The RHS Malvern Spring Show 2015

Inspiring award-winning garden designer Emily Sharpe to create a festival show garden based on one of my original paintings called ‘Still Got The Blues’.

Awarded a Silver-Gilt medal and voted the People’s Choice for Best Festival Garden


Silver-Gilt-Medal-RHS-Malvern

‘Beating the Blues’

I was thrilled to get a call from top horticultural designer Emily Sharpe saying she was using one of my paintings as the inspiration for her festival show garden at this years’ Royal Horticultural Society Malvern Show.

It seemed only right to take it along for press day to show the crowds exactly what lay behind the vision Emily had for the space.

A Swarez original artwork inspiring garden designer Emily SharpeIt’s an unusual thing to be the root of someone else’s inspiration. I don’t think I could be any more humbled and flattered if I tired! When I look at the amount of work Emily has put into the design, procurement and implementation of her show garden it makes me even more astounded by her vision and creativity.

I’ve always been fascinated by the way in which designers go about creating a garden. I’d never realised there were so many elements to it. Theme is critical as it’s as much about what you want your garden to stand for as what it looks like when it’s finished.

For this one it was all about relaxation, contemplation and using a small space for maximum effect. Having a retreat from the pressures of everyday living is the purpose for this delightful garden. Emily’s meticulous attention to crafting the right hues and tones is something I can relate to immediately.

Her choice of plants and how they are planted has opened my eyes to what is possible with a selection of very carefully chosen plants and trees.

I’m interested with how the two oak arches lift the space from being a ground level experience to one that expands and grows as you look upwards. In many ways I find it a very inspiring space to be in – the inclusion of oak benches gives you time to sit and take it all in as well as an opportunity to let it all go. It’s a deceptively clever use of negative space.

And then there are the trees. A bold choice to demonstrate that no matter how small a space may be there’s always room for a tree or two. They are shelter and shade providers yet they also give space and depth to the garden. These are principles I like to work with in two dimensions on canvas. What a fantastic creation this garden is.

Learn more about Emily Sharpe and her horticultural design business, Garden Stories.

See my original painting called ‘Still Got The Blues’