Success at Southport Flower Show!
E
ach year the Southport Flower Show
grows in prestige and 2017 was no
exception with a stunning selection
of show gardens, floral marquees and
stalls available for visitors to the North
West.
Southport’s gardens featured a variety
of styles from a range of designers, but
the entry by C & W Berry’s ‘Kuro’ garden
once again stole the show. Designed and
constructed by the team at Kirman Designs,
with Black Basalt donated by Long Rake
Spar, the garden was composed of dark
materials and hard angular aesthetics with
blocks of green planting.
Visitors were transported into another
world through apertures on the large black
cube, revealing delicately neutral woodland
planting in a room of mirrors. Japanese
Forest Grass, Anemone, Astrantia, Ostrich
Fern and Himalayan Birch form part of the
extensive plant library.
Entitled Kuro is ‘black’ Japanese and this
garden connotes Japanese culture through
the dominant use of shou sugi ban timber;
an ancient technique of preserving wood
by scorching the surface before coating it in
natural oils to reveal the grain.
Andy Kirman, Garden designer said: “This
Garden was a brave statement, but it has
paid off in the end. Sometimes a split
of opinion is a good thing as it creates
conversation”.
The show garden aims to inspire visitors
and introduce them to the vast possibilities
of Berry’s products. The Garden features
porcelain paving from Global Stone,
bespoke fencing from Denbigh Timber,
Aggregate from Long Rake Spar, and
lighting from Ansell. Behind the scenes, the
tools and equipment were also provided by
C & W Berry.
The garden has been a huge success,
receiving an impressive number of medals
including, Large Gold Medal, Best Large
Garden, The Pontins Trophy for Best Outside
Garden, Southport Corporation Trophy for
Best Large Garden and The Brian Aughton
Memorial award for Best Use of Plants. The
garden was marked by RHS judges.
www.longrakespar.co.uk
Landscape & Urban Design
45