The project considers how gardeners can move away from the linear practices of ‘extract, consume, discard’ towards a more sustainable, circular approach, where materials and products are kept in circulation as long as possible and waste is minimised. The garden includes several design motifs that subtly express this transition from linear to circular. The formal porcelain terrace at the front of the garden is punctuated by large topiary Taxus domes; the straight lines of the pathway gradually fragment into a more sinuous route which weaves through the planting and over a central rill, towards two relaxation pods at the rear of the garden. The contemporary pods interplay with each other, referencing the linear and circular and offering a space to reflect. 

Chris and his team have considered how the use of innovative ideas, materials and products can be applied throughout the entire process of creating a Show Garden, from the original design, the growing of the plants, and the Garden’s final construction.Chris hopes that The Morgan Stanley Garden will inspire conversations around some of the more sustainable choices that are becoming available to garden lovers today.  A plantsman at heart, Chris is renowned for his florally rich designs and this year’s Morgan Stanley Garden feature over 2000 herbaceous perennials which are being grown by Kelways in Somerset, one of the UK’s oldest independent nurseries. 

As part of Chris’ desire to reduce the environmental footprint of the garden, Kelways have agreed to grow the plants in the latest taupe plastic pots which have been made for the commercial horticultural sector from UK post-consumer plastic waste. The pots have been created without black carbon pigment content which enable the pots to be recycled through the UK’s kerbside recycling scheme, allowing the consumer to dispose of their pots in a way that has not been possible before.

Traditional herbeaceous borders are very beautiful but often considered to be labour and resource intensive. Chris wants to show that with a considered selection of plant cultivars and with an emphasis on suitable plant combinations, borders can flourish and a self-sustaining plant community can be established. 

Chris has carefully selected a range of herbaceous plants which are being grown without the use of additional heat or heavy fertilisers to bring them to show condition. Plants include unusual but resilient perennials such as Amsonia tabernaemontana, Euphorbia pasteurii and Oenothera versicolour. Trees are a key element in Chris’ design.  This year’s feature specimens include a large Pinus Nigra with a dramatically curved trunk, which creates a stunning piece of natural sculpture in the Garden. 

This windblown tree was an accident of nature which would generally have been discarded by a nursery but instead the nurseryman decided to celebrate its idiosyncracy and let it flourish. As well as plant selections, Chris and his team have considered what innovative and more sustainable choices can be applied to the construction of the Garden.  During the build of the Show Garden, they will be working with some of the latest ‘greener’ materials and products. More details of which will be revealed later in Spring.

Morgan Stanley and Chris have always championed the reuse of Show Gardens. This year’s Morgan Stanley Garden will have a beneficial life after RHS Chelsea Flower Show, when the thousands of plants and high-quality landscape materials will be repurposed within three selected London based community garden projects.

Plant list

Hedging

Trees

Topiary

Herbaceous Plants