KLC School of Design Success: 2024 Royal Hampton Court Garden Festival

Posted on 4th July 2024

Current Garden Design Students entered an exclusive competition with the RHS to design and plant over 30 benches throughout the grounds of the RHS Hampton Court Palace Garden Festival.

This year’s winner was ATC Collective, students Caleb Job, Holly Knight, Nathan Humphreys, and Chloe Webster.

“We have specially selected a blend of plants from across the globe which will support and enhance the preservation of our native species and improve biodiversity. Using a combination of these plants will provide a rich mosaic of habitats for native wildlife and extend the season of enjoyment for a garden’s human users. Simple combinations inform the visitors of Hampton Court Flower Show about the benefits of employing this “global fusion” within their own plant choices and provide a blueprint for them to apply to their own gardens.”

Nathan Humphreys: “Hampton Court and flower shows have never been my thing but having been involved with this year’s show with an awesome team of designers and gardeners, I now understand what it’s all about… it’s a show of skill, love, passion and coming together to pass on knowledge.”

Graduates win silver-gilt medal

Recent graduates, Sonia Kamel, Sally Giles and Helier Bowling in Ssh Scapes had their second show this year and won another award! The Silver Gilt Award for their beautiful pocket garden in one of the most hotly contested categories Pocket Resilient Planting beds.

The garden imagines the aftermath of a catastrophic meteor strike. Amid the disruption and debris, new life emerges and in areas positively flourishes. A vibrant array of colourful plants are bringing back the pollinators, birds and wildlife to heal the land.

The meteor creates a focal point, symbolic of a traumatic event and the destruction it can cause. It contrasts with a vibrant and colourful planting scheme that adapts well to poor soil, is tolerant of different moisture levels and is resilient to the new extremes of British weather conditions arising from climate change. Towering birds’ nests within the planting offer hope that life is returning to the land.

RHS Hub garden

Design and planted by 2022 alumni Julia Wates and Lauren Munton

The theme was a prairie inspired naturalistic garden with Rhus typhina trees and tall waving grasses and plants with giant pebble benches for sitting on. These were kindly loaned to us by 'One Artisan’.