The Caravan Club’s ‘Award Winning Garden’
Garden designer Jo Thompson’s modern twist on nostalgia, pays tribute to the most British of pastimes, caravanning.
‘A Celebration of Caravanning’
The Caravan Club has been awarded a Silver-Gilt medal by the RHS in the ‘Showgarden’ category of this year’s Chelsea Flower Show.
Media interest in the garden and its design has been phenomenal with so many items appearing on national television. Many celebrities have also expressed how much they love the garden, with Alan Titchmarsh spending time in it yesterday. Actress, Imelda Staunton,wrote in the comment book that she would like to live in Doris, the caravan, and celebrity, Johnny Ball also spent time on the stand and was very interested as he has been a keen caravanner in the past.
Anyone wishing to vote for ‘The People’s Choice’ award for their favourite garden should visit the RHS website www.rhs.org.uk/Shows-Events/RHS-Chelsea-Flower-Show/2012/Gardens/People-s-Choice. Voting closes this Friday, 25th May.
2012 sees The Caravan Club celebrate its 105th birthday, in a year when other exciting historic, cultural and sporting events take place in the UK, plus a Government backed campaign called ‘Year of the Staycation’.
All of the above were reason enough for members’ touring organisation, The Caravan Club, to ask respected garden designer, Jo Thompson, to work with them on their first ever garden at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show, bringing a caravan to the show for the first time in its history. Jo says she is “absolutely delighted and privileged to be awarded the Silver-Gilt by the RHS as a showgarden”
The Caravan Club’s ‘A Celebration of Caravanning Garden’ celebrates all things ‘Great’ and ‘British’ in a year that promises to be one to remember, and pays tribute to the most British of pastimes, caravanning. Thompson used her experiences of a caravanning holiday with her children last year to inform her design which pivots around ‘Doris’, a 1950s British two berth caravan.
“The idea for the garden came about after seeing the fantastic collection of retro-style trailers on the Isle of Wight whilst on holiday last year. Seeing people relish in the nostalgia of such a holiday, I thought about what sort of garden would sit well with these iconic caravans” explains Jo.
Lawrence Bate, Director of Marketing for The Caravan Club, says: “The Club is thrilled to help present Jo’s staycation garden at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2012. The idea behind ‘A Celebration of Caravanning’ is to highlight the joys, flexibility and freedom that a touring holiday in the UK can offer. Many of us grew up holidaying in the UK and everyone loves the memories of a bygone era. Memories of donkey rides on the beach, rock pooling,long walks in the countryside followed by a night in your grandparents’ caravan, can now all be recreated with modern caravans but with the added luxury of heating and a power shower.”
Bate continues, “Jo’s garden doesn’t only offer a glimpse of a peaceful, idyllic caravanning holiday in the UK, it is also an example of how a caravan can be part of your garden design; as extra accommodation for guests, a home office, a relaxing summer house or a play house for the kids. This garden demonstrates the charming space a caravan offers.”
Jo’s signature-like naturalistic planting keeps the look contemporary and her use of five Chinese birches (Betula albosinensis ‘Fascination’) for structure is a departure from the usual multi-stemmed look favoured by her peers. Single-stemmed trees are also more challenging to place.
The Caravan Club’s ‘A Celebration of Touring Garden’ is a palette of pink and cream, incorporating; irises, roses and peonies. Wealden sandstone paths, timber walkways crossed by a steel rill, a stream running with cooling water (perfect for chilling feet and bottles!), a home for man’s best friend, and not forgetting ‘Doris’, all form the basis of the design. Finally, patriotic touches like the feminised flag patchwork hammock and picnic bench seat cushions bring a direct reference to this year’s Jubilee celebrations and fly the flag for British craftsmanship.
The sugar summer colours of the catwalk such as fondant fancy pinks, sherbet lemon yellows and pistachio ice-cream greens are all present. Plants that might be seen on a walk through fields and woodland are set amongst more traditional garden plants, in a very loose, modern take on cottage planting.
As Europe’s premier touring organisation, The Caravan Club represents the interests of over one million caravanners, motorhomers and trailer tent owners. The Caravan Club has named 2012 as the Year of “A Celebration of Touring”. For more information visit The Club’s award-winning website at www.caravanclub.co.uk and www.discovertouring.co.uk
GARDEN CONTRIBUTERS
Garden designer – Jo Thompson: www.jothompson-garden-design.co.uk
Contractor – The Outdoor Room: www.theoutdoorroom.co.uk
Caravan – Vintage Vacations: www.vintagevacations.co.uk
Irises – Iris of Sissinghurst: www.irisofsissinghurst.com
Roses – Peter Beales: www.classicroses.co.uk
Trees – Hillier Nurseries: www.hilliertrees.co.uk
Plants – Roger Platts: www.rogerplatts.com
Benches, decking & oak posts – Auspicious Furniture: www.auspiciousfurniture.co.uk
Steel rill & steel on benches – AD Taylor Ltd Tel: 01453 752224
Wealden sandstone: Lambs Philpots Quarry: www.lambsstone.com
Kennel – English Garden Joinery: www.englishgardenjoinery.co.uk
Hammock & cushions – Carmel Meade: www.carmelmeade.com
English sparkling wine – Herbert Hall: www.herberthall.com
Fruit, plants & herbs – Mark Diacono & Otter Farm: www.otterfarm.co.uk
Cut flowers on Monday 21 May – Common Farm Flowers: www.commonfarmflowers.com
