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‘The Pearlfsher Garden’, which celebrates the largest garden in the world – the underwater garden of our great oceans – will feature at 2018’s RHS Chelsea Flower Show (22-26 May).
The Pearlfisher Garden will visualise the plight of the planet drowning in waste with an innovative garden design showcasing the dichotomy of the beauty and destruction present in our oceans.
A staggering 32% of the 78 million tons of plastic packaging produced annually left to flow into our oceans – the equivalent of pouring one garbage truck of plastic into the ocean every minute.
The Pearlfisher Garden will consist of a series of below-water level aquatic tanks that will transport visitors into a unique underwater world.
Beneath a 3D-printed sculpture of a Pearl Diver – or Japanese Ama – made from recycled PLA plastic, specimen planting including cacti, succulents and exotics will creatively juxtapose the beauty and possible desertification of the world’s most precious garden.
Live fish will remind visitors of the threat to the food chain posed by ocean plastics and their associated toxins.
At the centre of the garden will sit ‘The Coral Man’ from renowned sculptor and environmentalist Jason deCaires Taylor. The boundary walls will incorporate 1,000 recycled plastic water bottles, representing how much plastic packaging is thrown into the ocean every 5 seconds; the direct cause of its demise.
The team designing and curating the garden include RHS multi gold and silver medal winner John Warland, Pearlfisher’s creative partner and chief creative officer Karen Welman, and world-renowned underwater sculptor Jason deCaires Taylor.
Karen Welman explained, ‘as designers, we saw an opportunity through design to creatively highlight one of the world’s most pressing problems and make change. The Pearlfisher Garden is a window to the world of our unseen treasures and also highlights the irrevocable impact of plastic waste. All designers, regardless of expertise, have a responsibility to design sustainably, and we can solve problems through the design innovation and smart creative thinking.’
Karen continues, ‘our vision for ‘The Pearfisher Garden’ is to be a quiet and static space that reconciles beauty and tranquility with a dynamic and thought-provoking message. My hope is that it will inspire and educate all and be a lasting visual legacy for our grandchildren and future generations to come.’
Award-winning designer John Warland said, ‘combining innovative design and materials with the best horticultural practices can deliver the most thought-provoking and engaging spaces that work on so many different levels to provide truly enriching experiences. And this is the very idea behind the design of The Pearlfisher Garden. It challenged perceptions on both an aesthetic and intellectual level to drive home its crucial message through a stunningly unique and sustainable design that offers up an underwater world of wonder. It’s a privilege to be part of the team bringing this to life.’
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