Royal Bank of Canada Garden
By garden designer Charlotte Harris. 2017 marks a significant year for Royal Bank of Canada (RBC); not only is it the 10th year of the RBC Blue Water Project™, a wide-ranging, global commitment to help protect the world’s fresh water resources, but also the 150th anniversary of the Federation of Canada.
21 May 2017 | 1 min read
It is these two celebrations that are at the core of the Royal Bank of Canada Garden at the 2017 RHS Chelsea Flower Show, which draws inspiration from Canada’s 1.2 billion-acre boreal forest.
“When designing this garden, I spent time in northern Ontario exploring on foot and by canoe – navigating the waterways, pine forests, flora and granite of the Boreal,” said Charlotte Harris. “This time was a precious source of inspiration for the design, providing an appreciation of what comprises this unique and beautiful environment, as well as the importance of living sustainably and in harmony with our precious ecosystems.”
The boreal forest is the largest intact forest and wetland ecosystem on earth, holding the largest unfrozen source of freshwater and storing twice the amount of carbon as tropical forests.* The garden seeks to create a space inspired by this landscape, rather than to recreate it. A wilder garden folds around man-made elements, crafted from materials evocative of the boreal.
This will be Charlotte’s first time as lead designer at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show, having previously worked on a number of Main Avenue gardens, including Luciano Giubbilei’s Best in Show garden of 2014 and Hugo Bugg’s Royal Bank of Canada Garden in 2016. Charlotte has chosen a strong female design team including architect, technical detailer and horticulturists.
*According to The Pew Environment Group, International Boreal Conservation Campaign
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