Although the Chelsea Flower Show has been cancelled this year due to the coronavirus pandemic, garden enthusiasts can still enjoy the work of talented designers with virtual visits.
Among the five gardens available to view online are two designed by Hertfordshire residents. Together the five designers have amassed an impressive 29 Chelsea gold medals between them.
Tom Stuart-Smith, who lives in Hertfordshire, is one of the most admired garden designers in the world. In the early-2000s he created a series of the iconic Chelsea show gardens, winning eight gold medals and three best in show awards in the process. Tom’s career revolves around the garden he has created at his Hertfordshire home The Barn in Bedmond.
People can now tour Tom's garden through an online film vignette in which he takes us on a tour and talks about his work.
Julie Toll, who enjoys an international reputation as a garden designer, has also enjoyed success at Chelsea. Her garden at The Manor House in Ayot St Lawrence, Hertfordshire, is also available to view online.
Six time Chelsea gold medal winner Bunny Guinness and international designer Marcus Barnett will also feature in the online show.
And in celebration of the National Garden Scheme’s relationship with nurses, the Florence Nightingale Garden: a Celebration of Modern Nursing, designed by Robert Myers, will be featured in an online film. The film is introduced by the President of the Florence Nightingale Foundation, Baroness Watkins, who explains the link between Florence Nightingale and the National Garden Scheme, before designer Robert Myers explains the inspiration for his garden and reveals some of the key features.
The films are part of the National Garden Scheme’s Help Support Our Nurses campaign which it has been running while all its gardens are closed. The charity is sharing weekly portfolios (released each Thursday) of films made in their gardens. Viewers are invited to make a donation when they watch in a bid to make up the huge funding gap for nursing and health charities that the closure of the gardens has created.
Visit ngs.org.uk/chelsea-flower-show-special
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