The Wuhan Water Garden at the 2018 RHS Chelsea Flower Show was designed to be walked around and viewed from all sides, conveying a journey through the contrasting natural landscape of Hubei Province, including the UNESCO World Heritage Centre of Hubei’s Shennongjia Foresty District, and the hi-tech, urban environment of Wuhan, China’s City of 1000 Lakes’.

Water was used cleverly throughout the garden, from the playful fountain to the stylised streams and subtle woodland springs, to represent how the ancient city of Wuhan has manages the flood waters of the Yangtze River for hundreds of years.

The garden was constructed using a modular grid system pre-fabricated off-site to ensure an efficient build process on the flower show’s largest show garden plot. This underlying grid permeated throughout the garden and reflected the interaction between the urban and more natural landscapes. A ‘quilt’ of cubic containers suspended the various elements of the garden, including forest, urban and aquatic planting, water features flowing along, around, above and below a suspended walkway that ran the length of the site through the woodland and as a transparent bridge across the central city and lake. Colourful artwork was blended in with the planting to represent the vibrancy of the City of Wuhan.

The garden was designed by Laurie Chetwood in collaboration with landscape architect Patrick Collins.