RHS CHELSEA FLOWER SHOW 2008

Hillier exhibit 'Sail for Gold'

awarded a GOLD Medal

 

 

Read Andrew McIndoe's CHELSEA 2008 DESIGNERS DIARY - HERE

CHELSEA LIVE
Click Here for pictures of the finished exhibit
 

 

CHELSEA FLOWER SHOW 2008 - Sail for Gold

A Golden Partnership – Hillier and Skandia

For Chelsea 2008, Hillier Nurseries and Garden Centres have teamed up with long-term savings company Skandia, sponsors of Britain’s national sailing team - Skandia Team GBR. “We are delighted to be working with Hillier in our first ever sponsorship deal of a Chelsea garden,” enthuses Tim Sewell, Skandia’s sponsorship manager. “Hillier’s outstanding track-record of  62 Gold Medals at Chelsea makes them ideal partners to highlight British success, particularly in a year when our sailors will be totally focussed on winning medals for Britain.” Britain is the world’s top sailing nation and led the medal table at both the 2000 and 2004 Olympic Games, and hopes are high that British sailors will continue this trend into 2008.  

Sponsors and Suppliers - Click here for more information

Synergy – Sailing and Gardening!

There is surprising synergy between competitive sailing and the staging of a Chelsea exhibit. Success and the pursuit of excellence are paramount to both Hillier and Skandia Team GBR, and their achievements stem from tremendous teamwork behind the scenes. And above all, both teams need to harness Nature to their advantage, with Hillier manipulating flowering seasons over months, whilst sailors battle wind and waves in a more immediate race against the clock.                                              

To find out more, Andrew McIndoe, Hillier’s Deputy Managing Director and Chelsea Designer joined the Skandia team at the World Championships in Cascais, Portugal in July 2007 - see the Designers Diary

Design Elements – “Sail for Gold” Garden

“The great advantage of designing a garden inspired by a world outside horticulture is that there is nothing to copy: you have a blank canvas” reveals Andrew McIndoe. Salt-washed timber, stone, glass, water, and of course sails are key elements in Andrew’s design. Silver and blue foliage, grasses and coastal plants will feature strongly in the textural planting, in drifts and waves. Andrew is working closely with Organicstone to create circular paviours in tones of gold, silver and bronze inspired by Olympic and Chelsea medals. The wave-patterned stone sets that pave the courtyards, promenade and streets of Cascais influence the walkways in this Chelsea garden. True to the Organicstone philosophy, the paviours will be made from 100% recycled materials using low-energy processes.

Softly moving grasses and glass waves will float between the pathways, and water will cascade down a spectacular glass sail sculpture created by Mehrdad Tafreshi, introducing movement and sound into the garden.

Red floribunda roses, frothy white spiraeas and blue ceanothus will be planted to link the patriotic Skandia Team GBR colours into the garden context against a backdrop of brightly painted beach huts.                                                              

Forest Garden will be supplying decking and edging from their sustainable timber range.