Chestnut Sponsors a Garden at the First RHS Sandringham Flower Show

This July, we'll be supporting something a little different - the RHS Flower Show is arriving in Norfolk!

As the inaugural RHS Sandringham Flower Show comes to our region, just down the road from Le Strange Arms and The Gin Trap Inn, we're proud to sponsor a show garden designed by Norfolk-based garden designer Jane Scott Moncrieff in support of The Gurkha Welfare Trust.

Inspired by the extraordinary diversity of Himalayan plants and landscapes, the garden explores how gardeners can create beautiful, resilient spaces using sustainable practices and climate-adapted planting. It also shines a light on the important work of The Gurkha Welfare Trust, which provides financial, medical and development aid to Gurkha veterans, their families and communities in Nepal.

Three gardens in one

The design is divided into three distinct habitats, each demonstrating a different approach to gardening sustainably.

A woodland garden showcases shade-loving plants, many of them modern cultivars descended from species native to the Himalayas. Nearby, a rain garden demonstrates how water can be captured and reused; rainfall collected from the pergola roof travels down a rain chain and into a planted hollow filled with species that thrive in moist conditions.

In contrast, the gravel garden has been designed to cope with drier conditions. Slightly raised and planted with drought-tolerant species, which can help gardens become more resilient during increasingly dry summers.

Supporting The Gurkha Welfare Trust

This is Jane's third show garden created in support of The Gurkha Welfare Trust, a partnership that began while she was training in garden design.

After a successful career in public relations, Jane studied Garden Design at Capel Manor College from 2016 - 2018. In that same year, she designed a Himalayan-inspired show garden for The Gurkha Welfare Trust at the Sandringham Flower Show, winning both Gold and Best in Show.

One of her fondest memories from that project came after the show had ended, when all of the plants were donated to the Gurkha community home in Colchester.

"We spent the day planting them together before sitting down to a wonderful Nepalese curry lunch," Jane recalls.

Sustainability at its heart

Locally sourced gravel, reclaimed bricks and blocks, and a recycled steel pergola all help reduce the garden's environmental impact. Inspired by the iconic metal water bottles used throughout Nepal, the pergola also forms part of the rainwater harvesting system that feeds the rain garden below.

The team are also showcasing Terranite panels from Alive Labs, an innovative carbon-negative material designed to encourage mosses and other vegetation to grow directly onto architectural surfaces.

Alongside the water capture system and climate-resilient planting, it demonstrates how gardens can play a role in supporting biodiversity while adapting to a changing climate.

Beyond the show

One of the things we love most about this project is that its story won't end when the show closes.

Following the exhibition, all of the trees, shrubs and perennials will be reused in local projects. Some will find a new home across Chestnut gardens, while others will help create an outdoor learning area for local schoolchildren in Jane's own garden.

We're delighted to be supporting Jane and The Gurkha Welfare Trust and can't wait to see the garden come to life.

If you're visiting Sandringham between Wednesday 22nd - Sunday 26th July, make sure you stop by and take a look. You might just leave with a few ideas for your own garden too.