The Ophelia Survival Garden by Leanne Werner - BBC Gardeners' World Autumn Fair 2026 - GardensDB [ Skip to content ](#main) 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) [ Log in ](https://gardensdb.com/login) [ Register ](https://gardensdb.com/register) [ ](https://gardensdb.com/search) Discover - [ Home ](https://gardensdb.com) - [ Gardens ](https://gardensdb.com/gardens) - [ Plants ](https://gardensdb.com/plants) - [ 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) - [ Charities & non-profits ](https://gardensdb.com/charities) - [ Collectives ](https://gardensdb.com/collectives) - [ Companies ](https://gardensdb.com/companies) - [ Education institutions ](https://gardensdb.com/education-institutions) - [ Nurseries ](https://gardensdb.com/nurseries) Account - [ Log in ](https://gardensdb.com/login) - [ 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) - [ Plants What was planted, and who used it ](https://gardensdb.com/plants) - [ 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) - [ Charities & 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 institutions 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 borders garden featuring a large white mosaic panel with colourful butterflies and lush green and purple planting in a timber raised bed.](https://cdn.gardensdb.com/media/035286e9-86c0-40d4-958e-bc917572b619/conversions/IMG_7528-gallery.webp) [Gardens](https://gardensdb.com/gardens) / [ BBC Gardeners' World Autumn Fair 2026 ](https://gardensdb.com/shows/bbc-gardeners-world-autumn-fair-2026) Beautiful Borders ![](https://cdn.gardensdb.com/awards/bbc-gardeners-world-live-silver/icon.webp) Silver Award The Ophelia Survival Garden ============================= Designed by Leanne Werner, Alexandra Freeman At a glance Show BBC Gardeners' World Autumn Fair Year 2026 Category Beautiful Borders 360° Tour Border Photo: GardensDB 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. Award Recognition ------------- - ![](https://cdn.gardensdb.com/awards/bbc-gardeners-world-live-silver/icon.webp) Silver Award BBC Gardeners World Live The people behind it Designers ----------- - [ LW Leanne Werner Designer Wilder ](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) ### Wider Team 2 - [ ![](https://cdn.gardensdb.com/people/giulia-vogrig/profile_photo.webp?v=8bae5656-19bf-472d-a223-e7efb0badac2) Giulia Vogrig Maker - Mosaic ](https://gardensdb.com/people/giulia-vogrig) - [ ![](https://cdn.gardensdb.com/people/rada-stilianov/profile_photo.webp?v=cf7054ee-6063-481d-8f8a-113d93135432) Rada Stilianov Co-Designer - Mosaic ](https://gardensdb.com/people/rada-stilianov) Step inside 360° tour ----------- Add to your site Copy the code below and paste it into your website to show this 360° tour on your own page. <iframe src="https://gardensdb.com/360-tours/7cdcb90d-9fc1-4f8b-a49e-47be1792f4a8/embed" title="The Ophelia Survival Garden - 360° tour" width="100%" height="500" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> [ Sizing and Squarespace help (opens in a new tab) ](https://gardensdb.com/help#add-360-to-your-site) { copied = true; setTimeout(() => copied = false, 2000) }, () => $refs.code.select())" > Copy code Copied! 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