In June 2019 we supported Lucy Belsey in her City Escapes garden at the Royal Norfolk Show. We were pleased to donate Silver Grey Pebbles and Cobbles to the project which was awarded an incredible Gold Medal, Best in Show and the Visitor Vote.

We love hearing about the process that landscape designers go through to create such beautiful spaces so we asked Lucy some questions about her City Escapes garden.

What were the key elements of the City Escapes garden design?

City Escapes was a contemporary garden design taking inspiration from Norwich’s beautiful touristic landmarks. The garden was a tranquil chic sanctuary, made from elegant marble paving, natural stone walling and granite cobble setts and stones.

At the centre of the design were two bespoke water feature seats, made from materials to mimic Norwich Castle and Cathedral. These ‘L’ shaped seats mirrored each other, offering symmetry and balance in to the garden.

Water was used for its reflection and sound, creating a sense of calm and wellbeing.

The planting was full and fresh with an uplifting with a colour palette of whites, yellows and orange tones, which portrayed confidence, happiness and mental clarity.

Why did you use the silver-grey pebbles and cobbles?

One design feature of the garden was to take inspiration from Norwich landmarks – Elm Hill. Home to the UK’s most medieval city with intact cobbled streets, I wanted to echo this feature into my design.  I selected beautifully crafted granite cobble setts from Stone Market to mimic this. 

When selecting what cobbles and pebbles to line the bespoke stainless-steel water rivulet – I thought that the elegant silver-grey pebbles and cobbles would work in perfect harmony with the silver granite cobbles setts and also pick out the grey tones from the natural stone walling.

Were you pleased with the garden once it came to life?

This year show garden theme was ‘Tourism and wellbeing with a rustic twist’.  Although it was important for me to consider these themes when designing my garden, ultimately my main goal was to create a beautiful calming outside space, which people could relax, unwind and recharge – which I really felt I had achieved. 

I was so overwhelmed with receiving all 3 awards: Gold Medal, Best in Show and Visitor Vote. However, my personal highlight has to be, when one of the judges took the time to come over and provide his personal feedback. He explained that when he was judging my garden he was overcome with emotion when he stepped on to the garden, as he experienced a feeling of instant calm… This was music to my ears, as when I first initially designing the garden I wanted to achieve exactly that. 

What ideas and inspiration did you want visitors to take away from your garden?

I think if there is anything people can take away from my garden it’s; you don’t have to have a massive amount of space to create an exciting area full of intrigue and character. 

Whether you have a 5m square plot or 1 acre garden, always make sure you have a small cosy area where you can sit and escape from our hectic everyday lives… while enjoying a cuppa and watching the bees and butterflies busy at work. 

Why did you choose Stone Warehouse as a supply partner?

This is super easy to answer – It is vital that I always use products and materials of the highest quality and durability and a show garden is no exception. 

After using Stone Warehouse for my previous show gardens and client’s jobs, I knew that the products are always exceptional and of the best quality. I am always so impressed that the stones all look like they have been handpicked, no blemishes, sharp edges or breakages – Perfect and every garden designer or Landscapers dream.

We’d like to wish Lucy huge congratulations for her beautiful City Escapes garden and the well-deserved awards it received. We look forward to working with Lucy again in the future. If you’re interested in the other projects that Lucy has done you can check her website here.