BBC GARDENERS’ WORLD LIVE 2019
“SUBTERRANEAN SANCTUARY”
The theme for the 2019 Gardeners’ World Beautiful Borders competition was ‘Our Space’, challenging designers to be creative in a small space, giving it purpose and beauty, and inspiring visitors to reinvigorate areas in their gardens which may be small, awkward and forgotten.
This garden, titled ‘Subterranean Sanctuary’, showcased how to bring light and colour to the entrance of a lower ground floor flat, typical of many Victorian terraced streets. These light wells can feel like a descent into a dank, subterranean world, and this garden is designed to counter that, giving joy and comfort in the approach to the front door.
The garden was partially excavated, to mimic the feeling of descending below ground, with steps dropping down into the space. The internal walls were mirrored and faced with trellis, to enable climbers to grow up and soften the architectural elements.
A beautiful Cornus alternifolia ‘Agentea’ provided privacy, and a balance to the vertical mass of the walls that would surround this garden. In the centre of the garden sat a reflective water bowl, bringing more light and movement into the space.
The planting and water feature were also designed to attract wildlife, helping the perceived owner to connect with nature, in however small a way, when returning from the bustling city beyond.
Hopefully this garden inspires those with small and forgotten outdoor spaces to reimagine them as restorative places of joy and comfort, and demonstrates that planting in shade can be light, bright and beautiful. Almost everything in this garden was rehoused after the show, with hardly any waste.