Gold for young designer’s garden at Tatton

A young designer has won gold at Tatton for creating a unique garden to highlight the dramatic loss of treasured trees outside woods.

Between 1850 and the present day, it is estimated that the country has lost 49 per cent of these trees that are important for a resilient landscape and characterise the English countryside.

Working with the Woodland Trust, Bedfordshire designer Ashleigh Aylett, 29, created a garden for RHS Tatton which showcases efforts being made to address this issue.

This includes planting UK grown trees, and diversifying the species planted to build resilience.

Ashleigh’s unique garden – on display this week - uses more than a thousand different plants, depicting a south facing garden in rural England, with a stream, footpath, fields, hedgerows and dry stone walls.

She said:

“I’m so delighted the garden has been recognised with gold! The garden seeks to capture the romantic essence of the English countryside. By evoking the nostalgia of a perfect day outdoors, it aims to draw the public outdoors and open their eyes to the importance of preserving trees outside woods, a key feature of our countryside.”

Ashleigh’s work takes inspiration from her childhood.

She added:

”From my earliest days, I've been captivated by the vibrant world of greenery, often reminiscing about my adventures in my grandparents' greenhouse, who grew cut flowers commercially - I even had my very own vegetable patch at the age of 8! Over time, I increasingly felt a pull to combine my love of design with a career working with nature, culminating in the switch from interiors to gardens.”

Rebecca Gosling, a tree disease expert from the Woodland Trust has provided support bringing the garden into fruition – the trees have been provided by the charity.

She said it is hugely important to highlight the effect of tree disease. Millions of trees are imported each year, posing a threat to our current trees and woodlands. They can bring with them new pests and pathogens, and these can be extremely damaging when they spread into our ecosystems.

She said:

“Since 2000, a new serious pest or pathogen of trees have been found in the UK every 1.4 years! For example, due to imported ash trees in the 2000s, we are expecting to lose anything between 50-80% of our ash trees to ash dieback, having significant impact on the 953 species that use the ash tree and costing the UK economy £883.5 million annually.

“This is why we are thrilled to showcase this remarkable show garden, which features a diverse array of trees cultivated right here in the UK, highlighting the beauty and resilience of UK-grown trees, and bringing critical attention to the alarming loss of trees outside woods across the country. Trees are indispensable to our ecosystems and our wellbeing, and it is our collective responsibility to protect them.”

This garden at RHS Tatton uses exclusively UKISG (UK Souced and Grown) trees. The Woodland Trust scheme ensures all the trees have been grown in the UK for their entire lives, and the seeds have also been sourced from the UK. This means there are no risks of importing any new pests or pathogens.

Species weaved into the garden include wild cherry, which thrives in an garden environment, making it an ideal tree  for visitors to the show to plant themselves. Also, hawthorn which forms the backbone of many hedgerows within the UK, anchoring the garden in its native landscape. It’s also fantastic for wildlife and can support more than 300 species of insect.  Plants include geraniums and native hogweeds.

Each day the garden will be handing out free saplings to the public visiting the garden. Saplings will be limited and only available during certain times of the day. 

More on tree disease here:

Tree Pests and Diseases - Woodland Trust

Pictured - Ashleigh in her winning garden.

Picture Credit - Ruby  Nutting