Thomas Hoblyn at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2010
Foreign and Colonial Investment Garden (MA 24)
For his return to the RHS Chelsea Flower Show, medal-winning designer Thomas Hoblyn has taken his influence from the world of literature.
Tom's build up to the show can be seen by visiting his blog »
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Inspired by the 18th century satirical masterpiece Candide by French author Voltaire, Hoblyn has designed a Mediterranean-style garden to represent the ill-fated travels of Candide as he journeys around the world, across oceans and rapids, in search of his lost love.
The Foreign & Colonial Investments' Garden which is being supported by Homebase is designed in a grid-like pattern suggestive of the fields of the Turkish smallholding depicted in the final scenes of the book where Candide, disillusioned with what the world has to offer, finally finds happiness and contentment with his sweetheart Cunégonde. The book concludes with Candide’s contemplative musing; "il faut cultiver nôtre jardin" or "we must cultivate our garden".
To symbolise the oceans that Candide crosses in his travels, Hoblyn has incorporated two pools of water on either side of the garden. These pools are linked by a specially-commissioned, scalloped flowform structure which forms the centrepiece of the space. The flowform forces the water to create sparkling, diamond-shaped white water as it runs through the centre of the garden, mimicking the river rapids that shipwrecked Candide’s canoe as he entered the utopian El Dorado. The flowform idea is taken from the biodynamic belief that stirring water in a certain way adds cosmic and earthly energy to water – a philosophy that Thomas practises in his own garden.
The garden is enclosed by a stone-clad wall flanked with pockets of moss and lushly planted ferns implying the steep cliff of El Dorado. Glistening from within these walls is the highlight of the garden – a series of nine voluptuous, bronze sculptures portraying Cunégonde the woman Candide pursues throughout his life. These incredibly detailed, sensual sculptures are actual bronze life-casts, each one depicting Cunégonde as she transforms from a coquettish young girl, to a social-climbing courtesan, to a bitter, older woman. These art pieces, which are a contemporary take on classical 18th century sculptures, are intended to be a representation of Candide's "thoughts of Cunégonde" as he journeys on his trans-global quest to pursue her.
The planting in the garden is decidedly Mediterranean incorporating lots of succulents and other drought-tolerant plants. Plants were particularly chosen for their natural, limb-like habit and their sensual mounded forms that mimic the human figure and provide a harmonious synergy with the bronze sculptures, thus softening the grid-like layout of the garden. The planting will appear to be simultaneously mature and structured but with a random-quality as if evolved over time. The majestic Quercus cerris (the Turkey Oak) and the limb-like Parrotia persica (Iron Tree) with its metallic-looking bark will both punctuate the space and provide a sheltering canopy to define the terrace areas within the garden.
The overall effect is of fluid, organic plants, sculpted by the wind in a striking colour palette of aged bronze, burnt ochre and verdigris, balanced with subtle tones of glaucous blues and greens and accented with vivid and fiery oranges.
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The BBC website has a profile on Tom. He can also be found in the Meet The Designers section and you can hear a transcript of Gardener's Question Time that includes an interview with him. Additionally here is last year's film where Tom talks about his highlights of Chelsea.
Tom is also currently on The Enduring Gardener website
See why Tom loves Chelsea; click here. He also has a page about his garden on the RHS site
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