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Zoe Claymore credit clivenichols.com

Discover the Devon roots behind RHS Chelsea’s British Rainforest Garden – and help raise funds for Stone Lane Gardens

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Award-winning garden designer Zoe Claymore is hosting a special fundraising talk this October in support of Devon’s Stone Lane Gardens.

Zoe’s British Rainforest Garden, created for The Wildlife Trusts, sponsored by grant-giving charity Project Giving Back and supported by insurer Aviva, wowed visitors at RHS Chelsea this May, winning the coveted People’s Choice Award. She will be sharing the inspiration behind the design, revealing how Devon’s lush, rain-fed woodlands and her own family heritage shaped the look and feel of the garden.

The event takes place on Saturday 11 October at Endecott House, Chagford, just a short distance from Stone Lane Gardens, the botanic garden co-founded by Zoe’s great uncle, Kenneth Ashburner. The gardens, which used to be known as the Mythic Garden, are home to the National Collection of Birch and Alder trees, some of which featured in Zoe’s Chelsea design.

British Rainforest Garden credit Clive Nicholls

In her talk, Zoe will explore how themes of heritage, landscape and sustainability came together in her rainforest garden, and she will offer practical advice for recreating elements of the design at home, including how to use birches from Stone Lane Gardens to achieve the look.

The talk will last around 45 minutes, followed by a Q&A. Tickets are £10 (advance) and £12 (on the door), information via the Stone Lane Gardens website, with all proceeds going to support Stone Lane Gardens. Attendees will also have the chance to enter a raffle to win a one-to-one design consultation with Zoe.

Event details: The Story Behind the Rainforest Garden at Chelsea
Date: Saturday 11 October
Time: 7pm
Venue: Endecott House, Chagford, Devon TQ13 8AJ
Tickets: Advance £10; £12 on the door

ENDS

For further information contact Emma Mason emma@emmamasonpr.co.uk 07762 117433

Zoe Claymore is a garden and landscape designer based in southwest London but works across the UK. From her studio, she crafts bespoke outdoor places that resonate emotionally with her clients – while staying mindful of environmental responsibility. Named RHS Horticultural Hero 2023, a triple award-winner at RHS Hampton Court, and double Chelsea winner, she draws on personal, cultural, environmental, and artistic inspirations to shape her designs. A regular media contributor and public speaker, Zoe advocates for innovative, sustainable, and deeply personal landscaping solutions that stand the test of time. www.zoeclaymore.com

Stone Lane Gardens was the creation of Kenneth and June Ashburner, the owners of the grade 2* listed Stone Farm. Kenneth was an avid traveller and plant finder and in the early 1970s began planting the trees he had grown from seeds gathered on his travels and from other botanic gardens. Gradually the garden expanded as the Ashburners bought land, until it took the shape it is today. Originally called the Mythic Garden they started an annual summer sculpture exhibition, which this year is again curated by South West Sculptors showcasing the best outdoor art from West Country artists. Plant Heritage awarded the gardens its ‘National Collection’ status in recognition of the importance of the diversity and rarity of its trees, and ‘Scientific Status’ in acknowledgement of the great work Kenneth Ashburner had done to extend and promote knowledge of the species, work that continues today under the stewardship of Garden Manager, Paul Bartlett. In 2019 Stone Lane Gardens became an RHS Partner Garden and in 2024, Stone Lane Gardens proudly became an accredited BGCI Botanic Garden, an internationally recognised, very prestigious and unique world-wide accolade bestowed by the BGCI at Kew, London. https://stonelanegardens.com

The Wildlife Trusts British Rainforest Garden, sponsored by Project Giving Back (PGB) and supported by the UK’s leading insurer Aviva, was awarded a Silver Gilt and People’s Choice medals at RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2025. It aimed to inspire people to support the restoration of this threatened habitat and show how nature-friendly gardening can help British wildlife thrive. The Wildlife Trusts and Aviva have been working together since 2023 on a mission to bring rainforests back to the British Isles. The British Rainforest Garden told the story of this precious habitat that once blanketed a fifth of the country but now only covers about 1% of the land – and the work underway to recover it.

The Panathlon Joy Garden by Llevelo Garden Design, RHS Chelsea F

Hope thousands more young people with disabilities could benefit from grassroots sport as charity Panathlon extends its reach at RHS Chelsea Flower Show

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  • Disability sports charity teaming up with designer Penelope Walker of Llevelo Garden Design for The Panathlon Joy Garden
  • Wheelchair accessible All About Plants garden at the show to be officially opened by Paralympians Steve Brown, Liz Johnson and Louise Sugden on press day (Monday 20 May)
  • Panathlon’s current fundraising campaign aims to tackle waiting list for its sporting events for children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND)
  • To be relocated to Marjorie McClure School in Chislehurst, London, a school for students aged 4-19 years old with complex medical needs and physical disabilities
  • Supported by Project Giving Back, the grant-making charity that funds gardens for good causes at RHS Chelsea Flower Show, the garden is a colourful and uplifting depiction of how Panathlon inspires inclusion and normalises difference, with an overall message that joy is for everyon

Disability sports charity Panathlon is hoping around 5,000 more young people could benefit from the life-changing sporting opportunities it offers, by amplifying awareness of its current campaign to raise an extra £100,000 when it exhibits at RHS Chelsea Flower Show.

With a long waiting list for the competitive sporting events it runs across the UK for children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND), the charity is teaming up with multi-award winning garden designer Penelope Walker for The Panathlon Joy Garden. The aim is to highlight the transformative impact of its work and the drive to secure much-needed funds to help more young people.

