Interviews by Zia Allaway

GARDEN 2 – site number MA20

Six gold medals and two 'Best in Show' awards at Chelsea are among Tom Stuart-Smith's enviable design credentials. This year he aims to add another trophy to the list with this beautiful tranquil garden, pictured.

Designer Profile
With a passion for both flora and fauna, Tom Stuart-Smith has degrees in zoology and landscape design. He began his career as a landscape architect in 1984, and has since worked on many restoration projects, as well as new designs. Tom set up his own design practice ten years ago, and recent achievements include HM The Queen's Golden Jubilee garden at Windsor Castle, a recasting of the Italian garden at Trentham in Staffordshire, and the new garden surrounding the bicentenary glasshouse at Wisley Royal Horticultural Society gardens.

The Brief
“Sponsor Laurent-Perrier never give a specific brief so I aim to do something that suits its image, and this year I decided to develop a garden that expresses just one simple idea, using texture and form.

“For this year's Chelsea design, rather than creating a journey or filling the space with a complexity of different elements, I wanted to create a garden with one simple character. It is also a development of what I've done before – my last garden at Chelsea two years ago had a lot going on in it, and this year I have pared everything down to create a very simple design. The planting is mainly green, with shade-loving plants combining different shapes and forms, and I've used just two landscaping materials, Flemish bricks and zinc. The result, I hope, will be a garden that's very calming and quiet.

“However, this tranquillity is broken by a couple of unsettling features: the zinc water tanks and amazing clipped hornbeam trees. The water tanks will appear to be overflowing yet they will remain completely silent, and the water will magically disappear into the sides of the containers. The trees are clipped into a collection of giant globular tufts, rather like giant poodles, creating wonderful shapes and textures. Texture is also a feature of the spherical zinc containers filled with Buxus. I have used zinc throughout the design because it has a mercurial quality, oxidising very rapidly in unpredictable ways, and developing a wonderful patina and irregular finish. Its cool blue tones also add to the contemplative mood of the garden.”

Tom's hot tips
• Creating pathways of discovery
“Paths can limit the possibility of movement and restrict the freedom with which you view a garden. In my designs, I make a template of routes that enables others to experience the gardens in their own way, rather than me dictating to them. Here, I've used a network of paths laid over the space like a net, allowing the visitor to discover the unpredictable nature of the garden for themselves.”

• Using trees in a small garden
“Whatever the size of your garden, trees are essential. They are the only really anthropomorphic plants, with great personalities and a wealth of experience beyond our own. Trees also attract birds and other wildlife, enriching your space. For small gardens, I would plant a magnolia, or a hedgerow tree, such as a hawthorn or hazel. Hornbeams, which I have used here, are a good choice too since they are tough and very versatile.”

• Planting in cool shade
“The grass Hakonechloa macra is ideal for this shady garden as it reflects the light, while others add texture, such as the hostas, male ferns (Dryopteris filix mas) and selenium. I have combined these with stately rodgersias, whose big, impressive chestnut-like foliage adds impact, and wild ginger (Asarum europeaum), a slow-spreading, beautiful perennial with kidney-shaped leaves. All but the rodgersias are tolerant of a wide range of soils and are useful in any shady area.”

In Tom's showgarden, you will see:
Plants
Cloud pruned hornbeam (Carpinus betulus)
Asarum europeaum
Male fern (Dryopteris filix mas)
Hakonechloa macra
Hosta Devon Green
Rodgersia podophylla 'Rotlaub'

Where to buy
Crocus
Tel: 0870 787 1413; www.crocus.co.uk
For clipped hornbeams and a good selection of shade-loving plants

Bowden Hostas
Tel: 01837 840989; www.bowdenhostas.com
Hosta specialist offering a wide range of cultivars

Beeches Nursery
Tel: 01799 584362; www.beechesnursery.co.uk
For rodgersias and other shade-loving perennials

Landscape materials
The paths are made from Flemish bricks and the water tanks, walls and spherical containers are in zinc. Andrew Ewing designed the zinc tanks.

Where to buy
Andrew Ewing
Tel: 020 8969 5820; www.andrewewing.co.uk
Water sculptor, for bespoke water features

Restoration Direct
Tel: 01233 850075; www.restorationdirect.co.uk
Supplier of reclaimed bricks that can be used for Flemish-style paving

Contact details
See Tom's garden at Stand No MA20
Tom Stuart-Smith, www.tomstuartsmith.co.uk

Read more about the RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2008.