Hartley Botanic are proud to be in association with the SGD & The Raymond Blanc Heritage Garden Competition.
Congratulations to Anne Keenan MSGD who has been named the winning garden designer in the inaugural Raymond Blanc Heritage Garden competition. Anne’s design concept was chosen by a judging panel that included Raymond Blanc, Bob Sherman from Garden Organic, Society of Garden Designers Chair, Juliet Sargeant MSGD, Vice Chair Sean Butler MSGD and Head Gardener at Le Manoir, Anne Marie Owens.
At the same time, David Love Cameron was chosen as the winning Garden Scholar in the competition and will work alongside Anne in the creation of the new garden.
The Heritage Garden competition was conceived to raise awareness of the on-going work by national charity Garden Organic in promoting organic gardening methods, preserving knowledge and safeguarding rare varieties that were once the mainstay of our British gardens. The garden will feature heritage vegetables from the Garden Organic Heritage Seed Library, and will be sited within the kitchen gardens at Raymond Blanc’s two-Michelin star restaurant Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons.
Anne’s design concept utilises circles as a devise to overcome the unusual shape of the Heritage Garden and to facilitate strong visual and physical connections between the glasshouse, the Heritage Garden and the adjacent vegetable and herb gardens.
A series of inspiring signage markers including traditional forcer pots and finger posts will be used to make the garden accessible to visitors and to help them learn and understand about organic gardening.
A garden gate will invite visitors into the site, while sinuous paths will draw visitors into the central open area where a number of beds reserved for the growing of heritage vegetables will facilitate a five-year rotation, according to Soil Association principles. Around the perimeter of the garden, beds will display plants that are good pollinators, sources of nectar, encourage biodiversity and in many cases have medicinal and edible roles. Other areas will be laid out to demonstrate water and green waste re?cycling.
The garden will open in June 2014 and Anne will be responsible for the planning, planting and overseeing the building of the garden, working alongside the team at Le Manoir and David Love Cameron.
Find out more about the winning design on the competition website www.sgd-raymondblanc-gardendesigncompetition.com