I loved all the display gardens I saw today but the one that really stood out for me was the RBC New Wild Garden. It is based on William Robinsons ideas and concepts and features recycled materials, a green roof shipping container office, wildlife habitat, and is the first full scale rain garden at Chelsea.
I loved the simple plantings designed by Dr. Nigel Dunnett (most of which seem to have been selected to attract bees and butterflies and other wildlife). They were separated into four distinct zones; a woodland, wet meadow, perennial and dry meadow. But what I really loved were the other structures incorporated into this garden which is unusual for me because I am pretty much all about plants.
There was a shipping container office provided by Green Roof Shelters and designed by John Little and Dan Monck. It includes a green roof and built in bird houses , bat housing and invertebrate habitats. I love the idea of recycled shipping containers and have been looking into them as a possible building material for my future “dream home” so it was great seeing them in this setting incorporating so many ways to attract wildlife. The invertebrate habitat artistically arranged in different sized circular frames on the outside wall of the building was particularly impressive.
click all images to enlarge
The recycled shipping container with green roof and the circular frames holding habitat for invertebrates.
There were several dry stone walls that were an absolute masterpiece. They featured planting beds containing Sempervivums and also included habitat walls made up of recycled materials such as wooden blocks with holes drilled in them, stacked slate, old bamboo stakes and even old books.
These habitat walls weren't just beautiful they also provide shelter and home for various insects including carpenter bees. I've never seen anything like them.
Close up of the materials used to make the habitat walls.
They even used hard cover books in the habitat walls!
As if the unique design of the habitat walls wasn't enough they also incorporated planting beds for sempervivums, Armeria, and Saxifrages. So neat!
There are two Circular pools of water that collect the rain water run off from the green roof and a circular deck with seating under the woodland trees. Water from the pools spills into the planting areas.
Water collects in the pools and then spills into the surrounding planting areas. All the materials and planting areas have been situated and used in such a way so that no water is wasted as runoff.
On the left is the perennial area featuring Geum 'Princess Juliana' and Allium 'Purple Sensation. On the right is the dry meadow planting featuring Armeria maritima and Salvia nemorosa.
The green roof which provides more habitat, shelter, and food for wildlife.
I loved how these bee hotels and other critter habitats are not only useful for wild life and fun for nature enthusiasts but are also beautiful as well.
The garden won a silver gilt medal at the show. I’m sure that is a worthy honor and they must be very proud but as it was my favorite garden at the show I can’t help but feel they were robbed. One bit of excellent news is that the garden has found a permanent home at the Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust (WWT) Slimbridge Wetland Centre in Gloucestershire. Once Chelsea is over it will be taken down and moved to its permanent home so people and wildlife will get to enjoy it for many years.
For more information on the masterminds behind this super cool garden check out the following links: Nigel Dunnett, Green Roof Shelters, RBC Blue Water Project.
I’ll be posting more photos of the beautiful gardens and displays at Chelsea in the next few days.
Garden Propaganda 
looks intense. that water thing gave me some ideas. many thanks for the post.
That habitat wall is spectacular. My two cents: I think I’d prefer the shipping container unpainted and unadorned — too many busy, competing shapes, but the rainwater collection pools are exciting ideas and the planting is wonderful. What a great trip you must be having.
What a great post! Is it my imagination or is the foreground pool actually higher than the one in the background and there is a connection between both? I really, really love this idea but worry about the threat of dengue. My current rain collecting container is ugly and just there to serve function. The critter habitat is also a fantastic idea. If they only got the silver, I cannot imagine what the gold winner looks like.
Yeah one pond is higher than the other and they are connected. In theory a rain garden should be arranged so that the water stays within the confines of the garden and doesn’t escape out into storm drains or streets. I’m not exactly sure how this was achieved here but the water should overflow from the pools and into the surrounding areas and go no further.
Of course in southern California we get all our rain in winter and none in summer so I’m not sure how effective this set up would be. The rain we had this winter might have been too much for this garden to handle.
I doubt if a rain garden is feasible here in the tropics. We just have two seasons, rainy half the year and dry the rest. I just like the idea of the pools for collection of rainwater.
i’m just learning about these insect walls. i like the possibilities. and anything with shipping containers is intriguing to me. thanks for the informative post!
Fabulous!!!!!
awesome…………………..
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