A naturalistic garden features a log bench, exposed tree stump, slate stepping stones, and gravel path amidst ferns, grasses, and wildflowers.
Career Changer Silver Medal

The RHS If a Tree Falls Garden

Designed by Jon Pilling
Photo: Royal Horticultural Society
About this garden

The story

Inspired by the loss of habitat, especially trees, that is a factor of our increasingly extreme weather patterns, the space highlights the opportunity that arises from disaster. The garden’s focal point is a fallen tree. Far from being seen as a nuisance that requires removal and chipping or burning, the tree has instead been transformed into a centrepiece seating area. Used in this way, the tree will return to the earth over time, slowing carbon release and providing wildlife habitat in the meantime, as well as offering a place to repose and reflect for people. This central seating area is flanked and backed by rocks and a naturalistic planting area under the dappled canopy of Betula pendula (silver birch) trees, featuring loose hedging and a plethora of shade-tolerant species. Enveloping the centre of the garden are drifts of grasses and perennials, evocative of a biodiverse grassland.
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