The Wedgwood 260th Anniversary Garden, RHS Chatsworth Flower Show 2019
RHS Chatsworth Flower Show · June 2019 · Gold, Best in Show, People's Choice, Best Construction
The Wedgwood 260th Anniversary Garden, designed by Jamie Butterworth for the RHS Chatsworth Flower Show in June 2019, won a Gold medal, Best in Show, the People's Choice award and Best Construction. It was the first garden in RHS history to take the top award in all four categories.
At a glance
Show: RHS Chatsworth Flower Show, June 2019
Garden: Wedgwood 260th Anniversary Garden
Designer: Jamie Butterworth
Sponsor: Wedgwood
Build: Keyscape Design & Construction
Planting: Butterworth Hort with Hortus Loci
Awards: Gold medal, Best in Show, People's Choice, Best Construction
The story behind the garden
The garden marked 260 years of Wedgwood, and it celebrated the member of the family who shaped British gardening: John Wedgwood, son of the potter Josiah Wedgwood. In 1804 John Wedgwood founded the Horticultural Society of London, which became the Royal Horticultural Society.
Drawing on John Wedgwood's own diaries, the garden explored his belief that plants bring people together. It was designed as a place both for gathering and for quiet reflection.
The design
A sunken seating area at the heart of the garden, made for gathering and conversation.
A red brick bench beside a long, narrow pond, a place to sit quietly and reflect.
Hand-carved oak furniture, a table and benches made from an oak grown on the Kingscote estate in Gloucestershire, John Wedgwood's former home.
Trained fruit trees, inspired by John Wedgwood's diary notes on training trees.
Self-binding gravel paths in Goldpath, quiet underfoot and calm to look at, so the planting could lead.
The planting: Jasperware blues
The colour palette came straight from Wedgwood's most famous creation. In Jamie's words, "The delicate blue and purple hues of the flowering plants mirrors the iconic Jasperware that Wedgwood introduced in the 1800s." Soft blues and purples were set within lush green planting, with brighter flowers used sparingly as focal points to lift the scheme.
Blue and purple is one of the most rewarding palettes in a garden. It reads as cool and calm, recedes slightly so spaces feel larger, and glows in the evening light.
What winning all four awards means
At RHS shows, a Gold medal is awarded by the judges against the brief, Best in Show is the top garden at the show, Best Construction recognises the quality of the build, and the People's Choice award is voted for by visitors. Winning all four means a garden has convinced the judges, the build assessors and the public at the same time, something no RHS garden had done before.
Jamie's role
Jamie Butterworth designed the garden. It was built by Keyscape Design & Construction, with planting by Jamie's own team, Butterworth Hort, working alongside Hortus Loci.
Ideas to borrow for your own garden
Take a colour palette from something you love. A piece of china, a painting or a fabric gives a planting scheme a clear thread to follow.
For a blue and purple border, plant generously in drifts and add a few brighter flowers as focal points so it doesn't become flat.
Use fruit trees as structure. Trained apples and pears give shape and blossom in a small space, and fruit too.
Keep paths quiet. A simple self-binding gravel lets the planting take centre stage.
Frequently asked questions
What won Best in Show at RHS Chatsworth 2019?
The Wedgwood 260th Anniversary Garden, designed by Jamie Butterworth.
Who was John Wedgwood?
The son of the potter Josiah Wedgwood, and the founder in 1804 of the Horticultural Society of London, which became the Royal Horticultural Society.
Why was the Wedgwood garden blue and purple?
The colours echoed Wedgwood's famous Jasperware, best known in a soft pale blue.
Who built the Wedgwood garden at Chatsworth?
Keyscape Design & Construction, with planting by Butterworth Hort and Hortus Loci.
Planting with Jamie
Jamie Butterworth offers online garden consultations, garden visits and full planting plans, with plants grown peat-free by Form Plants. Find out about planting design and consultations or see all projects.
Sources: Derbyshire Times · Stone Warehouse
