The first of the great national RHS Flower Shows, The Malvern Spring Gardening Show attracted 100,000 visitors from all across Britain. At this years’ event, Marc Stapleford of Marc Stapleford Landscape Design was awarded a RHS Silver medal and was featured on the BBC’s gardeners world programme for his ‘What ya got’ show garden design using metal gabions from Stones³.
The award presented to Marc at the Malvern show follows last years’ success of Chris Beardshaw who won not only a Gold Award but also the coveted Tudor Rose Award for best show garden at the Hampton Court Palace Flower Show 2007, also using the metal gabion from Stones³ concept.
Metal gabions have been historically associated with motorway embankments, but thanks to Stones³ they are now available in smaller sizes targeting the domestic garden and landscape market as could be seen by visitors to this year’s RHS Malvern event and by visiting the Birmingham Botanical Gardens.
A pioneering feature that encourages students and new designers to make their first foray into the world of show garden design, each border is a minimum size of 15m2, and the emphasis is on plantmanship and creativity, with designers choosing their own theme or concept.
Malvern is traditionally a springboard for first-time designers, and this year many of the 16 gardens displayed a tasteful but unadventurous palette of purples, blues and pinks. The ‘What ya got’ design by Marc promotes creativity and recycling through the use of materials and plants you already have in an overgrown garden.
“The Garden I designed is a simple modern space, designed for a young couple on a budget in rented accommodation, using the gabions to fill with rubble and disused materials to full advantage, to create a small garden for relaxation and socialising”, commented Marc “The garden is surrounded by an old brick wall, creating partial shade, with trees, shrubs and wild planting.”
Stones³ on Tel: 0845 230 0013 or visit www.stones3.co.uk.