RHS Tatton 2024 The If a Tree Falls Garden

Tatton Park, Cheshire

Designed and built as part of the Career Changer of the Year category this garden explored opportunities that arise from disaster. In the wake of an extreme weather event a fallen tree has caused significant damage to a beloved garden rockery, creating a unique opportunity for restoration and renewal.

The felled tree, while devastating, now serves as a central feature in the re-imagined garden space, epitomizing the concept that new growth often arises from chaos. The garden's redesigned elements, including a bog garden in a galvanised steel trough, focus on enhancing biodiversity and creating habitats for a large variety of species, including insects, birds, amphibians and mammals.

Reclaimed York Stone and Eco-gravel finish the hard surfacing. They were chosen to add sustainability and apply longevity whilst enhancing and complimenting the gardens natural aesthetic.

A variety of plants with many different flower types have been implemented to provide nectar for a wide range of pollinating insects and some act as a crucial food source for the larvae of butterflies, moths and beetles.