No Man’s Land Garden

Designed by Charlotte Rowe. The garden marks the centenary of World War One for the British Army’s national Charity, ABF The Soldiers’ Charity, at this year’s Chelsea Flower Show. It is designed to serve as a poignant reminder of the challenges and hardships faced by soldiers 100 years ago, while highlighting the work of The Soldiers’ Charity today in helping soldiers, veterans and their families facing adversities.

The design concept represents several elements of the landscape of the chalk downlands of the Somme where many WW1 battles were fought. These include:

A grass mound which refers to the Butte de Warlencourt an ancient burial mound held for most of the War by the Germans and which came to be seen as a symbol by the Allied forces of the menace of the Germans.

A water basin which represents the many deep circular mine craters which lie all over the Western Front and which now have become peaceful havens for plants and wildlife.
An area of mixed native and ornamental planting amongst limestone setts which represents the villages and towns which were destroyed or badly damaged during the conflict.  This ‘lost gardens’ area reminds us of the private gardens of the people living in those communities.

The planting is separated into distinct zones: a native and naturalised hedgerow; rough grass with some down-land planting; open woodland with low level planting; waterside and
marginal planting; and a lost gardens area with a mix of ornamental and low level ground cover planting.

Plant list: 

Acer campestre
Allium nigra ‘Alba’
Anthriscus sylvestris
Aquilegia vulgaris var. stellata  ‘Black Barlow’
Asarum europaeum
Astrantia ‘Large White’
Astrantia ‘Star of Beauty’
Astilboides tabularis
Betula nigra
Briza media ‘Limouzi’
Camassia quamash
Cardamine pratensis
Carex grayi
Chamaemelum nobile ’Treneague’
Cenolophium denudatum
Cornus canadensis
Dryopteris filix-mas
Echium russicum
Epimedium pubigerum
Epimedium youngianum ‘Niveum’
Euphorbia cyparissias ‘Fens Ruby’
Euphorbia palustris
Fragaria vesca
Geranium phaeum ‘Samobor’
Geranium sanguineum ‘Album’
Geranium robertianum
Geum ‘Lemon Drops’
Geum ‘Mrs W. Moore’
Geum rivale
Gunnera magellanica
Iris species
Lolium perenne
Luzula sylvatica
Lysimachia atropurpurea ‘Beaujolais’
Matteuccia struthiopteris
Molinia caerulea arundinacea ‘Transparent’
Nectaroscordum siculum
Onoclea sensibilis
Paeonia species
Papaver rhoeas
Phragmites australis
Potentilla palustris
Prunella vulgaris
Prunus avium
Rodgersia aesculifolia
Rodgersia pinnata
Rosa multiflora
Rosa canina ‘Laxa’
Salvia pratensis
Sanguisorba menziesii
Sanicula europaea
Scirpus cernuus
Silene vulgaris
Sisyrinchium bermudiana
Sisyrinchium biscutella
Sparganium erectum
Taxus baccata
Tellima grandiflora
Thymus serpyllum ‘Album’
Trifolium incarnatum
Trollius cultorum species
Vicia cracca