This one, although a long way from any garden I might make for myself, had great appeal. It was a series of square planting beds with beautiful trees...lots of them....and very little colour other than green. The canals and the white paths all added to the classic charm.
The RHS website describes it this way....
"The Cadogan Estate includes some of London’s most famous streets and garden squares, including Sloane Street and Cadogan Square. A Cadogan Garden reflects the history and the future of the Cadogan Estate. It is a contemporary space, inspired by elements of the modern courtyards and squares of the Estate, while also referencing elements from its history.
A Cadogan Garden is conceived as part of a larger, shared, private courtyard off a residential street, for sitting and quiet relaxation, somewhere within the Cadogan Estate. The garden is set in a Chelsea of the future, and assumes a somewhat hotter and sometimes wetter London than today, so incorporates lush planting and cooling water canals under dappled shade.
The garden is assumed to be largely enclosed to the sides and rear by buildings, and visible from the street through implied railings at the front. The ‘buildings’ are represented by planted green walls divided into panels by strips of pre-cast stone. This references the emerging possibilities of the green architecture of the future.
A space at the rear of the garden is used for informal seating, and is paved with sawn York stone slabs. To one side of the terrace is a statue of Sir Hans Sloane, the founder of the Cadogan Estate. Seen through overhanging trees, this statue forms a distant focal point along the main path. The terrace is surrounded by a shallow canal, fed by a water wall. The canal leads to two shallow rills that flow through the planting, creating narrow vistas and informal irrigation channels.
From the terrace, stepping stones lead across the canal into other parts of the garden. A stone path runs from the canal along the side of the garden, where a long solid timber seat allows residents to view the garden in both sun and shade.
To the front of the garden is a small piazza area, paved with sawn York stone. The two water rills emerge at this point from the planting to join to form a small pool.
The planting is ornamental and designed mainly for semi-shade, with a high proportion of evergreens for year-round use and reasonable ease of maintenance. There is a double-layered tree canopy, created with tall palms, and smaller sculptural trees. The centre of the garden is occupied by a panel of low shrubs, ferns and herbaceous plants, creating a woodland atmosphere, using plants selected for foliage as well as flowers. The colour of this planting will be predominantly green and white."
This took place today, and we thought we'd go and watch it from Culver Down. You can see both North and South from there, so we thought it'd be good.
