The Ophelia Survival Garden by Leanne Werner - BBC Gardeners' World Autum Fair 2026 - GardensDB Browse [ ![](/images/leaf_icon.svg) Gardens**DB** ](https://gardensdb.com) [ Gardens ](https://gardensdb.com/gardens) [ Shows ](https://gardensdb.com/shows) [ Studios ](https://gardensdb.com/studios) [ People ](https://gardensdb.com/people) [ Search gardens, designers, shows… ](https://gardensdb.com/search) [ Login ](https://gardensdb.com/login?redirect_to=https%3A%2F%2Fgardensdb.com%2Fgardens%2Fthe-ophelia-survival-garden) [ Register ](https://gardensdb.com/register) [ ](https://gardensdb.com/search) Discover - [ Home ](https://gardensdb.com) - [ Gardens ](https://gardensdb.com/gardens) - [ Shows ](https://gardensdb.com/shows) - [ Events ](https://gardensdb.com/events) - [ 360° tours ](https://gardensdb.com/360-tours) - [ Trails ](https://gardensdb.com/trails) People & studios - [ People ](https://gardensdb.com/people) - [ Studios ](https://gardensdb.com/studios) - [ Books ](https://gardensdb.com/books) - [ Jobs ](https://gardensdb.com/jobs) Organisations - [ Sponsors ](https://gardensdb.com/sponsors) - [ Charity & non-profits ](https://gardensdb.com/charities) - [ Collectives ](https://gardensdb.com/collectives) - [ Companies ](https://gardensdb.com/companies) - [ Education ](https://gardensdb.com/education-institutions) - [ Nurseries ](https://gardensdb.com/nurseries) Account - [ Login ](https://gardensdb.com/login?redirect_to=https%3A%2F%2Fgardensdb.com%2Fgardens%2Fthe-ophelia-survival-garden) - [ Register ](https://gardensdb.com/register) Follow [ gardensdb on Instagram (opens in a new tab)](https://www.instagram.com/gardensdb/) Discover - [ Home Today's highlights ](https://gardensdb.com) - [ Gardens Show gardens, catalogued ](https://gardensdb.com/gardens) - [ Shows Horticultural shows ](https://gardensdb.com/shows) - [ Events Festivals, courses & open days ](https://gardensdb.com/events) - [ 360° tours Step inside, long after the show packs up ](https://gardensdb.com/360-tours) - [ Trails Curated routes through the gardens ](https://gardensdb.com/trails) People & studios - [ People Designers, judges, growers ](https://gardensdb.com/people) - [ Studios Design practices ](https://gardensdb.com/studios) - [ Books Recommended reading ](https://gardensdb.com/books) - [ Jobs Roles in the industry ](https://gardensdb.com/jobs) Organisations - [ Sponsors Organisations that back the gardens ](https://gardensdb.com/sponsors) - [ Charity & non-profits Causes behind the gardens ](https://gardensdb.com/charities) - [ Collectives Groups & community projects ](https://gardensdb.com/collectives) - [ Companies Suppliers & contractors ](https://gardensdb.com/companies) - [ Education Schools, colleges & universities ](https://gardensdb.com/education-institutions) - [ Nurseries Plant suppliers & growers ](https://gardensdb.com/nurseries) [ Submit a garden ](https://gardensdb.com/gardens/submit) [ About GardensDB ](https://gardensdb.com/help) [ gardensdb on Instagram (opens in a new tab)](https://www.instagram.com/gardensdb/) ![A beautiful border garden with a winding path through edible plants, a red-leafed tree, and a white screen featuring large, vibrant butterflies.](https://cdn.gardensdb.com/media/50fc08c2-d8ad-4bff-b68a-1c800e089873/conversions/final-3D-concept-gallery.webp) [Gardens](https://gardensdb.com/gardens) / [ BBC Gardeners' World Autum Fair 2026 ](https://gardensdb.com/shows/bbc-gardeners-world-autum-fair-2026) Beautiful Borders The Ophelia Survival Garden ============================= Designed by Leanne Werner, Alexandra Freeman At a glance Show BBC Gardeners' World Autum Fair Year 2026 Category Beautiful Borders Border About this garden The story ----------- "The Ophelia Survival Garden" reimagines resilience in a changing climate. Drought-tolerant planting, flowing grasses and hidden irrigation evoke a lost river, while storytelling invites reflection on survival, memory and renewal within a fragile, evolving landscape. Once upon a time, a woman was driven to the water's edge. Now the water is gone. Ophelia was not simply lost to water: she was driven there by silence and constraint. This garden reimagines her in a climate-changed world, where water is no longer an ending but an absence she survives. She endures underground, in unglazed terracotta ollas releasing slow moisture through dry shade woodland. A river of grasses runs through the garden, with Hakonechloa macra and Anemanthele lessoniana moving like water without needing it. Ferns hold the memory of damp places, while Liriope muscari flowers after long absence. Visitors carry river stones painted with words from poems across the garden, enacting Ophelia's survival. An Amelanchier lamarckii burns copper and gold in autumn above an unseen river. The garden holds her memory softy. The people behind it Designers ----------- - [ LW Leanne Werner Designer ](https://gardensdb.com/people/leanne-werner) - [ ![](https://cdn.gardensdb.com/people/alexandra-freeman/profile_photo.webp?v=7ca68da0-9985-428d-88c6-0704d3f31bb1) Alexandra Freeman Designer ](https://gardensdb.com/people/alexandra-freeman) Photography Gallery --------- ![](https://cdn.gardensdb.com/media/50fc08c2-d8ad-4bff-b68a-1c800e089873/conversions/final-3D-concept-gallery.webp) ![]() / Hero image Set as hero Photo: ![](/images/leaf_icon.svg) Gardens**DB** The world's largest collection of show gardens online, kept free, kept current, and shaped by the community that uses it. 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