Norfolk-Inspired Garden Wins Gold award at Chelsea Flower Show

The Chelsea Flower Show is an annual event that was first held in 1913. The show features cutting-edge garden design and has been an inspiration to generations of British gardeners looking for new ideas to implement in their own back gardens. One of the gardens that won a prestigious gold-medal at this year’s show was inspired by the Norfolk Broads. Let’s look at some of the features of designer Gary Breeze’s prize-winning garden.

Man of Many Talents

Gary Breeze is a sculptor and boat builder as well as a gardener. Last year, he won a gold medal at his first Chelsea Flower Show in a design that featured a sculpted 44-tonne cube. This year, he combined his passions for boat-building and gardening and won gold again for his Broadland-inspired garden. 

Replica Long Boat

The centrepiece of the “The Broadland Boatbuilder’s Garden” is a replica of a longboat. The planks of the original were excavated from the river Chet in Loddon in 2013 (approximately 900 years after it sank there) and Gary’s boatyard was commissioned to build a replica. A three-quarter size prototype was built as proof of concept and features in the Chelsea garden.

In an interview with the Eastern Daily Press, Gary set the scene:

“The year is 1117. By the edge of a Norfolk river a boat-builder has been at work. His yard, a humble garden, and the Broadland landscape around, provide both the materials for his trade and sustenance for his family. A sail has been rigged to provide a makeshift shelter from the sun and rain.”

Indigenous Plants

In keeping with the theme of the garden, all of the plants will be native to the Broadland area. A reedbed was grown in sections which could then be transported and linked together on site. Local plants such as Water Soldier and Milk Parsley were incorporated into the design. In the wild, these plants host the larvae of local insects: the Norfolk Hawker dragonfly and the Swallowtail butterfly, respectively.

Landscaping Experts

If you would like to bring a bit of native Broadland wilderness to your garden, get in touch. We are specialists in paving and landscaping and Norfolk is in our blood. We have transformed gardens all over the region. To book a consultation in which you can describe to us what you want, call 01603 360548. Alternatively, you can email us on enquiries@knightslandscaping.co.uk.

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