Burncoose in a Cornish Landscape
This year our floral stand at Chelsea is a celebration of the history of our nursery and its beautiful location in an old Cornish country estate. Bringing together subtropical and exotic planting with some of the lovely architectural and landscaping features of Burncoose, our stand will be a plants men’s delight and capture the imagination.
The mild and damp climate in Cornwall is suitable for growing sub tropical and more exotic plants. We want our stand to be an example of the wonderful planting schemes that can be achieved using these plants. From dry, sunny and coastal, through to a herbaceous border, to marginal and then shaded and woodland.
Steeped in history Burncoose has some lovely features that we will re-create on the stand. The white pebbles found on the pathway in the coastal section are similar to those found on the driveway leading up to Burncoose House. These pebbles are mining waste from when the Williams’ family mines were in operation.
Running through the centre of the stand is an old Cornish stone wall that represents the walled kitchen garden from when Burncoose wasn’t a nursery but a farm. The wall creates two clear sections: the dry, sunny, coastal planting with a winding path and the shaded, woodland, garden that steps down in a more formal arrangement.
The design on both sides lead the eye through pathways of either shaded woodland planting of Styrax, Rhododendrons, Enkianthus, or the sunny Leucadendrons and Agaves to a doorway into a seascape that is depicted by a tall glass sculpture, contemporary in style.
Designed by Penryn artist Ali Gibson, the sculpture is made up of three panels; one for the beach, one for the sea and another for the sky. On the stand, it is a doorway out of the garden into a landscape and is an appreciation for the idea that the wider surroundings can provide a lovely backdrop to the garden. It also brings our theme: Burncoose in a Cornish Landscape home to the stand.
Follow all our Chelsea information for 2018 here.