Paralympians Steve Brown, Liz Johnson and Louise Sugden will officially open the garden at the show and share their hugely positive experiences of working with the charity. Fellow Panathlon Patron and TV presenter, Alex Brooker, is also providing pre and post-show support.  The Patrons hope the event will offer a unique chance to garner more support from the show’s 150,000 visitors to extend Panathlon’s reach UK-wide.

Already Panathlon is poised to increase its services to help nurture the physical and mental wellbeing of even more children with SEND, and to promote aspiring youngsters with disabilities to become potential future medal winners in competitive disability sport. With greater funding and donations, it is hoped that an additional 5,000 young people can be involved in the 2024/25 school year.

Demand is increasing for Panathlon’s competitive disability sporting events, which the charity has delivered throughout the UK for over 25 years. In 2023 Panathlon achieved a record-breaking year, providing 62,981 young people with disabilities with the opportunity to participate in competitive disability sport.

Panathlon Patron Steve Brown (Wheelchair Rugby Captain at the London 2012 Paralympics and BBC Countryfile presenter), comments: “Providing children with disabilities the opportunities to develop their interests and skills across all sports, allows them to open their minds to the competitive possibilities. The platform and experience that Panathlon creates is awesome, and with greater support, we can do even more nationwide for young, aspiring para-athletes!”

Paralympic Champion and Panathlon Chair, Liz Johnson, says: “Panathlon delivers life-enhancing opportunities for over 60,000 young people every year. Research in 2023 proved that Panathlon massively improves the self-confidence, motivation, mental (and physical) well-being of tens of thousands of children with disabilities and special needs. We want to involve more children, and already we have the demand to expand outside of our current resources. We would love to hear from businesses and individuals who wish to support our work!”

Ashley Iceton from Panathlon, adds: “Panathlon needs to raise £900,000 every year, and as we expand we have to raise even more money! RHS Chelsea Flower Show is our opportunity to tell 150,000 people about Panathlon’s core mission – and we hope to encourage more people to support the charity whilst increasing the number of young people participating in Panathlon. With greater funding, it is hoped that an additional 5,000 young people with disabilities can become involved with Panathlon during the 2024/25 school year.”

The Garden

The Panathlon Joy Garden, in the All About Plants category at the world-famous show, is an uplifting depiction of how the charity inspires inclusion, enables accessibility, and normalises difference. The overall message of the garden is that joy is for everyone.

The garden is a colourful space with tangible and conceptual details to promote and represent joy. Curves dominate in the layout, soft and hard landscaping. Colour is present in the planting and garden features, whilst ‘ribbons’ across the rear boundary represent Panathlon’s use of ribbons in celebration at their sporting events.

The unusual tree shapes symbolise normalising difference; they may look different from the ‘norm’, but this does not impact their ability to function and perform perfectly well and still exude beauty. The pathway connecting both ends of the garden, and the seating area with space next to it for a wheelchair, both promote the message of inclusion. The pathway is also slightly concave to create playfulness, as does a bright orange, organically-shaped rocking bench.

Planting is colourful and undulating to ensure all garden visitors – irrespective of ability or age – connect to the plants, with a better sight line for wheelchair users. Geranium ‘Anne Thomson’, Salvia ‘Neon’, Allium siculum, Heuchera ‘Midnight Rose, Actinidia kolomikta, Trifolium rubens and Asphodeline lutea add pops of colour, and evergreen Portugese laurel shrubs in a ball shape are repeated to create consistency and sense of flow.

Penelope Walker says: “It’s been a pleasure to design The Panathlon Joy Garden and I’m so excited to share this with visitors. I really hope they feel inspired by the garden and take some new ideas home with them.”

Plants are supplied by How Green Nursery in Kent and the trees by Van den Berk Nurseries, and the garden is built by Stewart Landscapes Construction.

Following the show, the garden will be relocated to the Marjorie McClure School in Chislehurst in London, a school for students aged 4-19 years old with complex medical needs and physical disabilities.

The Panathlon charity relies on sponsors, charitable trusts, foundations, and individual giving, to support its work each year. To help the charity create opportunities for more children in 2025, visit https://panathlonfoundationltd.enthuse.com/cf/joygardenchelsea2024.Each donation of £25 will allow another child the opportunity to take part in competitive sport. Donations pay for adapted sports equipment, specialised coaches, and the cost of supplying medals, sports clothing and trophies to reward the competitors.

– ENDS –

Notes to Editors

  • Arsenal amputee footballer Isaac Addai has credited Panathlon with kick-starting his career by giving him the opportunity to compete in disability sport at school. Last season Isaac was voted Arsenal’s ‘Player of the Year’ when the Gunners won the England Amputee Football League Cup.
  • Great Britain wheelchair racer Michael McCabe began his dream of becoming an athlete while competing with Panathlon during his school years. He finished fourteenth in the London Marathon 2024 men’s wheelchair race.
  • In the last 12 months Panathlon’s UK reach has broken records! In 2023 Panathlon’s programmes featured: 62,981 participants; 7,359 young leaders; 3,012 schools; and took place across 44 English counties and 10 areas of Wales.
  • March 2024 saw Panathlon deliver 142 sports events across the country, involving 6,303 competitors with SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities) Additionally a further 1,387 young leaders were involved, providing those children with new responsibilities and leadership qualities.
  • Panathlon’s sporting programmes include: multi-skills, swimming, football, 10-pin bowling and boccia and a range of impairment specific sports.
  • Panathlon needs to raise £900,000 every year.

Media Enquiries

For more information about Panathlon

Contact Helen Stock – helen@foxredmedia.co.uk

For more information about The Panathlon Joy Garden or Penelope Walker

Contact Emma Mason – emma@emmamasonpr.co.uk / 07762 117433

Press Images

Images for media use can be found by clicking here. If you require more, please get in touch with the media contacts above.

