Chelsea Flower Show (The Balance Garden)
Location:
Steel supplied:
London
3 tonnes
The Centre for Mental Health’s ‘Balance Garden’ was unveiled at this year’s Chelsea Flower Show. Winning the silver medal at the 2023 show, the Balance Garden featured just over three tonnes of AJN steel. Over 45 steel sections including plates, flat bars and reinforcing bars were supplied for the creation of a ‘mushroom den’, suspended walkways and seating areas.
Large concrete pieces, wrapped in AJN steel, made up a central area overlooking a clear pool and suspended steel walkways allowed movement through the space. The garden, regarded as ‘an optimistic vision for the potential of urban public spaces’, will eventually be relocated to its final home in Markfield Park, Tottenham.
Using crushed site waste to create spaces for wildflowers, grasses and shrubs, the garden highlighted wildflowers and ‘weeds’ as an important part of urban ecology. Inspired by natural processes, the ‘mushroom den’, made from a reclaimed, steel-clad, shipping container, sat at the heart of the garden.
Designed by Wild City Studio, the garden aims to create a much needed hub for a community that desperately needs it and celebrate the relationship between nature, urban communities and mental health. We’re delighted to have played a part in this impressive project and look forward to seeing it once its rehomed.
