'The M&G Garden' 2011, was designed by Bunny Guinness, it encapsulated a belief in sustainable excellence; ‘The M&G Garden’ was a modern take on a traditional kitchen garden. It was a garden which you could both live with and live from, combining practical with aesthetic and innovative garden design elements that could sustain and nurture the modern gardener.

The garden was a beautiful space in which to relax, as well as a working plot to produce bountiful fruit, herbs, vegetables and cut flowers. It featured raised beds built from willow and topped with cedar coping, which were planted out with vegetables and flowers for cutting.

Cabbages and beans mingled with clematis and roses, whilst lavender and other herbs ensured the garden smelt sweet and fragrant. Large terracotta pots contained a variety of fruit trees and were placed throughout the garden.

Traditional in spirit, the garden also embraced innovative features including an elegant glass platform. This ‘floating’ deck, a contemporary centrepiece to the garden, offered guests a different viewing dimension on to the garden’s near symmetrical paths and beds and the wider showground. It also provided a light, sheltered space for people and plants that were below.

The design was framed by a series of pleached trees, which stood nearly three metres tall, which were trained against wires and ironwork that echoed the balustrade design.

It was a garden which demonstrated how a traditional approach could stand the test of time, particularly when updated for a more modern world. It had something for every visitor to enjoy.

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