About Panathlon
Panathlon delivers over 950 days of sporting activity each year, across every English county, into North and South Wales and Northern Ireland.

Independent Research in October 2023 reported that due to Panathlon:

  • 92% of schools reported increased self-belief and pride in themselves
  • 88% increased confidence and resilience
  • 82% increased teamwork and leadership skills
  • 79% of participants had their first-ever competitive sporting experience
  • 77% increase in social interaction

Moreover, the research also found an additional 51,164 children have benefitted from Panathlon-inspired activities, with schools making PE curricula more inclusive; investing in equipment; developing assessment tools; creating leadership roles for SEND children; building new inter-school sports fixtures and opening school facilities to the community.

This ripple-effect shows the work of Panathlon to promote inclusivity in sport will continue to extend to even more pupils in the future. This provision to at least 114,145 children and young people this year is more crucial than ever, given the barriers of cost, resources, and local authority support to physical education among children and young people with special needs are increasing, emphasising the lens through which the growing impact of Panathlon should be viewed.

Panathlon Touchpoints

Web – https://panathlon.com/

Email – enquiries@panathlon.com

X – https://twitter.com/Panathlon

Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/PanathlonChallenge

Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/panathlonchallenge/

LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/company/panathlon-challenge/

YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/user/Panathlon1

The Designer

Penelope Walker is an award-winning landscape and garden designer based in the UK who set up her own practice in 2016.  Driven by a passion for design, Penelope has an eye for style; her trade stand design at the Chelsea Flower Show 2022 was featured in an article titled ‘Five Trends to Watch Out for in 2022’ by Homes and Gardens UK. Penelope is a pre-registered member of the Society of Garden Designers and has passed the first stage of adjudication.

Penelope’s strength lies in her spatial awareness and ability to make a space fit for purpose as well as beautiful and reflective of its setting. After graduating from the English Gardening School at the Chelsea Physic Garden, Penelope spent a year working at The Place for Plants; a highly reputable independent Plant Nursery selling everyday and unusual plants from perennials to shrubs and trees.

One of Penelope’s core beliefs is that design has the strength to evoke powerful emotions. With a particular affinity for designing wellbeing gardens and ‘feel good’ gardens in the faith that a little joy can go a long way.

With extensive experience of listening to clients’ needs and delivering quality work, Penelope has vast knowledge of what is required to design and implement a range of gardens and landscapes as well as a real eye for style.

Web – www.llevelogardendesign.co.uk

Email – penelope@llevelo.co.uk

Instagram – www.instagram.com/llevelo_garden_design

Tel – 01206 625330

Project Giving Back

Project Giving Back (PGB) is a unique grant-making charity that provides funding for gardens for good causes at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show. PGB was launched in May 2021 in response to the Covid-19 pandemic and its devastating effects on UK charitable fundraising – effects that have since been exacerbated by the cost of living crisis. PGB will fund a total of 15 gardens at RHS Chelsea Flower Show in 2024 and intends to fund up to 60 gardens inspired by a range of good causes at the show from 2022 – 2026.

Find out more at www.givingback.org.uk.

Celebrity Panathlon patrons

Liz Johnson – a triple Paralympic medallist, became a Panathlon patron in 2010 and, since then, has attended dozens of competitions around the country, inspiring a new generation of athletes. She is now chair of the charity. Liz, a 100m breaststroke S6 swimmer, won the gold medal at the Beijing Paralympic Games in 2008, to add to her silver medal from Athens 2004. She then went on to complete a hat trick of medals in front of a home crowd at London 2012, where she won bronze.

Steve Brown – the Great Britain wheelchair rugby captain at the London 2012 Olympics, Steve is a Panathlon Patron. He was a TV host/presenter at the Paralympics in Rio as well as a regular on BBC’s Countryfile and Springwatch programmes.

Alex Brooker – co-hosts award-winning show The Last Leg, and has been a Panathlon patron since 2013. He rose to fame as a reporter for Channel 4 at the 2012 London Paralympic Games.

Plant List

Trees

Platanus x hispanica ‘Malburg

Plants

Actinidia kolomikta

Alchemilla sericata ‘Gold Strike’

Allium cyathophorum var. farreri

Allium siculum

Asphodeline lutea

Asplenium trichomanes subsp. trichomanes

Astrantia ‘Buckland’

Astrantia major ‘Star of Beauty’

Blechnum spicant

Carex testacea

Cirsium rivulare ‘Atropurpureum’

Epimedium pubigerum

Erigeron ‘Lavender Lady’

Festuca amethystina

Foeniculum vulgare

Geranium ‘Anne Thomson’

Geranium ‘Mavis Simpson’

Geum ‘Pretticoats Peach’

Heuchera ‘Midnight Rose’

Luzula nivea

Paeonia lactiflora ‘Nippon Beauty’

Pimpinella major ‘Rosea’

Prunus lusitanica

Rhaphiolepsis umbellata ‘Southern Moon’

Rosa ‘Cardinal de Richelieu’

Salvia ‘Neon’

Silene banksia ‘Hill Grounds’

Sorbaria sorbifolia ‘Sem’

Tellima grandiflora

Trifolium rubens

Tulbaghia violacea

Valeriana officinalis

Scabiosa columbaria subsp. ochroleuca

 

 

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Flamboyant 19th century-style Galician pleasure garden to entice at RHS Hampton Court Palace Garden Festival

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The Dream of the Indianos from the Spanish Tourist Office and Turismo de Galicia

The rags to riches story of 19th century emigrants who travelled abroad to make their fortune and then return home to north west Spain to build lavish mansions and gardens, will be retold in an ambitious show garden at RHS Hampton Court Palace Garden Festival (2-7 July) this summer.

