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Kingfisher House, Juniper Drive, Battersea Reach, London, SW18 1TXWe were asked by Stoke-on-Trent City Council to bring their expertise to bear on our first foray into the toughest competition in the horticultural calendar, the RHS Chelsea Flower Show. We were chosen by the Stoke-on-Trent Garden Partnership because of our expertise in the field of landscaping. In 2012 the company had won a record eight awards in the BALI National Landscaping Awards in recognition of its exemplary standards and professional expertise across a range of categories from private gardens to community and school projects.
Landscape Designers : Stoke-on-Trent City Council Landscape team & Bartholomew Landscaping
Construction and Project Management : Bartholomew Landscaping
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‘Transformation’ was the garden theme, designed by the Landscape team at Stoke-on-Trent City Council and it told the story of the city’s transformation from industrial past into a modern urban city. Bartholomew Landscaping were tasked with bringing the ambitious garden design concept to reality.
The main focal point of the garden was a skeleton of a pottery bottle kiln fabricated from core ten and representing the city’s heritage. The fabulous feature was accessed via a meandering path under a sweeping gazebo that leads from a sunken seating area to the fore of the garden. This area had a very contemporary feel which represented the new living spaces that have now been created in the city.
Water, surfacing and planting are used as a metaphor for the transforming, contemporary city. The colour palette for the planting was dominated by apricots, soft oranges, coppers and bronze with contrast shades of burgundy, deep purple, lime green and cream.
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We were tasked with bringing the ambitious garden design concept to reality
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The backdrop to the garden and beautiful planting was a fabulous green wall that was the largest and highest ever to be installed in a Chelsea Garden.
The monumental pergola and gazebo were complemented with specially made ceramic tiles, a beautiful Morecroft table and porcelain bricks made by the manufacturers, tradesmen, residents and school children from the potteries of Stoke on Trent. This was a reminder that Stokes historic pottery industry continues to thrive and is at the forefront of contemporary ceramic design and design development.
MD, Barry Burrows said: ‘We are delighted to be bringing the design, conceived in Stoke-on-Trent, to full bloom at Chelsea. We will use the many years of landscape expertise available at Bartholomew to do Stoke-on-Trent proud.’
It was a very ambitious and challenging build and we were delighted when the garden was awarded an RHS Silver Medal.