Every year the Chelsea Flower Show comes around and I feel inspired by the wonderful gardens and the buzz of it all, but I had never been. Until this year.
The few days before I went I watched a lot of the coverage and loved learning more about the gardens. I was incredibly inspired and drew a couple before I visited, spending my day there exploring, sketching and painting.
I have written a blog post (here) about visiting for anyone considering it or who would like to read about my thoughts or experience, but this post focuses on my experience of The Glasshouse Garden.
Before the Show: Anticipation & a bit of research
I had been following Jo Thompson and The Glasshouse since before they announced their Chelsea garden together, so I was particularly excited to see this collaboration announced. With the combination of Jo’s wonderful garden style and the amazing work The Glasshouse is doing, I knew it would be something special.
The Glasshouse is a social enterprise providing opportunities for women nearing the end of their prison sentence. Based out of East Sutton Park prison in Kent, they work with them to provide skills in horticulture as well as other areas of business and life. Their inspiring mission is to expand to every women’s prison in the UK by 2030 and utilise many of the glasshouses or facilities that have been left behind after funding cuts.
The Story Behind The Glasshouse
The garden, with its pavilion by Hollaway Studio, is inspired by the concept of strong beauty (you can read a bit more about it here). Seeing photos and snippets of video in the run up to my visit, I just wanted to paint it immediately, it drew me in with so much layering, detail and story. This was my illustration before I visited, but I managed to do some at the show too which you can see further down.
I also listened to a wonderful podcast Why Women Grow with Alice Vincent interviewing Jo Thomson and Kali Hamilton-Stove about The Glasshouse Garden and you can listen here. It gives a really good insight into the design process and how Jo really worked with the Glasshouse team and the women to understand and listen to their stories. I highly recommend a listen.
Arriving at Chelsea
After learning a bit about it beforehand, seeing the Glasshouse Garden was particularly special. I started with this one and stood at the end of the garden sketching it, trying not to take up too much space while people came and went around me.
One thing I love about drawing or painting something, is how much more you notice. You can look with your eyes as long as you want, but when you are trying to translate that onto a page, it is looking with another level of detail and appreciation. It feels totally immersive and it’s wonderful to lose yourself in a place in that way.
I was really struck by the way the garden looked so comfortable and settled, from the bees happily visiting the flowers, to the little pond and pathway that looked as if they had been there for years. Very clever design and planting from all the team involved.
Conversations and Impact
The other thing I noticed when I was drawing was how much other visitors focused on single plants. Wanting to name them or find out what they were. Something I really understand and appreciate, but I almost wanted to check they knew about the story too. The planting was beautiful, layered, detailed and I loved the calm, comforting feeling it seemed to give. However it had been selected and chosen for a reason, to create the atmosphere for the people it was designed for and I found myself hoping they understood that too.
While I was sketching I spoke to a lady who was handing out The Glasshouse Garden leaflets, with the planting list and story of the garden. She told me she is being released next month after three years in prison and how wonderful it has been to be part of the program. She also said that the Chelsea Flower Show had felt a bit overwhelming. As someone who felt exactly the same, but has a very different lived experience over the past three years, I can only imagine what a strange juxtaposition it must be for her. However it was really inspiring to see the hope, excitement and anticipation that she had for her upcoming freedom.
I should say here that The Glasshouse has a 0% reoffending rate with women who have completed their program (which is staggering considering the standard proven reoffending rate for all adult women in England and Wales is 58% within a year of release. This is taken from a briefing by the Prison Reform Trust and Working Chance)
A Look Inside the Garden
I spoke to Kalei Hamilton-Stove, founder of The Glasshouse, while I was there. I was telling her how inspired I am by what they are doing, and she kindly invited me into the garden. It was still fairly early so the crowd wasn’t too big, but it still felt like being in a fishbowl with lots of people around the edge looking in. A strange way to try and fully experience a garden like this, but it was such a privilege to be inside.
Experiencing it from within, how it is supposed to be experienced as a garden, it felt even more intimate (despite the fishbowl). The pavilion was designed to be a private yet open space, and I really felt that inside. It was incredibly calming and the sound of the trickling water that supported that reminded me of what Kali and Jo had been saying about how access to water is restricted in prison, you only have a certain amount for everything. Jo made sure the presence of water features throughout the garden, but also the sound of it so you never feel far away from it which is a small addition to some, but incredibly powerful to the women it is designed for.
Reflections, Stories and The Future
Before I went to the Chelsea Flower Show, I wasn’t sure what I was going to be inspired by or drawn into. I had wondered if it might be the people with wonderful eclectic outfits, the beauty of individual plants, or the collections that really shone together.
On reflection, I’m not surprised that for me it was the stories, the purpose, and the impact behind so many of the designs. That is what always draws me in. Learning how these spaces would be used in the future gave me a wonderful sense of hope and inspiration for what would become the next chapter of their stories.
The pavilion will go on to be part of the garden in its new home at HMP Downview in Surrey, and will be a space for support, meeting, learning and planning for the future. It feels like a real symbol of hope within this sanctuary garden.
The Glasshouse project stems from the proven physical and emotional benefits that being in and around nature provides. That’s something I experience myself through painting and drawing outside, and something I am passionate about sharing more widely through my work. I’m excited to continue developing ways to bring these benefits to more people.
I have LOVED discovering more about this garden, the story, the build and journey at the show, then onward the relocation of the garden. Learning more about The Glasshouse and understanding how the design came together around the strong women at the heart of it all.