The Dream of the Indianos, designed by Rose McMonigall for the Spanish Tourist Office and Turismo de Galicia, will highlight the history of these ambitious people and their turn-of-the-century gardens which are a lesser known chapter of Spain’s horticultural past.

Ostentatious in style and laid out with new and exotic plant varieties, including shockingly out-of-place palm trees, these gardens were the ultimate status symbol of the ‘Indianos’. Having made their wealth in the West Indies, the philanthropic Indianos built homes heavily influenced by Caribbean colonial and elegant French design, and funded schools, hospitals and libraries, even the first ‘theme park’. Their gardens were a self-celebration of their new found status with recurrent reminders of their exotic life abroad.  New materials and post-Industrial Revolution techniques, such as ironwork and concrete, added into the mix to create a major and startling impact on Galician life, with elements still visible today.

Visitors to RHS Hampton Court Palace Garden Festival will be treated to a re-creation of one of these fantastic gardens. The Dream of the Indianos is the imagined front garden of a pink-hued Galician mansion. From an imposing front door, a dramatic double staircase sweeps down to a clipped topiary, double circle parterre, surrounding a white marble water feature. Two signature phoenix palms dominate the space, softened with traditional Galician plants -camellias and blue mophead hydrangeas – as well as luscious canna lilies and yew. Materials, previously never used before in gardens, are celebrated – cast and wrought iron in the luxurious garden furniture, stained glass in the front door, and concrete in the staircase, house rendering and pergola.

Rose McMonigall said: “I was spellbound by the story of these dynamic people who made their dreams come true, returning to their Galician homeland to create their personal, paradise gardens. Quite a few of these gardens have been lost but you can still sense what these once glorious spaces would have felt like as now giant palm trees stud the landscape. The mansions themselves give an enticing glimpse into the once-lavish lifestyles led by the Indianos.”

The RHS Hampton Court Palace Garden Festival garden will evoke the flamboyant style of the Indianos but it will mainly use plants which gardeners can enjoy in the UK, so ideal for show-goers who want an exotic but formal vibe in their own outdoor spaces. Many plants growing in Galicia also thrive happily in sheltered parts of the UK.

Javier Piñanes, director of the Spanish Tourist Office in the UK, said: “We are delighted to bring this unique and eccentric garden design to Hampton Court this year.  Los Indianos that returned to Galicia contributed a great deal to the styles and architectural trends that can be found in Galicia today. This garden is a celebration of this heritage.”

ENDS

Notes to editors

This will be the fourth garden Rose McMonigall has designed for the Spanish Tourist Board at RHS Hampton. Last year she created Rías de Galicia: A Garden at the End of the Earth, in 2017 The Pazo’s Secret Garden and in 2016 The Route of the Camellia.

For more information on the region of Galicia, please visit http://www.turismo.gal/inicio 

For more information on RHS Hampton Court Palace Garden Festival, please visit  https://www.rhs.org.uk/shows-events/rhs-hampton-court-palace-garden-festival

For further press information:

Emma Mason, Emma Mason PR T: 07762 117433 E: emma@emmamasonpr.co.uk

The Spanish Tourist Office is represented by LOTUS, spain@wearelotus.co.uk

 

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Contemporary bee-friendly garden for designer’s debut at RHS Hampton

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  • The Urban Pollinator Garden by Caitlin McLaughlin sponsored by Warner’s super-premium gin
  • Lifestyle show garden will buzz with on-trend ideas for attracting bees and insects
  • To be rehomed at Cransley Hospice in Northamptonshire after the show closes

A young designer’s debut show garden at RHS Hampton Court Palace Garden Festival will be packed with stylishly simple take-home ideas for attracting pollinating insects, to inspire city dwellers to create their own nature-friendly back gardens.

The contemporary Urban Pollinator Garden by Caitlin McLaughlin of Thrift Landscapes, RHS Young Designer of the Year 2016, will fuse design, function and wildlife-friendly values. It will be sponsored by Warner’s – maker of Honeybee Gin – which is helping to fund the permanent relocation of the garden to Cransley Hospice in Northamptonshire after the show closes.

With a strong biodiversity message, the garden is designed to attract bees and other insects using on-trend yet practical features. The space is designed to offer a place for people to relax after a long day at work, connect with nature, and surround themselves with pollinators, without the complexity of maintaining beehives themselves.

There will be no beehives in the garden – instead a honeycomb-shaped habitat wall, nesting sites for solitary bees and bumblebees, and pollinator-friendly planting which will all encourage a variety of wildlife into the garden.

Simple but strong design principles are important and will be seen throughout the layout and hard landscaping of the garden. Contemporary honeycomb shapes will feature throughout, forming the structure of the sculptural habitat wall packed with twigs and branches, and hexagonal paving will be dotted with specially-made bee-printed tiles to identify entrances to underground bumblebee nests. The wall will also feature the innovative and stylish Bee Bricks, the award-winning solitary bee home design from Green & Blue, inspiring visitors to the show to replicate at home by simply placing in their garden, building into a wall or retrofitting in a few simple steps. Crab apple trees will offer architectural structure and provide spring pollen for bees, and the shallow cobble pond, fed by corten piping, will be the perfect place for bees to drink.

