In 2010 Water Gems teamed up with garden designer Carolyn Grohmann to create a full-sized show garden at Gardening Scotland. The garden was awarded a gold medal and was named best show garden.
It was featured on STV's The Hour and The Beechgrove Garden's Lesley Watson proclaimed it 'good enough for Chelsea'. On the first morning of the show, the garden was sold to a family seeking a sculptural feature for their garden near Aviemore. Installation of the rebar and its surround is now underway.
The garden was called Reinforcing Nature to reflect the use of woven reinforcing steel bars which formed a sculptural ribbon set amongst wildflowers and a natural, frothy planting scheme. The plants were supplied by the award-winning nursery Binny Plants.
A rebar fire pit, made specially for the show by Ratho Byres Forge, sat on a larch deck at the heart of the garden, surrounded by water with aquatic planting including irises, water lilies and and the striking Equisetum hyemale.
The rebar structure took six months to build in Water Gems' workshop on the Dalmeny Estate. The whole project was a wonderful experience for everyone involved and its success is a reflection of the creativity, skill and dedication which went into its creation. That it has found a new home in the Highlands of Scotland has been the icing on the cake.
Photos marked BP by Barry Primrose.