The Chelsea Flower Show, held in London by the Royal Horticultural Society every May, is gardening’s equivalent of the Olympic Games. Garden designers from all over the world compete to win coveted gold medals for their show gardens and set trends for the coming year.

At this year’s show, 40 gardens were designed and built, ranging from small courtyards to the enormous show gardens that Chelsea is famous for. There was more than a touch of romanticism in the designs, with a wealth of lush green foliage and beautiful trees creating restful spaces.

Natural landscaping materials were popular, with dry-stone walls, stone paving and timber pergolas featuring throughout. Corten steel, with its rusty patina, was popular for screens and structures. The designs were notable for being inspirational rather than aspirational. They were gardens you wanted to explore, that lifted the soul and also offered somewhere to escape.

Outdoor living is a growing trend – something Australian garden designers don’t need to be told about – and almost every design incorporated water as a key design element.

Soft & structured: designer Andy Sturgeon, Best in Show Gold Medal 
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PLANTS
Feature trees include black pines (Pinus nigra). Grassy foliage includes Stipa tenuissima (considered a weed here in Australia), Libertia peregrinans, Carex testacea and Dianella ‘Little Rev’. Shrubs include Indian hawthorn (Rhaphiolepis umbellata) and Pittosporum tobira. Tall flower spires include Verbascum Clementine, Salvia nemorosa ‘Caradonna’ and bearded iris.

MATERIALS
Corten steel pillars flank a raised walkway, which leads to a rear feature wall – both are constructed from Portland limestone.

Deceptively simple in design, this garden’s wow factor comes from a lovely combination of strong structural elements and diverse and interesting plantings.

Tip: use gravel as groundcover
This is a contemporary gravel garden, which features open clearings in which to pause and linger, as counterpoints to blocks of intense planting. In a gravel garden, there is no need to include edging or a boundary to define garden beds as there would have been if lawn was used. “Gravel gardens show off the plants really well,” says Andy. “The gravel keeps weeds down and moisture in, so it’s very practical.”

Leading UK garden designer Andy Sturgeon claimed his fifth consecutive gold medal at Chelsea this year and scooped the coveted Best in Show award as well, for the Daily Telegraph garden.

Although deceptively simple in design, this garden’s wow factor comes from cleverly combining strong structural elements with diverse and interesting plantings. Rusted Corten steel screens of open rectangles slice through the garden, defining spaces. From the front they present as a monolithic element, but, as you move through the garden and view them from the side, they open up to frame a series of vistas across the garden. Linear limestone paths form another strong design element, their pale colour contrasting with the dark rustiness of the steel. “There’s a metaphor for life here – the journey or path that you take,” says Andy. “When you come into the garden you’re faced with choices about which direction to choose. The steel screens that you see through offer a glimpse of what you could have had if you’d gone the other way.”

At the rear, a secluded courtyard shaded by trees and with the sound of running water offers a contemplative space. The planting scheme includes plants from many countries, inspired by Andy’s travels. Australian coastal rosemary (Westringia fruticosa), purple hop bush (Dodonaea) and Dianella ‘Little Rev’ rub shoulders with Californian, Mexican, South African and Mediterranean plants, tempered with a few English favourites for colour.

A journey of discovery: designer Robert Myers, Gold Medal
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Drifts of dainty flowers are offset by the deep, textured tones of a louvred timber cloister, in a garden exploring light and dark.

PLANTS
The bright floral displays come courtesy of blue irises (Iris sibirica ‘Tropic Night’), deep pink ‘Millers Crimson’ primulas and white peony (Paeonia ‘Jan van Leeuwen’).

MATERIALS
An uneven path was sculpted from granite by hand to emulate the bumps and hollows of a rocky start to a journey. Despite appearances, it was not uncomfortable to walk on. Along the cloisters are benches made of scorched oak by Jim Partridge and Liz Walmsley.

