Garden designer, Alexandra Noble has been commissioned by the RHS to create a Health & Wellbeing garden at Hampton Court Palace Flower Show
Alexandra is one of four designers in the brand new Lifestyle Gardens category which seeks to create real gardens for real people.
Alexandra’s ‘Health & Wellbeing’ garden aims to address the increasing need to disengage with the fast paced demands of an intrusive world and restore a sense of internal balance and refreshed perspective.
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Alexandra said: “I was thrilled to be asked to create the Health & Wellbeing Garden for the new Lifestyle Gardens category. I firmly believe that gardens offer an escape from the increasing pressures of modern life and the encroachment of the digital world. Immersing ourselves in nature helps us to reconnect, gain perspective and offers the chance to pause and reset. The ultimate aim of this garden is to demonstrate how to disengage from anxious thought patterns and restore inner balance.”
The garden features a circuitous path, laid with porphyry setts, that leads the visitor through the garden in a continuous loop. This journey encourages walking meditation, a mindful practice that creates a calming rhythm to soothe the mind and bring conscious thought back to the present moment. The texture of the path aids interaction between the foot and the ground, establishing a connection and aiding meditation.
A cor-ten steel ril flows through the garden bringing sound and movement and a circular water feature surrounded by a mass planting of thyme reflects the sky, trees and planting. The circular terrace with cushioned camomile seat invites moments of reflection with the scent of crushed leaves aiding moments of tranquility.
The planting is deliberately soft in texture, the colour palette is restful with pastel shades of blues, creams and lemon. The selected plants have also been chosen for their fragrance, medicinal and pollinator friendly properties, with herbs supplied by Jekka McVicar, making up the vast majority of the selection.
The garden aims to appeal to all of the senses: for scent, taste and touch, fragrant herbs, textured paths and edible plants; for sound, the soothing trickle of water and rustling foliage; for sight, the dynamic reflections in the pool and a beautiful sculpture by Jill Berelowitz. Finally, the trees provide a sense of enclosure that appeals to a basic human instinct to be sheltered and protected.
The Lifestyle Gardens category aims to offer garden design solutions to the demands of modern lifestyles. The RHS approached Alexandra to create the Health & Wellbeing garden to demonstrate the importance of reconnecting with nature and the natural world.
For more information about Alexandra Noble please visit Alexandra Noble Design or call 07854 615308.
