The sculpture of Gaia, her bow-shaped lips and closed eyes serene and Buddha-like, lies at the heart of a garden that celebrates the unassuming beauty of urban fringes. At the Chelsea Flower Show, the On the Edge garden, designed by Sarah Eberle, evokes the edgelands—those unprotected, modest places where nature thrives near towns and cities.
A Garden of Quiet Reflection
Parakeets screech and planes rumble overhead, but my attention is on the plants at my feet: the tracery of herb robert, purple nibs of plantain, flailing bramble and bristly nettle. Sitting on a boulder in a clearing among hawthorn, privet and silver birch, it feels like a quiet space one might stumble upon in the woods or seek out when feeling low. Yet this serene spot is at the bustling Chelsea Flower Show.
The garden, named On the Edge, marks the centenary of the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) and the launch of the first interactive map of England's countryside edges, gathering people's stories and memories about place.
Gaia and the Willow Hair
Dog roses are threaded through loops and swirls of willow that flow along a drystone wall. The willow represents the hair of Gaia, a giant sleeping figure carved from fallen redwoods by chainsaw artist Chris Wood. The recumbent sculpture, with its bow-shaped lips and closed eyes, exudes a Buddha-like serenity. A scent of linseed rises from the wood.
The willow weaves through mossy dead branches and embraces a slender tree trunk, Gaia's hair emanating life throughout the garden glade. Local people are imagined caring for this place, enjoying its wildlings, ferns, cow parsley, buttercups, campion, and ox-eye daisies. Naturalised plants from someone's garden include the large palmate leaves of Rodgersia and pale jade globes of Angelica.
Unexpected Beauty in the Details
There is unexpected beauty in leaf shadows moving over a concrete farm trough. Blotched with lichen, its rim broken by years of livestock drinking from it, the green duckweed surface is occasionally broken by dark rising water. This show garden highlights the threat to urban edgelands, and its emotional resonance earned it a gold medal and the best in show award.
These are the flowers of my childhood adventures down an abandoned lane, the snowball tree of my parent's garden. My wish is for others to be able to experience these unremarkable yet special places. Under the Changing Skies: The Best of the Guardian's Country Diary, 2018-2024, is available now.
