Together, Monty Don and his golden retriever, Ned, have designed a garden for the RHS Chelsea Flower Show — a doggy first for the event.
Plantsman Jamie Butterworth, who is creating the RHS and Radio 2 Dog Garden with Don, laid it all out at his nursery, Form Plants in Surrey, then invited Ned to run through all the pots and plants to create pathways to make it ‘as authentic as possible’.
‘Ned followed his nose and forged the routes that we will now copy at the show,’ explains Butterworth. ‘We had imagined that Ned would create sweeps and curves through the planting or, at least, that is what we had designed. However, every time he ran off, he returned to Monty via the same route and, as such, we have changed the designs… So Ned actually designed not only part of the garden, but possibly the most detailed and complex aspect.’
Clare Matterson, RHS director-general, adds: ‘As a nation of gardeners and nation of dog lovers, we hope this garden makes people smile both when they hear about it and when they see it.’
The Country Life 'Outdoor Drawing Room' is at stand PW210 at the Chelsea Flower Show from May 19 to 24 May. For more information, visit the Country Life Chelsea Flower Show hub or the RHS website
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