Charity founder inspires Chelsea Flower Show garden

The life and ideas of a woman who co-founded the National Trust have inspired a garden at the Chelsea Flower Show.

Victorian social reformer Octavia Hill, who helped found the association in 1895, worked to improve urban housing and protect green spaces.

Hampshire-based garden designer Ann-Marie Powell said her ideas remain relevant today.

Ms Powell said: “I was just wondering why isn’t this woman as famous as Florence Nightingale? Without it, our landscape would be very different.”

Octavia Hill Garden is lined with corrugated iron fences to give the impression of an urban site.

The plant-filled wildlife garden is designed to boost physical, mental and social well-being.

The garden features handmade wooden benches, created by West Sussex-based woodcarver Kate Hanrahan, who used fallen oak trees from National Trust forests.

Ms Powell said she was passionate about providing access to green space for all.

Ms Powell said that when she designed the garden, Ms Hill was never far from her mind.

“I wondered what she would do now if she had the opportunity and I really think she would advocate for urban wild gardens for communities, which is why I designed it,” he said. she declared.

“I channeled my inner Octavia and she was my guide.”

“The garden offers a little piece of nature and everything it can do for us to make people feel part of it, and when they become part of it, I hope they cherish it and fight for it “, she added.

Follow BBC South on Facebook, X (Twitter)Or Instagram. Send your story ideas to [email protected] or via WhatsApp to 0808 100 2240.

Related links