Garden designer Alan Rudden from Castleknock in Dublin has received a Gold Medal for his ‘Santa Rita Living La Vida 120’ garden at the RHS Hampton Court flower show which takes place in the UK this week. Only 7 Gold Medals were awarded out of a total of 31 gardens exhibiting at what is the world’s largest annual flower show.
Alan is the only Irish garden designer to exhibit at the show and the only recipient of a Gold Medal in the ‘World Garden’s’ category.
Alan is a Dublin-based garden and landscape designer who has designed numerous award-winning gardens, most recently achieving five Gold Medals at Bloom, including the coveted ‘Best In Show’ and ‘Best Show Planting’ prizes. Alan is also the founder of Outside Options Ltd, a company specialising in the creation of high-end quality private gardens.
Speaking about the medal win, Alan Rudden said, “I am really thrilled with today’s medal announcement. It has been a lot of hard work, in intense heat, to get the garden built to the standard that is expected at a show such as this. There are some truly stunning gardens on show here and for ours to be classed among the top is a huge honour.”
Medal Winners
The full list of medal winners can be viewed here.
The Garden
Alan’s ‘Santa Rita Living La Vida 120’ garden was inspired by the colours and terroir of the countryside which surrounds the Santa Rita vineyards in Central Chile which Alan visited with his sponsor last year. The garden is a contemporary space that blends arid and Mediterranean planting with strong architectural forms.
The planting scheme features plants that thrive in Chile but can also withstand the Irish and UK climate, with the exception of a small number of key plants such as various cacti. Key plants include multi-stemmed Arbutus unedo trees, Pittosporum tobira ‘Nanum’ (Japanese mock orange) and Agave americana (American aloe).
Hard elements are made up of earthy raw materials, with the addition of a steel wall that cuts through the garden, adding a punch of oxide yellow. The garden has been designed to provide a tranquil, secluded and beautiful space; the perfect place to sit back, relax, enjoy a moment with loved ones, pour a glass of wine and live ‘La Vida 120’.
RHS Hampton Court Flower Show
The RHS Hampton Court Flower Show runs from 2nd – 8th July 2018. The show is attended by an average of 140,000 people each year. For 2018 it features 31 gardens in six categories including Gardens for a Changing World; World Gardens; Conceptual Gardens; Lifestyle Gardens; Feature Gardens and Show Gardens.
