extension of the circular nature of the ethos behind it, and it was important for the garden to have a new lease of life and legacy beyond the show itself.

Rehoming the garden for the Shaw Trust

In keeping with the ‘plot-to-plate’ ethos, the garden was donated by Savills to the national charity, Shaw Trust, to be relocated to a children’s home in Nottinghamshire and I was delighted to be asked to reimagine the garden for its new home. The continuing wellbeing of the child is at the heart of the Shaw Trust’s work and children cared for from across the region will have an opportunity to learn and grow with the garden. Alongside learning horticultural and cookery skills, it will provide them with a space to enjoy nature and be involved in the ongoing sustainability of the garden. Savills long-term charity partner Rethink Food joined the journey to provide education about food security.

Reimagining the garden for children

Immediately following the show, a variety of perishable produce from the show garden was donated to the Chelsea Pensioners’ allotments at The Royal Hospital Chelsea. Tasked with using as many of the remaining original materials and plants as possible, I set about designing the new space with children in mind. I took inspiration from my childhood, playing hopscotch with my siblings, and as such created a similar fun rhythm using the York stone paving from Chelsea to encourage children and adults alike to skip or hop along the different sized paving. A tapestry of planting is woven in and around the paving to encourage exploration and create a sense of journey and discovery through the garden from one area to the next: from the culinary to the boulder seating by the oversized reflective water bowl, to the play and picnic areas, and the woodland beyond. 

I wanted to create a garden for the children that had an overall calming feel to it but encouraged play and playfulness. We were able to use many different plants from Chelsea including lupins, bright blue cornflowers, silvery-leafed artemisia, blowsy peonies, delphiniums, and lady's mantle. We added a multi-stemmed silver birch with its ethereal white trunk, and underplanted it with ferns, hostas, and foxgloves. The garden, like the children, will grow together over the years.

Repurposing materials

The team made a bespoke bench using the reclaimed pantiles and we also used the tiles on the roof of the potting shed. The shed will double-up as a mud kitchen where the children will have hours of fun getting their hands dirty, the imperial bricks from Chelsea have been used to create a ‘landing pad’ outside the shed for horticultural activity, and also to edge the herb garden which contains sage, lemon balm, apple mint, spearmint, chives, rosemary, and French tarragon. The bricks were also used to form the base of the tepee-shaped den which was clad in branches left from pruning trees.

We were delighted to have so many strawberry plants from Chelsea. They have been dotted around the potting shed’s culinary area and a couple are cheekily growing out of an adorable chimney pot.

We were also fortunate to be gifted two delightful zinc obelisks from the show garden. One has been planted with purple-flowering Clematis ‘Guiding Promise’ and the other has been left for the children to choose a climber of their own. We have added a picnic bench, swing, monkey bars, and sunken trampoline. There are plenty of areas for wildlife including the log bench, bird nesting boxes and feeder.

I am a great believer in teamwork and the spirit of teamwork. That buzz. This garden embodies that spirit. From the wonderful support of Savills throughout this project to the incredible, dedicated, and good-humoured landscaping team, to the plant nursery and stone company that contributed to the project without a moment’s hesitation. As for the children and the Shaw Trust, it has been a joyful and heart-warming experience. 

I’ve since heard that the children not only love the play equipment but have been found lying on the paving looking up at the stars.