The Balcony Gardens category returns this year at RHS Chelsea Flower Show for the third year and for the first time, all of the design teams are headed up by women.
The category is all about helping emerging designers get to Chelsea, and the designers themselves are being mentored by RHS Chelsea veteran Paul Hervey-Brookes.
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The intention behind the designs for Balcony Gardens is to offer ideas and inspiration for people with limited space and resources.
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Balcony Gardens at Chelsea Flower Show 2023
The Restorative Balcony Garden sponsored by Viking by Christina Cobb
Built by Garden Club London
By mixing reclaimed items with carefully selected new materials, The Restorative Garden demonstrates how to create a space which is environmentally conscious without compromising on aesthetic or quality.
Planting has been designed to attract pollinators and birdlife into the garden with fragrant trees, climbers and herbs providing a sensory experience for visitors. A water table doubles up as a birdbath and source of meditative sound, whilst reclaimed teak is used for practical shelving, a simple pergola clothed in climbers such as Trachelospermum jasminoides, and a weather-resistant outdoor sofa from which the balcony can be enjoyed.
The planters are made from recycled plastic bottles and the composite decking has been chosen for its long lifespan.
The St George ‘Alight Here’ Garden by Emma Tipping
Built by Topoforma
Sponsored by St George PLC
Inspired by daily city life, the garden is designed for a young professional in London, providing somewhere to sit with an after-work drink or a morning cup of coffee. The garden aims to create a relaxing but playful atmosphere, the green tiles reminiscent of a good local pub – familiar, comforting, characterful.
The space is divided into different areas to sit, surrounded by plants that are multi-functional, being fragrant, edible or good for cutting. The colour scheme includes citrusy tones of green and orange, contrasting with rich dark pinks and pale blue – making the space feel fresh and uplifting.
The garden also features rubbish bins repurposed as containers and benches made from reclaimed railway sleepers.
The Folio Society’s Reading Room Garden by Katherine Holland
Built by Phil Sutton Landscapes Ltd
The Folio Society’s Reading Room Garden is a green sanctuary designed for relaxing in the company of a good book, away from technology. The garden embraces the transportive effect that books can have.
The space immediately outside the balcony doors is surrounded with plants creating a green oasis – a bubbling water feature creates white noise, zoning out the sounds of the city beyond. Around the corner, the space opens out to oak seating for enjoying the view or socialising.
The back wall consists of handcrafted oak cobbles.
The Doorstep Library Garden: Words Take You Places by Gini Denison-Pender, Philippa Craddock and Anna Garner
The magic of reading and the importance of rainforests are the themes at the heart of this garden.
This is a garden about reading and rainforests. It illustrates the power of stories to help us learn about the world and feel inspired to protect it. In the words of Jeanette Winterson “Books and doors are the same thing. You open them and you go through into another world.”
Built by Greenscape Gardens
