Small garden ideas – inspiration from the RHS Chelsea Flower Show.

 

If you’re looking for small garden ideas, garden shows can be an excellent source of inspiration. To glean the latest ideas for your garden the best of the best in the world has got to be the Chelsea Flower show, held in the grounds of the Royal Hospital Chelsea. This week the area has been transformed with stunning floral displays competing for prestigious prizes awarded by the Royal Horticultural Society. Whether you’re on the lookout for brilliant colour combinations, exciting new plant varieties or the latest stylish garden accessories, Chelsea is the place to be.

Themes for small garden ideas

Mental health and connection have been major trends at this year’s show. This garden by Andy Sturgeon’s is based around conversation. The raised circular seating area in the centre allows for sitting side-by-side to talk while admiring the natural meadow planting and birch trees.  The garden opens out to reflect the feeling of release with shared experience. Curved wall are a great idea idea for a smaller garden, breaking up the space into different sections, each with its own feeling.

A ‘Pocket Garden’ designed by Darryl Moore and Adolfo Harrison of Cityscapes,  revolves around the idea of bringing people and plants together. The ideas in this garden with the large, colourful planters  full of textural foliage and floral accents can be imitated to create a sense of tranquillity and fun – an escape from the stresses of city living.

Freedom is the theme for ‘The Stitcher’s garden, which designer Frederic Whyte has chosen to evoke.  This garden is sponsored by a charity which teaches prisoners needlework.  This garden is packed full of  small garden ideas  with the  steel structure clad in willow and  garden beyond evoking the feeling of being a prisoner yearning for freedom.

The grounds of the Royal Hospital Chelsea is the perfect setting for the SSAF with its military connection. Designed by Amanda Waring, the enclosure of the timber walls and hedging, can be used in a small space to create an area of security, quiet reflection and a place to just sit and enjoy the garden.

Inspired by the Mallorcan landscape, this container garden, ‘A Mediterranean Reflection’ uses the colours and stone textures of the Mediterranean. These raised and planted curved walls could be used as inspiration for small garden ideas.

Overall the theme of many of the wonderful gardens this year at Chelsea has been on a return to the wild. Gardens brimming with native plants for the benefit of wildlife have taken centre stage. Important messages about the importance of soil, and wildlife have been reinforced, not least in The New Blue Peter Garden, ‘Discover Soil’ by Juliet Sargeant.

One thing they are particularly good at the Chelsea show is small gardens ideas. This year it has been a treat  to see smaller space gardens and balcony gardens, showing just how much gardens can be transformed spaces for everyone to enjoy.

For more small garden ideas take a look at our own RHS silver gilt award winning garden at Malvern this year!