Caitlin’s tips for attracting pollinators to your garden:

  1. Create habitats within the garden design – don’t leave thinking about pollinators until after the garden is finished, build in spaces for them to nest as part of the layout. This way wildlife becomes a key aspect of the garden rather than an afterthought.
  2. Create sculptures as habitats – a habitat wall or solitary bee nest need not be a rustic, messy space at the back of the garden. Incorporate Green & Blue Bee Bricks or Bee Posts for sleek grey habitats in your garden, or build your own to suit your style. Our show garden features a freestanding hexagon sculpture that also acts as a habitat for solitary bees, mixing together art, design, and nature in one space.
  3. Think about your material choices – if you are creating a contemporary garden using grey sandstone tiles, why not use these to create Bumblebee homes as well. The nest underground needs to be straw lined, but the top of the nest can be contemporary stone, or in the case of my RHS Hampton Court garden, custom-made tiles with copper inlaid bee silhouettes, making sure nature features are functional and also high design.
  4. Water – Help keep the pollinators in your garden hydrated by providing a shallow pond or water bowl for them. Using metal tanks or powder-coated water bowls create contemporary features in your garden that also help the bees.
  5. Plan your planting with pollinators in mind. There are so many perennials, shrubs and trees that help bees so regardless of your garden style you will be able to find options that suit you and nature.

The Urban Pollinator Garden has many links to Warner’s, which runs multiple conservation and sustainability projects across the country, including Operation Honeybee, a series of initiatives designed to fortify the UK pollinator population, by planting wildflower habitat in the countryside home of Warner’s in Northamptonshire, as well as offering education and training to local colleges. Driven by its Honeybee Gin, which was launched in partnership with the RHS, Warner’s actively engages customers to get involved, as each bottle of Honeybee Gin comes with a packet of wildflower seeds to grow your own bee-friendly botanicals at home.

As part of a wider partnership with the RHS, Warner’s has also sponsored a new beekeepers initiative, and each year takes hives from Falls Farm to the Heather Garden at RHS garden Wisley.

Garden Designer Caitlin (29) said: “Built by Conway Landscapes, this garden will represent the importance of pollinators, specifically bees, within our own gardens and the wider environment. Living in a city, it is sometimes easy to forget about wildlife and the role it plays within our ecosystem. This design allows people to have a contemporary garden that still caters for pollinators, providing them with food and nesting spaces. My aim is for it to have multiple take-home messages to allow other people to adapt or create in their own gardens.”

A peaceful, naturalistic-looking planting scheme will be used, with pops of colour from perennials woven through grasses. Bee-friendly plants in calming purples, whites, and pinks will be used throughout the beds, including Campanula ‘Hemelstraling’, Astrantia ‘Superstar White Giant’ and Digitalis ‘Sutton’s Apricot’, with bright colour dashes from Achillea ‘Terracotta’ and Cirsium rivulare ‘Atropurpureum’ reflecting the heat of summer.

After the show closes, the garden will be rehomed at Cransley Hospice in Kettering, Northamptonshire, a charity local to both Caitlin and sponsor Warner’s, where it can be enjoyed by the patients, visitors and hospice staff for many years to come.

Warner’s (formerly Warner Edwards) was founded in 2012 by husband and wife team, Tom Warner and Tina Warner-Keogh, with the aim of ‘saving the world from mediocre gin’. Established on the family-owned Falls Farm in Northamptonshire, every bottle is hand-sealed and distilled in small batches on site using bespoke copper stills. Drawing water from their spring, growing seasonal botanicals, and collecting fresh honey from their farm’s own beehives – Warner’s is a farm-born, ‘graft’ gin created with a deep love of the land.

ENDS

For further information contact Emma Mason on emma@emmamasonpr.co.uk 07762 117433

Notes to editors:

Contractor – Conway Landscapes; Paving – Marshalls; Bee Bricks for Habitat Wall – Green & Blue; Hedging – Practicality Brown

Caitlin McLaughlin, 29, is an award-winning garden designer based in Northamptonshire. Formerly working at the Natural History Museum and Kew Gardens in plant sciences and conservation, Caitlin decided to pursue her passion for garden design, establishing a garden design practice, Thrift Landscapes, with her sister.  In 2016 Caitlin received a Gold Medal for her Nature and Nurture show garden at RHS Tatton and the prestigious RHS Young Designer of the Year accolade. She was the youngest of the three finalists to win the award that year. Following this award Caitlin was approached by Hillier Nurseries to gain invaluable experience on their 2017 Chelsea garden including mentorship by designer Sarah Eberle.  www.thriftlandscapes.co.uk Twitter: @Caitlin_ThriftL @ThriftLandscape Instagram: thriftlandscapes

About Warner’s

Since its inception in December 2012, every bottle of farm born Warner’s gin is lovingly hand-crafted with nature on Falls Farm in Harrington, Northamptonshire, by Tom & Tina Warner and their dream team.

After years of planning and months of experimentation, the team at Falls Farm created its first, award-winning Harrington Dry Gin – the brand’s unique version of a London dry gin – under the original brand name of Warner Edwards. Since 2012, the brand has pushed further, forging new gins and whole new categories of gin – creating world firsts, like the sweet, tangy Rhubarb Gin.