Tip: plant trees in groves
Planting deciduous trees in a grove is a striking technique that is under-used in Australia. You can plant as few as three, spaced irregularly. The white-stemmed birch (Betula utilis ‘Jacquemontii’) used here is a larger tree. Suitable smaller trees include silver birch (Betula pendula) or, in warmer areas, tropical birch (Betula nigra). Alternatively, use Japanese maple, ornamental plums or peaches, or dwarf crepe myrtle.

Designed to reflect the theme of ‘enlighten’, set by sponsor Cancer Research UK, this elegant garden explores light and darkness.

You enter via a space enclosed by a grove of pale birch trees; the start of the path is uneven and dark. Dappled light filters through the tree canopy and the plants below are limited to green and white. Emerging from the woodland to an open terrace area, the stone path gradually becomes smoother and lighter, while flowers along the side become brighter and more colourful, and several small pools scattered through the planting reflect light. A circular pool is the centrepiece of a sunny area where visitors can meet and talk. The slatted-timber canopy over the terrace features a circular ‘window to the sky’, which symbolises enlightenment. At the rear of the garden, the planting becomes more formal and regular, with a grid of clipped box cubes suggesting a calmer, more ordered environment.

Surrounding the entire garden is a contemplative cloister of slatted timber, creating changing vistas and shadows. “In this garden, I wanted to play with light and shade, colour and texture,” says Robert. After the show, the plants, structures and paving were relocated to a Cancer Research UK institute.

Lifestyle envy: designer Scott Wynd, Gold Medal 
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The victorious Australian entrant at Chelsea was a clean lined and contemporary take on outdoor living ... Lifestyle plus!

PLANTS
A lush tropical feel was achieved by planting mature giant bird of paradise (Strelitzia alba) and bamboo (Phyllostachys violascens) around the perimeters. Splashes of colour come from red canna lilies, orange bromeliads and bird of paradise (Strelitzia reginae). Calla lilies (Zantedeschia ‘Brilliance’) and Phormium ‘Surfer Green’ (New Zealand flax) also feature.

MATERIALS
Anston Paving Stones pavers in an Ashlar pattern adorn the pavilion floor and feature wall. The sculpture in the window is called Intertwine, from Sculptura, while the timber bulkhead is stained Intergrain Charcoal.

Tip: support fellow Australians
Fleming’s Nurseries has sponsored the Australian garden at Chelsea since 2005, showcasing a different local designer each year. Last year was the exception, when the nursery was hit by the Black Saturday fires, preventing participation. This year, the garden was constructed by a crew of volunteer landscapers whose  goodwill brought the dream to fruition. For more images of the garden and details of the construction team, go to www.flemings.com.au and www.landscape.net.au.

Outdoor living is part of the Australian way of life and this garden showed the world what we do best. Designed by Scott Wynd, constructed by Ian Barker & Associates, and with planting supplied by Fleming’s Nurseries, this stylish living space is set within the seclusion of a lush garden.

A spa with a glass wall was a crowd-stopper. The swimming pool also had a transparent wall and featured a swim-up bar with recessed ice buckets. Then there’s the breakfast bar, sunken lounge area and kitchen.

The main pavilion features a prominent circular roof cut-out, echoed in the window on the rear wall. Continuing the theme, a circular feature roof with laser-cut bubble pattern is centred over the lounge area.

The genius of the design is in the use of space: it incorporates so many elements without appearing busy. Generous material proportions enhance the spacious feeling, from huge paving stones to the 20x20cm cypress posts and crossbeams. The colour theme is restrained, with white walls, charcoal paving and charcoal-stained timbers.

The planting, meanwhile, is lush and jungle-like. Mature giant bird of paradise and bamboo plants add dramatic vertical elements while creating a sense of enclosure around the perimeter. Plants in the lower canopy provide textural interest and splashes of colour with red canna lilies, orange bromeliads and regular-size bird of paradise featuring strongly.

“People are in awe of our outdoor lifestyle,” says Scott. “Australian gardens are like a breath of fresh air at Chelsea.”

Mediterranean romance: designer James Towillis, Silver Gilt Medal
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A rustic garden in Provence is recreated in London using dry-climate plants, fragrant herbs and reclaimed elements such as terracotta roof tiles and an ancient olive tree.

