Hampton Court Palace Flower ShoW GARDEN 2014
Featured in Elle Decoration | Built by The Outdoor Room
A garden for Hampton Court Palace Flower Show inspired by The Roman Baths in Bath, England. The Roman Baths are central to Bath's identity as a heritage city founded upon natural hot springs. Within the complex, the Romans devised an innovative under floor heating system now known as a Hypocaust. This involved the floor being raised above the ground by regularly spaced columns so hot air from an adjacent furnace could circulate.
The design consists of 9 regularly spaced reflective pools with planting surrounding each. These perfect squares suggest the regularity of Hypocaust columns and serve as a reminder of the city’s relationship with water. Bounding two edges of the site, a raised walkway allows one to appreciate the garden from a raised perspective as well as representing the Hypocaust floor as if it had been cut away to reveal the system underneath.
Well defined flower heads and shrubs in the foreground contrast against a hazy ‘fluffy’ backdrop evocative of steam rising from the hot spring water.
After the flower show, the garden was relocated to The Bath and North East Somerset Carers’ Centre, a charity supporting people caring for family and friends who need extra support day-to-day.
Photography by Gary Rogers