RHS Gold, Best in Category and The People’s Choice Award for Zoe Claymore and The Wildlife Trusts’: Renter’s Retreat
What a whirlwind last summer’s show garden was. Six months on, I am delighted that the Renter’s Retreat won a gold medal, the Best Get Started Garden, and People’s Choice awards at RHS Hampton Court last summer. The garden was a passion project of mine for two years. Working on it alongside growing a business and studying was a challenge, to say the least, but I am delighted that it resonated so well with both the judges and the public.
It wouldn't have happened without the fantastic support of so many organisations and individuals. Particular thanks to my fantastic landscapers Frogheath, my main plant nursery How Green, the build volunteers (over 15 of you!), the suppliers that donated goods, and all the wonderful people at both The Wildlife Trusts and The RHS for believing in me.
The RHS judges praised the garden design for being completely ‘on brief’, in effect a direct and unequivocal representation of what the client wanted. They also praised the layout, saying “we tried really hard to fault your layout and proportion but we couldn’t,” and the planting - both the combinations and layout - for its naturalistic yet robust practicality and suitability for a shady courtyard.
It was particularly special for me that the project resonated so well; the design is very personal to me. The inspiration behind this garden is based on a courtyard I used to rent in my early 20s. The idea for the garden started at the RHS Hampton Court Palace Garden Festival two years ago, when I first saw the 'get started' category of gardens. I realised that renting, along with a lack of inspiration about what I could do with the space I had available, was one of the biggest barriers to getting into gardening for me. With so many households renting their homes, I felt a large group of people were being overlooked by show gardens and set myself the goal of creating a 'get started' garden that would inspire everyone and get people – not just those who owned their properties – to talk about and engage in rental gardening!
While the awards were fantastic, I have to say the best part of the week for me was being able to talk to decision-makers about how to incorporate more plants into urban spaces. Additionally, the comments, emails, and social messages I received from the public, saying how the garden had inspired them to start gardening, were incredibly rewarding. This, for me, was truly what the garden was all about: raising the profile of this issue and breaking down barriers to gardening. To hear me talk more about this issue, check out the BBC London News clip below.