PLANTS
Used here to line a path, lavender clipped into soft mounds demonstrates traditional Provençal style. The massive, gnarled olive tree was rescued from a building site. Weighing over five tonnes, it is estimated to be more than 400 years old. Olive trees tolerate even the most severe pruning and transplanting.

MATERIALS
Artefacts from Provence aid authenticity, including old tools, tiles, windows, shutters and the door. A rustic groundcover was achieved using graded limestone from England as well as chippings left over from making the terraces out of limestone from Provence.

Tip: visit the Mediterranean
In hot, dry Mediterranean climates such as in Adelaide and Perth, the choice of plants is limited but never boring. Choose aromatic and edible plants, such as those featured here, to use in the kitchen as herbal teas, in homemade potpourri and fragrant drawer sachets. Terracotta pots filled with red geraniums, a rustic chair and bunches of cut lavender hung upside-down to dry all add to that special blend of Mediterranean magic.

The soft grey foliage of olive trees and fields of lavender transport us instantly to Provence in this evocative garden. It is filled with the many fragrant and productive plants that thrive in the hot, sunny Mediterranean climate and parts of Australia: lavender, lemon verbena and the cosmetic herb the French call immortelle (Helichrysum italicum) plus fruit-bearing olive, fig, almond and mulberry trees and wild herbs such as sage, rosemary, thyme, borage and juniper.

“I love the wild terrain of Provence,” says UK designer James Towillis. “I wanted to create a simple, terraced garden that is so typical there. Your five senses are assaulted as you walk through.” James cleverly employed a trick in perspective, using converging rows of lavender that make the garden seem larger than it is.

To recreate the Provençal landscape, massive man-made rocks have been used to build the site up towards the back. Rustic dry-stone walls form terraces, with plants spilling over the top and fragrant thyme tucked into the crevices. A water rill tumbles down the slope in a series of pools, offering respite from the heat. The dominant colours of silver, grey, purple and blue are punctuated by flashes of bright red poppies, orange calendulas and pink peonies.

Drama in the garden:  designer Thomas Hoblyn, Silver Gilt Medal
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An intriguing interplay of the organic and the structured creates a garden that is both serene and sensuous, and full of wonderful surprises.

PLANTS
At the centre of the garden, a Parrotia, underplanted with purple iris and orange tulips, brings shade. Cut-back crepe myrtles and Yucca rostrata create striking sculptural forms.

MATERIALS
Gravel paths in a pale shade make plants stand out boldly.

Tip: don’t be too rigid
Combining formal structure with informal planting is a clever way of creating a garden that is neither rigid nor messy. If the walls, paved areas and pathways are well-planned, they provide the necessary strength to the design. Be generous with proportions and keep material choices simple. Position trees to provide shade and vertical accents. Wide garden beds allow for an interesting planting mix of different heights, textures and colours.

Inspired by Voltaire’s 18th-century French novel Candide, this is a sensuous and tactile garden with a vibrant use of plants. A grid structure underlies the design, but the fluid and natural style of the planting overrules any sense of formality. Two tranquil pools of water on either side of the garden are linked by a scalloped, flowing structure, reminiscent of a Turkish rill, which runs through the centre.

Enclosing the garden are stone-clad walls, on which a series of nine voluptuous copper sculptures is embedded. Emerging from frames of lush ferns and moss, these represent Lady Cunégonde, the woman Candide pursues throughout his life.

“The patina of the copper sculptures dictated the colour palette of the plants,” says UK designer Thomas Hoblyn. “Parrotia and crepe myrtle trees were chosen for their metallic colours, but also because their branches resemble human limbs.”

The planting scheme is Mediterranean, with succulents such as agave, aloe and sempervivum, as well as drought-tolerant pride of Madeira (Echium), Californian poppy (Eschscholzia californica) and Mexican lily (Beschorneria). “I always plant imagining fireworks and exploding rockets,” says Thomas. The vivid combination of orange tulips and purple bearded irises beneath the Hungarian oak tree (Quercus frainetto) is evidence of that.