CED Stone proud of 30-year involvement with Chelsea show gardens
As a supplier to major show gardens for 30 years, CED Stone was left feeling the blues by the cancellation of this year’s RHS flagship Chelsea Flower Show. But the team found cheer in remembering some of the highlights of past events, a few of which are detailed below:
Starting, with the first, back in 1989, when CED supplied Reclaimed Yorkstone for a garden designed by the internationally acclaimed garden designer and author David Stevens.
The garden won gold and was awarded the Wilkinson Sword Trophy of Honour for Best Garden in the show, as did his 1990 entry which also featured Reclaimed Yorkstone. In subsequent years CED sourced stone for David’s gardens entered in the ‘rock garden category’.
In 1995, CED Stone materials featured in a Japanese show garden for the first time, when Koji Ninomiya took boulders for his Honda Tea Party garden and won the first-ever Japanese gold.
With stock ranging from feature stones and boulders to aggregates and bespoke, the company is in the ideal position to supply to Japanese gardens and has supplied to many over the last 30 years including The 2004 gold-winning Shizen - The Japanese Way garden designed by Maureen Busby and built by the Japanese Garden Society. Also supplied with stone was the World Of Koi Garden in 2002, designed by Stephen Hickling.
And the company has worked with probably the most renowned Japanese garden designer, Kazuyuki Ishihara, on nearly all of the 14 fantastic gardens he has created for Chelsea throughout the years. One was the O-Mo-Te-Na-Shi No NIWA -The Japanese Hospitality Garden – in 2018. As well as forming vast numbers of moss balls by hand for this garden, Ishihara’s talented team also hand-painted each of the stones at the front of the garden, to make them look glossy and wet. This won Best Artisan Garden.
Indeed, CED Stone products have helped to represent countries across the world at Chelsea show gardens. These have included Singapore, Wales, Mexico, Chile, China – and Australia.
Under this heading is a particular favourite of CED’s Divisional Director Gary Ewings - the incredible Trailfinders Australian Garden, designed by Philip Johnson and presented by Flemings in 2013.
As main supplier to the Trailfinders Australian Garden, the team were tasked with sourcing some incredibly large stones to make Phil’s dream garden a reality. Phil and his colleagues David Long and Steven Weber, together with Gary Ewing travelled the length and breadth of Scotland to select the ideal stone for every part of the garden.
A mock build was carried out at CED’s Castlecary depot, carefully placing the boulders and recording their positions ready for the actual build-up at Chelsea. Gary recalls: “I had no idea what this would entail, but what unfolded was, in fact, one of the best fortnights I have spent in the industry. Working literally from dawn to dusk, 7 days a week, Scotland and Australia worked as one unit to create Phil’s vision.” Materials including approximately 200 tonnes of Gabbro Boulders and 60 tonnes of Scottish Beach Cobbles and Pebbles were supplied for the garden, which became the first Australian display to win Best In Show.
CED Stone is delighted to have been involved in various charity gardens over the years. Chelsea provides a world-class platform for charities to raise their profiles internationally, often with the endorsement of celebrities. CED has supported gardens including one designed by Robert Myers and built by Willerby Landscapes for Cancer Research in 2010; the First Touch garden by Patrick Collins in 2013 and last year’s Family Monsters Garden designed by Alistair Bayford for charity Family Action.
Whether supplying a small bag of pebbles or creating bespoke items, the team at CED Stone delight in seeing their products feature in the fantastic creations which can only be seen at a show like the RHS Chelsea Flower Show. They understand that hard landscaping plays a vital role in garden design and it is quite often the skeleton upon which great gardens are built and are ready to help some of the best designers and contractors in the world achieve their vision for the next 30 years.
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CED Stone
Tel: 01708 867 237
Email: sales@cedstone.co.uk
Web: https://www.cedstone.co.uk
More show garden images here