The Warner’s range currently includes Harrington Dry, Rhubarb, Sloe, Elderflower, Lemon Balm and Honeybee Gins at the following price points:

  • Warner’s Sloe Gin: £30 RRP / 30% ABV
  • Warner’s Harrington Dry Gin: £33 RRP / 44% ABV
  • Warner’s Elderflower Gin: £33 RRP / 40% ABV
  • Warner’s Rhubarb Gin: £38 RRP / 40% ABV (Was Victoria’s Rhubarb Gin)
  • Warner’s Honeybee Gin: £40 RRP / 43% ABV
  • Warner’s Lemon Balm Gin: £40 RRP / 43% ABV (Was Botanical Garden Melissa Lemon Balm Gin)

Warner’s has received several business and drinks-related accolades for its well-rounded and balanced delivery of elegant flavours, including:

  • #1 Super Premium Flavoured Gin in the on and off trade as of 31 Dec 2018
  • Ranked 6th in The Sunday Times Fast Track 100 in 2018
  • Outstanding Contribution to the Craft Distilling Industry
  • San Francisco World Spirits Awards: 2x Double Gold, Gold and Silver
  • IWSC– Gold and Silver
  • Global Distillery Master in Consumer Experience & Digital and Social Media
  • Berlin International Spirits Competition’s English Distillery of the Year 2018, as well as Gold, Silver and Bronze medals for a variety of gins in the range

Cransley Hospice Trust is committed to providing exceptional holistic care to patients living with life-limiting illness in North Northamptonshire.  They provide specialist end-of-life care to patients with complex needs and support patients in their chosen place of care at the end of life, whether this is in the Hospice or in the patient’s home. Cransley Hospice Trust is a registered charity which every year provides funding to support the care provided by Cransley Hospice. They need to raise over £1.4 million per year to ensure services will always remain free and outstanding to their patients.

Visit the website or social media channels for additional information about the services provided and the current fundraising activities. Website: www.cransleyhospice.org.uk Facebook:  @cransleyfundraising Twitter: @cransleyhospice Instagram: @cransleyhospice

For additional information or all press queries regarding Cransley Hospice, please contact Jacqueline Cheung, Marketing Manager at jacqueline.cheung@cransleyhospice.org.uk or on 01536 452423.

 

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BBC TV cast members help designer officially open her RHS Hampton show garden ‘Rias de Galicia: A Garden at the End of the Earth’

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Designer Rose McMonigall was helped by members of BBC’s Pilgrimage: The Road to Santiago cast, Neil Morrissey, Raphael Rowe and Reverend Kate Bottley to officially open her silver medal-winning show garden at RHS Hampton Court Palace Flower Show.

RHS Hampton Court Palace Flower Show 2018 - Galicia Garden
RHS Hampton Court Palace Flower Show 2018 – Galicia Garden

Following the success of the recent BBC TV series, which saw a cast of seven including actor Morrissey, TV reporter Rowe and Radio 2/Gogglebox vicar Bottley tackle a 780km pilgrimage across northern Spain in 15 days, this acknowledged their contribution to raising the profile of the Camino and Northern Spain as a visitor destination.

Rose brought to life the breath-taking Atlantic coast of north-west Spain in the show garden collaboration with the Spanish Tourist Office and Tur Galicia.

The RHS Hampton garden, which scooped a silver RHS medal, evoked the extraordinary landscape of the Rías De Galicia; the estuaries on the rugged Galician coast. Secluded coves are dotted throughout this region and McMonigall celebrated these coastal havens, their wild flora and the local tradition of shell-cladding, as well as giving a nod to the delicious local seafood.

RHS Hampton Court Palace Flower Show 2018 - Galicia Garden
RHS Hampton Court Palace Flower Show 2018 – Galicia Garden

Designer Rose McMonigall said, “I was inspired by my visits to Galicia to paint a picture of an idyllic scene, a secluded beach on the Atlantic coast, glimpsed through pine trees, with the ultimate hideaway of a fisherman’s cottage nestled amid the wild-looking vegetation.”

Javier Piñanes, director of the Spanish Tourist Office in London said, “In partnership with the region of Galicia, we are delighted to be collaborating with RHS Hampton Court Palace Flower Show and garden designer Rose McMonigall this year. Galicia is a very unique, spiritual and cultural destination with an outstanding coastline strung with dramatic cliffs and pretty fishing ports. The interior offers a labyrinth of valleys and hills and is one of Spain’s most green and vibrant regions. We are excited to be bringing a slice of Galicia to London this year and look forward to showcasing some of the highlights at the Flower Show.”

RHS Hampton Court Palace Flower Show 2018 - Galicia Garden
RHS Hampton Court Palace Flower Show 2018 – Galicia Garden

ENDS

Notes to editors

This is the third garden Rose McMonigall has designed for the Spanish Tourist Board at RHS Hampton. Last year she created The Pazo’s Secret Garden and in 2016 The Route of the Camellia both of which were award silver gilt medals.

For further press information:

For further information on the design of the garden, please contact Emma Mason PR T: 07762 117433 E: emma@emmamasonpr.co.uk

For further information on Spain or Galicia as a visitor destination, please visis www.spain.info or email Spain@wearelotus.co.uk.

 

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Secluded beauty of the Galician coast to feature at RHS Hampton Court Flower Show

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Rías de Galicia: A Garden at the End of the Earth from the Spanish Tourist Office

The breathtakingly beautiful Atlantic coast of north west Spain will be brought to life in a show garden collaboration between the Spanish Tourist Office, Turismo de Galicia and designer Rose McMonigall at RHS Hampton Court Palace Flower Show (3-8 July).

The garden will evoke, on a small scale, the extraordinary landscape of the Rías De Galicia, the estuaries on the rugged Galician coast. Here, surrounded by uncrowded white beaches and turquoise waters, a series of large rivers meet the Atlantic, an area which in times past was believed to be the End of the Earth.

Gardening PR show garden Secluded coves are dotted throughout this region and, in her third RHS Hampton garden for the Spanish Tourist Office, named ‘Rías de Galicia: A Garden at the End of the Earth’, Rose will be celebrating these coastal havens, their wild flora and the local tradition of shell-cladding. The garden will also give a nod to the delicious local seafood.

