Chelsea flower show, London: The idea behind Sarah Price’s garden is to capture the essence of artist Cedric Morris’s former home. It is a true showstopperThe bench where I’m sitting, a naturally curved slab of beech, smells of teak oil and fresh wood. On the table in front of me are two earthenware pots in a rich warm chocolate brown glaze. Spilling from them are glaucous echeverias, their succulent leaves like plump sugared almonds. There’s the sweet lemon scent of Elaeagnus “quicksilver”, small yellow flowers tucked among silver willowy leaves. I feel hidden away in a quiet corner of a country garden, but the strident calls of ring-necked parakeets bring me back to London.This is the Chelsea flower show and the Nurture Landscapes garden designed by Sarah Price, one of the 12 main show gardens this year. It’s inspired by the plants and the spirit of Benton End, the 16th-century manor house in Suffolk where the artist and gardener Cedric Morris lived. Benton End was a hub of creative freedom, with Lucian Freud, Francis Bacon and Paul Nash among Morris’s liberal circle. It was there that he experimented with breeding bearded irises in unusual sultry colours. Continue reading…
Source : theguardian.com
Read more…Country diary: A little corner of Suffolk, gloriously recreated in the big city | Susie White
