The RHS Chatsworth Flower Show

Designing one of the show gardens at the inaugural RHS Chatsworth Flower Show 2017

Guy Taylor Associates teamed up with Mansfield-based Charity; The Inspire & Achieve Foundation to design one of the 16 show gardens at the inaugural RHS Chatsworth Flower Show.

The garden featured on BBC Gardener’s World was entitled ‘The Good Within’ and reflected the work that The Inspire & Achieve Foundation undertake in the East Midlands. The charity support disadvantaged young people who are Not in Education, Employment or Training (NEET) and have barriers such as addiction, homelessness, mental health issues, teenage pregnancy, abuse, have grown up in care, have learning difficulties, criminal records and/or have been bullied. They help these young people find their motivation and progress into employment or education. The Inspire & Achieve Foundation helps transform the lives of young people through a blend of outreach, mentoring, and training. Each year, they support over 250 individuals, with around 65% progressing into education or employment.

The garden, designed by Matthew Fountain; Director of Guy Taylor Associates Landscape Architecture division based in Sheffield, and Sean Peel; An Architect in the practice’s Newark Studio, took the form of a seemingly derelict building which outwardly reflects the difficult starts the young people may have faced and the way they feel society looks upon them. However within this, colourful planting takes over the internal space and starts to creep out of the cracks in the walls, symbolising the untapped potential within every young person the charity helps.

All materials and labour for the garden, as well as Guy Taylor Associates design time, were donated free of charge. The bricks used in the walls were donated by Ibstock, all building materials were donated by Markowitz Builder’s Merchants, the central sculpture designed by Guy Taylor Associates was fabricated and donated by Brightwake, the plants were donated by Guy Taylor Associates and Derbyshire builder Phil Swindell donated his time for the construction of the garden.

The 3m high central sculpture was purchased by the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire to go on permanent display within the grounds of Chatsworth.