Visitors will be transported to a small cove, sheltered by two coastal pine trees. A path winds up from the beach, past a crumbling sea wall, through a selection of salt-resistant shrubs, rock plants and flowering grasses, to a weather-beaten fisherman’s cottage. Traditional Galician cooking pots act as plant containers filled with bay and geranium, and a pantiled roof is weighed down with stones to protect it from the Atlantic gales. A rock pool nestles in the boulders filled with colourful pebbles and shells. In the shallows, a small fishing boat is beached, ready for its next trip out to harvest the rich abundance of seafood of the Rías De Galicia.fishing boat

The garden’s backdrop will depict distant hazy mountains of Finisterre using a panelled art installation filled with scallop shells to form an impressionist collage. Historically, the walls of buildings in the region were often clad in porous scallop shells to reduce humidity inside. The scallop shell is the sacred icon of the pilgrims on the nearby Camino to Santiago de Compostela and is the symbol of St James himself.

Shells will be scattered on the beach and traditional mussel baskets, nets and Galician lobster pots will be in the boat and undergrowth.

Although the garden will evoke the spirit and romantic beauty of Galicia, it will use plants which can be easily bought in the UK, so ideal for show-goers to use in their own outdoor spaces, particularly those with extremely free-draining soil or who live in exposed sites or near the sea. Succulents such as sedums (stonecrop), saxifrage (rockfoils) and sempervivum (houseleeks) will feature with eryngium (sea hollies), armeria maritima (sea thrifts), stipa (grasses), plus rosemary, thymes, fennels, tansy and tamarisk. Many plants growing in Galicia also thrive quite happily in sheltered parts of the UK.

Gardening PR show gardenDesigner Rose McMonigall said: “Falling at the brink of the summer holidays, I always think RHS Hampton Court has a happy atmosphere, vibrant with colour and thoughts of long, lazy days outside. I’m so excited to be creating a garden which paints a picture of an idyllic scene, a secluded beach on the Atlantic coast of Galicia, glimpsed through pine trees, with the ultimate hideaway of a fisherman’s cottage nestled amid the wild-looking vegetation.

“I’ve aimed to create a garden rich in atmosphere but using a palette of plants that can be used in any garden, especially with sandy, rocky or coastal conditions – an Impressionist memory of happy seaside holidays in your own special space at home.”

Javier Piñanes, director of the Spanish Tourist Office in the UK, said: “In collaboration with the region of Galicia, we are delighted to be collaborating with RHS Hampton Court Palace Flower Show and garden designer Rose McMonigall this year. Galicia is a very unique, spiritual and cultural destination with an outstanding coastline strung with dramatic cliffs and pretty fishing ports. The interior offers a labyrinth of valleys and hills and is of Spain’s most green and vibrant regions. We are excited to be bringing a slice of Galicia to London this year and look forward to showcasing some of the highlights at the Flower Show.”

ENDS

Notes to editors

This will be the third garden Rose McMonigall has designed for the Spanish Tourist Board at RHS Hampton. Last year she created The Pazo’s Secret Garden and in 2016 The Route of the Camellia both of which were award silver gilt medals.

For more information on the region of Galicia, please visit http://www.turismo.gal/inicio 

For more information on RHS Hampton Court Palace Flower Show, please visit https://www.rhs.org.uk/shows-events/rhs-hampton-court-palace-flower-show 

For further press information:

Emma Mason, Emma Mason PR T: 07762 117433 E: emma@emmamasonpr.co.uk

The Spanish Tourist Office is represented by LOTUS (spain@wearelotus.co.uk)

 

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Recreate your own Galician ‘pazo’ garden as seen at RHS Hampton

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The Spanish Tourist Office is showcasing the mystery and romance of Galicia’s ‘Pazo’ gardens at RHS Hampton Court Palace Flower Show this July. Show garden designer, Rose McMonigall, shares her tips on recreating the look in your own garden.

The historic Galician Pazos are magnificent palaces famous for their exquisite architecture and extensive gardens, where formal design meets the untamed nature of Galicia’s landscapes.

Often mysterious and dripping with greenery, with mists enshrouding them in the cooler months, softening the edges of their often highly formal design, these gardens blend with a larger, more practical landscape, where the productivity of the land is as important as its aesthetic appearance. Vines tangle amid the ornamentation to yield harvests producing some of Northern Spain’s best wines.

“The climate of Galicia is very similar to that of the UK” says Rose, “and the plant life that thrives in northern Spain is not dissimilar to that which we enjoy here, so why not try to achieve the ‘Pazo’ look in your own garden?”

 Rose provides her top tips for bringing a little bit of Galicia to Britain:

  1. The key to this indulgently romantic look is to embrace nature in your garden. A few ‘weeds’ here and there will add to the theme, so let nature do its thing. If there’s a balance between plants that you have bought and those that have self-seeded and introduced themselves, you are following the right path. Celebrate the true beauty of these wild flowers; after all this is a romantic garden…
  2. Go for green, in all its many shades. A limited colour palette with varied green shades and a dash of cool blues will evoke the mysterious, shady gardens of the Pazos. Edges should be blurred, so avoid neat lines and be led by the shape of the plants.
  3. To add instant impact, invest in specimen plants common to this beautiful part of Spain such as glossy-leaved camellias and delicate mophead blue hydrangeas, or climbing varieties. Both of these need acid soil, so if your soil is neutral or alkaline (you can check this with a pH tester kit bought at a garden centre), you’ll need to add ericaceous compost. Ferns and arum lilies will also complete the look.
  4. Garden furniture, stone features or hard landscaping should look as faded and vintage as possible. A stone bench with lichen spots, rocks covered in cushion moss or even a classic statue tangled in ivy or vine will add to the atmosphere.
  5. Encourage wildlife into your garden by creating a small log pile as a haven for insects and hedgehogs, and avoid sweeping up fallen leaves. If you want to really embrace the Galician look, build a small pond or water feature and add some marginal pond plants and water lilies. Local wildlife will love it and the sound of trickling water will really heighten the romantic vibe.

