Between Chaos & Order
My first RHS garden. A long border about what tending plants did for me after ten years in cyber security: balance, clarity and connection, and how gardens can support emotional wellbeing, especially for neurodivergent people.
Silver-Gilt medal · Long Border · 22–26 July 2026 · Sandringham, Norfolk
RHS SANDRINGHAM 2026
THE IDEA
A border for slowing down
I planted a calm space in cool blues, lilacs, silvers and soft golds. Layers of naturalistic planting, gentle grasses and tactile foliage encourage slower looking and quiet participation. A reflective pool and a stone seat add stillness. The design borrows the repetition and symmetry of contemplative Eastern gardens, with Neofinetia falcata shown in the traditional fuukiran style. The same thinking runs through my mindful floristry workshops.
Height comes from a white-stemmed birch, Betula utilis subsp. jacquemontii, balanced by a standing stone and upright perennials. The name is the point: loose planting held by a clear structure, and somewhere to step out of the overstimulation of modern life.
What’s in it
A raised long border, about 7 m by 2 m, with four things holding the planting together.
GRANITE
The stone
A 1.8 m granite standing stone. The still point everything else leans around.
WATER
The pool
A round reflecting pool. Sky on the ground.
REST
The seat
A circular stone seat and a meditation cushion. You are meant to stop.
HEIGHT
The birch
White-stemmed Himalayan birch, for height and light.
Look around
Drag to look around the border as it stood on the showground. See if you can spot me! 360° photo: GardensDB
At the show
Five days in July on the Sandringham Estate, and a lot of people stopping to sit down.
Watch
Two short films from the showground, and a chat at the border.
A WALK ROUND THE BORDER
MY FAVOURITE PLANTS IN IT
INTERVIEWED BY THE CLOUD GARDENER
Jason Williams, the Cloud Gardener, stopped at the border on his tour of the show and asked about calm planting and my move out of cyber security. My part starts at 16:52. Watch the full tour on YouTube.
Agapanthus ‘Arctic Star’
Agapanthus ‘Blue Umbrella’
Artemisia abrotanum
Betula utilis subsp. jacquemontii
Campanula lactiflora ‘Prichard’s Variety’
Deschampsia cespitosa ‘Goldtau’
Echinacea purpurea ‘White Swan’
Geranium ‘Dreamland’
Hakonechloa macra
Hosta ‘Halcyon’
Hydrangea paniculata ‘Great Star’
Limonium latifolium
Neofinetia falcata ‘Kibana’
Neofinetia falcata ‘Perfect Diamond’
Nepeta ‘Summer Magic’
Nicotiana sylvestris
Phlox paniculata ‘Blue Paradise’
Salvia ‘Lake Silvretta’
Salvia nemorosa ‘Crystal Blue’
Salvia yangii ‘Blue Spire’
Sedum ‘Bertram Anderson’
Soleirolia soleirolii
Stipa tenuissima
Thalictrum delavayi ‘Hewitt’s Double’
The plant list
Cool blues, lilacs, silvers and soft golds. Twenty-four plants, as submitted to the RHS.
What happened next
Show gardens are temporary. This one kept going.
THE PLANTS
Most of the planting was lifted after the show and now grows at Gamesley Community Garden. See its second life
THE JOURNAL
What happens to a show garden afterwards, and why mine went to Gamesley. Read the post
FOR YOUR GARDEN
Loose, naturalistic layers held by a clear structure. It is how I plant every garden. Garden and planting design
The move made the front page of the Glossop Chronicle. See all press · The border on the RHS website · Look around it in 360° on GardensDB
A collaboration rooted in shared values
MADE WITH HOMES REIMAGINED
Homes Reimagined creates thoughtful, accessible and future-proof living spaces that help people live more comfortably, independently and beautifully at home. Led by occupational therapy insight, their work brings together practical adaptation, inclusive design and an understanding of how spaces shape everyday life. homesreimagined.co.uk
Quintessence
Quintessence grew out of my own experience of how much a garden can help. I design gardens and events not simply as beautiful spaces, but as places of refuge. Through plants and flowers, the aim is to reconnect people with nature.
Together, we are creating environments that nurture both mental and physical wellbeing: spaces that support rest, restoration and a healthier relationship with the world around us.
The border was sponsored by Homes Reimagined and Bernhard’s Nurseries.
Good to know.
What did it win?
A Silver-Gilt medal at RHS Sandringham Flower Show 2026, in the Long Borders category. It was my first RHS design. See it on the RHS website
Where is it now?
Most of the planting was lifted after the show and replanted at Gamesley Community Garden in Glossop.
Can I see it?
Can I have planting like this at home?
The show border is gone, but the plants are growing at Gamesley, and you can look around the original in the 360° photo further up this page, taken by GardensDB.
Yes. This is how I plant gardens: loose, naturalistic layers held by a clear structure. Start with garden and planting design, or book a free consultation.