Garden paving manufacturer, Bradstone, showcased its popular Smooth Natural Sandstone at this year’s RHS Chatsworth Flower Show on BBC Radio Sheffield’s Elements of Sheffield award-winning garden.
The installation was designed by Emily Barnes following winning a competition on BBC Radio Sheffield. Emily’s garden design was brought to life by Bestall & Co Landscape Design and was awarded the People’s Choice Award in the ‘Garden Installation’ category. The garden was one of four finalists and received the peoples votes for its beautiful planting, fabulous execution, artistic moss wall water feature and creative design for a small outdoor space.
The garden explores the enduring relationship between Sheffield and the bordering Peak District. Historically, the Peaks provided iron-ore, gritstone and water that were used to power the steel industry. Today, the area’s natural beauty is as an escape for many from the pressures on modern life.
The garden design features a sunken patio seating area covered by a Corten steelframed pergola symbolising the Steel City and is mirrored by a steel fence. A spherical upcycled cutlery sculpture made by a local artist symbolises Sheffield’s famous cutlery trade.
From the patio, steps lead to a peaceful, contemplative space filled with naturalistic planting representing the National Park. Among the planting are gritstone boulders similar to those found on the moors.
Bradstone’s Smooth Natural Sandstone in Ivory was chosen to form the hard landscaping element of the design due to its beautiful distinctive features and veining variations.
Lee Bestall from Bestall & Co Landscape Design comments:
“I was delighted to be asked by the RHS to mentor the three competition winners for the local BBC Radio gardens. Bringing the gardens to life was challenging but enjoyable and the public reaction to these well-designed small spaces was a joy to hear. Thank you to Bradstone for supporting the garden by supplying a great quality product.”
Jen Monaghan, Marketing Manager for Bradstone, adds: “The prestigious RHS Chatsworth Flower Show is a wonderful opportunity for us to partner with exceptional designers and we’re thrilled Emily and Lee’s hard work was recognised by such a fantastic award win. We hope visitors saw for themselves the versatility of our range of paving and took home inspiration for their own gardens.”
To find out more about Bradstone, visit www.bradstone.com.