Three vertical circles representing microscope lenses highlight the inspiration for the Breast Cancer Now garden being the researchers in the lab. The circles align to focus on a black microscope slide at the back of the garden and a circle of healthy magnified cells, where organic cellular shaped seats reside for scientists to use. The sponsor of this garden is Breast Cancer Now and the plants were supplied by Kelways and Deepdale Trees.
Q&A with the garden designer, Ruth Willmott:
When did you first start working on the original design and how long did it take to perfect?
I first started thinking about the concept behind the design in late 2015. This was to be a garden which highlights the work of the Breast Cancer Now scientists funded by the charity. However it was not until May 2016 that the concept developed in little over the space of a week into a design. The design was iterated a number times to be ready to submit to the RHS in July of 2016.
What are the stand out features of this particular garden?
The garden is laid out using the geometry of rectangular microscope slides. The back wall of the garden is a rectangular microscope slide. The back wall and circle of cells are blackboards and whiteboards for scientists to write and draw their ideas. There are cellular seats for the scientists to sit on by the boards. Three sculptural, vertical metal circles run along the length of the garden. Jagged natural stone shards sit at the front of the garden as cancerous cells. Perfect, round, healthy cells as stepping stones run through the microscope on the ground. The garden is multi layered so visitors can take as little or as much about the garden features and narrative as they would like.
Did the sponsor provide a detailed brief? If so, how did you interpret this within your design?
Breast Cancer Now helped guide the brief asking us questions about the design we developed and let us ask their scientists lots of questions about their work. The detailed brief was developed in this back and forth way. For example, we asked how the scientists would visually explain cancerous cells versus healthy cells in a simple way, which led to us using jagged rocks for the cancerous cells versus very smooth round healthy cells. We asked them about their brand of microscopes and used the RAL colours of those they use in the labs in the vertical metal circles.
What is so special about having a show garden at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show?
All garden shows are special but RHS Chelsea Flower Show is particularly special for me because of how old the show is. To be part of that record and timeline of more than a hundred years of garden design feels very special. It also means that over time Chelsea has developed a very large visitor and viewing audience around the UK and world and therefore provides a powerful platform to raise awareness of charities work such as Breast Cancer Now through the exciting medium of a garden.
How do you hope the public/visitors will perceive this garden?
The emphasis for the garden in 2017 is on the research scientists funded by Breast Cancer Now. Breast Cancer Now is the largest charity in the UK dedicated to breast cancer research. They fund nearly 400 scientists working around the UK and Ireland. I visited the Breast Cancer Now scientists at the Institute of Cancer Research and I was able to look through their microscopes at their research. In this garden I wanted to take inspiration from this and to show visitors some of that experience.
The goal of the charity is to stop breast cancer taking more lives, so the garden looks through the microscope lenses to see a blacked out microscope slide at the back of the garden with a circle of perfect, healthy cells visible in the centre. The garden allows us all to share in this goal and the work of the charity and look ‘Through the Microscope’ to a future where all cells are healthy.
Q&A with the contractor, The Outdoor Room:
What are you looking forward to most about building this show garden?
The teamwork with Ruth Willmott Associates has been great, the planning and communication has been fantastic so to take it through to construction and see it come to life will be very rewarding for our team.
What’s going to be the biggest challenge on the build?
The most striking feature of the garden is the view through the metal rings, which symbolise the microscope, through to the back wall with the circle of healthy cells and this all needs to line up absolutely perfectly – and knowing Ruth as we do now, we know that there is no such thing as “nearly”!
Are specialist contractors required for any elements?
Other than The Outdoor Room team that will bring all of their landscape knowledge, there will be a specialist metalwork contractor called Andrew Grant making the rings, the pool and all the metal edging. Also an engineering genius called Bamber Wallis who has come up with a superb method of construction to give Ruth her pink and white centrepiece circle on the back wall.
If you could take one thing away with you from this garden, what would it be?
I think the message behind the garden of Breast Cancer Now’s research is what we will take away. Ruth’s clever use of imagery will hopefully bring a lot of attention to a serious subject and we are proud to be a small part of that.
Do you think the judges have enough knowledge of the complexity of construction when deciding on the medals?
There is a wide cross section of knowledge within the judging panels and the gardens are only accepted after a separate panel critiques them so I think the general complexities are acknowledged, understood and discussed at both stages giving a fair decision then when it comes to the medals.
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