Spain’s exhibit at the show this year, ‘The Pazo’s Secret Garden’, by Rose McMonigall, celebrates Galicia, its Pazos, the camellia, and the distinctive Albariño wine of the region and provides an exquisite example of what your Pazo garden could look like.

Known as ‘the land of camellias’, Galicia is a renowned destination for lovers of the outdoors and garden enthusiasts. Camellias have become such an integral part of the region that visitors to Galicia can follow a dedicated ‘Camellia Route’; a journey that passes from northern to southern Galicia through 12 manor houses (or Pazos) and gardens where the camellia reigns in all its glory.

Covered in lush greenery, with some of Spain’s most idyllic, natural beaches; home to a number of buzzing, charming and characterful cities; one of the top (though lesser known) wine producing regions in Spain, famous for the delicious Albariño white wine; and offering up arguably the best seafood in the country, Galicia is a must-visit destination.

To purchase tickets for the RHS Hampton Court Palace Flower Show, visit: www.rhs.org.uk/flowershows and for more information on Galicia or other regions of Spain visit http://www.turismo.gal or http://www.spain.info respectively

Ends

Notes to editors:

  • There will be an opportunity to meet for 1:1 interviews with garden designer, Rose McMonigall, and the STO team throughout the show. Please contact the Rooster PR team should you wish to schedule a time to meet
  • A more detailed description of the garden and the symbolism behind its design is available upon request, as is a full plant list and background on designer Rose McMonigall.

 

For further press information on Spain, please contact:

Natalie Garland / Melissa Hobson / Julie Aguilera

Rooster PR

T: +44 (0)20 3440 8926

E: Spain@rooster.co.uk

 

For further information on designer Rose McMonigall, contact:

Emma Mason

Emma Mason PR

T: 07762 117433

E: emma@emmamasonpr.co.uk

 

 

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Brutal beauty of Britain’s brownfield sites to be championed by RHS Hampton show garden

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‘Brownfield – Metamorphosis’ by designer Martyn Wilson, sponsored by St. Modwen

A CONCEPTUAL garden at this year’s RHS Hampton Court Palace Flower Show will highlight the surprising beauty of Britain’s brownfield, urban sites and the important role they have to play in creating the communities of tomorrow. 

‘Brownfield – Metamorphosis’ by designer Martyn Wilson will take an abstract look at regeneration and demonstrate nature’s ability to succeed against the odds and transform an open space.

Designer Martyn Wilson
Designer Martyn Wilson

Show visitors will be greeted by a series of monolithic steel structures that reference the manufacturing industries of the Industrial Age. On closer inspection, the steel appears twisted and torn – a nod to the decline of these industries. Through the rubble, the decay is being replaced by the processes of natural regeneration, and trees and vegetation are self-seeding. This natural transition provides opportunities for wildlife in the heart of urban areas.

Sponsored by the UK’s leading regeneration specialist St. Modwen, the garden will feature urban art references by street artist Louis Masai on recycled hoardings. Swathes of grasses, ferns, herbaceous perennials and self-seeding annuals will soften the hard landscaping. The garden will form part of the new ‘gardens for a changing world’ category at the show.

Martyn’s design has been Inspired by Landschaftpark, Duisburg-Nord in Germany, the High Line in New York and successful brownfield regeneration schemes in the UK. He said: “What interested me initially was the changing nature of urban landscapes which are so often are in state of flux. There’s the process of demolition and reconstruction but between the two, before building work starts, you often find nature moves back in and a new, temporary landscape is created.

“My garden will recreate that moment in time, in a sculpted form, with nods to the past and also the future. We should see these city spaces as opportunities and, whilst appreciating their gritty beauty, look forward to welcoming the communities that will replace them.”

St. Modwen is a fitting sponsor for the show garden. Currently spearheading the regeneration of New Covent Garden Market, London; the transformation of Longbridge, Birmingham and RAF Uxbridge in west London, the company is the UK expert in developing brownfield sites and amongst its portfolio also counts the magnificent Trentham Estate and Gardens in Stoke-on-Trent.  Mark Allan, Chief Executive at St. Modwen, said: “The transformation and regeneration of urban sites not only goes a long way to answering the UK’s existing housing crisis but has also brought back thousands of acres of brownfield land into the public sphere that was previously not accessible.”

The steel structures on the garden are being designed by sculptor Simon Probyn and walls loaned by The Pot Company. The steel structure will sit on concrete footings being donated by Easymix Concrete.

The surface of the garden will be mulched with aggregates recycled from brownfield sites and donated by Smiths of Bletchington.  The plants are being sourced from renowned nursery and show garden supplier Hortus Loci.

Martyn’s garden will also help raise the profile of cancer charity UCARE [Urology Cancer Research and Education] at the show with volunteers greeting visitors.

ENDS

For further information contact Emma Mason on 07762 117433 emma@emmamasonpr.co.uk or for information on St.Modwen, Emily Boswell 0121 222 9400  corpcomms@stmodwen.co.uk

 

Martyn Wilson – A trained town planner and lecturer at the Cotswold Gardening School, Martyn runs Wilson Associates Garden Design where his portfolio includes residential gardens, public and commercial spaces and three RHS award winning show gardens. He won the People’s Choice Award presented by Alan Titchmarsh at the RHS Malvern Spring Festival 2016 for his show garden ‘Time is a Healer’ in support of The Primrose Hospice in Bromsgrove, Worcestershire.