RHS Hampton Court
CORE case study · RHS Hampton Court Palace Garden Festival
Horticultural Hero garden with Sarah Eberle
CORE EDGE followed the changing path and planting geometry within Sarah Eberle’s multi-dimensional Horticultural Hero feature garden.
- Client
- Royal Horticultural Society
- Sector
- Feature garden
- Location
- RHS Hampton Court Palace Garden Festival
- Completion
- RHS Hampton Court Palace Garden Festival 2022
- CORE components
- CORE EDGE
RHS classification
Career recognised by the RHS
Landscape interface
A landscape shaped by its purpose.
The RHS selected landscape architect and garden designer Sarah Eberle as its Iconic Horticultural Hero for the 2022 Hampton Court Palace Garden Festival, recognising a 40-year contribution to horticulture.
Her feature garden was conceived as a journey through world landscapes. Rare and wild plants, many sustainably grown in the UK, moved from a temperate rainforest and woodland edge into arid and meadow conditions.
The brief
What the project had to achieve.
Define a walk-through route across a garden that moved between woodland, temperate rainforest, arid and meadow planting while keeping the material language understated.
- 01
Changing landscapes
One continuous visitor route needed to connect several distinct planting environments.
- 02
Flexible path lines
The edge had to respond to curves, corners and transitions throughout the walk-through garden.
- 03
Visual restraint
Hard-landscape details needed to support the planting rather than become a competing feature.
- 04
Show-build precision
Interfaces had to be installed accurately within the compressed programme of an RHS show build.
The CORE solution
Selected around the site—not just the surface.
Flexible CORE EDGE was formed around the garden’s changing path and planting lines, creating clear boundaries without competing with the rare and unusual planting.
CORE EDGE was shaped to the designed path and planting geometry, holding the route line as it moved through the garden’s contrasting zones.
The slim steel profile created a clear transition between the gravel path, soil and planting while remaining visually recessive within the finished landscape.
The edge supported a garden built around sustainable and recycled materials, rare plants and a strong message about environmental stress and the importance of nature.
Installation
How the system was installed.
- 01
Show-garden route and planting geometry set out
- 02
CORE EDGE formed to the designed lines
- 03
Gravel path and planting completed to the adjoining levels
The result
The completed feature garden led visitors through a sequence of contrasting landscapes with crisp, controlled interfaces between the route and planting.
Project outcomes
- Controlled route edges through contrasting planting zones
- Clear transitions between gravel path and planted ground
- Flexible steel edging formed to the garden geometry
- An understated detail within a planting-rich feature garden
Project team
The people behind the project.
- Designer
- Sarah Eberle
- Landscape contractor
- E Williams Landscapes
- Show organiser
- Royal Horticultural Society
Project gallery
Progress and completed work.
Technical downloads
Project and product documents.
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