Praise for groundsmen as natural grass garden wins gold award

Praise for groundsmen as natural grass garden wins gold award at Hampton Court Flower Show

Garden designers Sim Flemons and John Warland rejected artificial grass in favour of natural turf for their gold-award winning World Vision garden at Hampton Court Flower Show.

"You just cannot beat the effect of natural grass, even though it was a battle keeping our curved shapes watered throughout the week," said Sim, who is based in London.

The World Vision Garden, in association with plantify.co.uk, used ryegrass turf from Rolawn on globe shapes and dips around water features, together with floral planting.

"Grass just had to be natural and we ensured the roots were attached to membrane that would retain some moisture," said Sim. "Some of it was actually growing upside down on shapes."

"Groundsmen would recognise the importance of working with natural turf and this was a nod to their skill at keeping grass looking good."

The membrane used for the planting was from Ecosheet, made from recycled materials.