Winning garden fit for a Queen
Sheffield University's successful New Wild Garden for the Chelsea Flower Show. Awarded Silver-Gilt Medal. Designed by Professor Nigel Dunnett of the Department of Landscape
A SHEFFIELD University garden design expert’s success at this year’s Chelsea Flower Show is his second plaudit in three years – and his creation not only impressed judges but also the Queen.
The Royal Horticultural Society presented Dr Nigel Dunnett, from the Department of Landscape, a silver gilt award for his New Wild Garden, designed with the help of postgraduate and undergraduate students.
Dr Dunnett said: “We’re really happy to have won the Silver Gilt, but what means the most is the overwhelming positive response from all the visitors to the show, with many of them saying it was their favourite entry.
“The Queen visited our garden too, which is a huge honour as she only sees a select few in the whole show.
“It was absolutely wonderful to meet her and to see how much she appreciated our entry.”
At the heart of the garden was an office featuring a green roof created from a recycled shipping container, and pools to capture rainwater.
A Sheffield University spokeswoman said: “These features interpreted all of Nigel’s main research areas, including sustainable landscape design, green roofs, rain gardens and water conservation, biodiversity and cutting-edge landscape horticulture.
“The New Wild Garden was intended to communicate these themes to a new, wider audience.”
Dr Dunnett’s award comes two years after he received a Silver Gilt medal at the 2009 Chelsea Flower Show for his garden called Future Nature.
That garden was relocated to Sheffield where it was formally opened this month as part of a new artist’s studio complex on the Manor Estate.
A total of seven entrants from South Yorkshire and north Derbyshire received awards at the Chelsea show, which runs until tomorrow.
Email to a friend
Print this page
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Sheffield
Friday 25 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 10 C to 22 C
Wind Speed: 18 mph
Wind direction: East
Tomorrow
Sunny
Temperature: 9 C to 20 C
Wind Speed: 17 mph
Wind direction: East
Your view
Please sign in to be able to comment on this story.