Highlights from the 2011 RHS Chelsea Flower Show

The RBC New Wild Garden
Designed by: Nigel Dunnett
Awards: Silver-Gilt Flora

Things were all abuzz—literally—in the Royal Bank of Canada’s Wild Garden. This full-scale “rain garden” (the first at Chelsea) was designed to capture every drop of rain that falls upon it. What is not soaked up on the roof garden would run down a rain chain into collecting pools and then overspill into planting areas. All the materials were made of recycled, reused or found objects (including the shipping container turned into an artist’s studio) in an effort to combine ecological awareness with artistic and natural plantings. Insect habitats were made from organic materials such, as wood and fibre, to attract pollinators and beneficial insects.