A garden which incorporates elements of Islamic design and will be rebuilt in a deprived inner-city area has won a gold medal at the Chelsea Flower Show, the Telegraph newspaper reports.
The Healthy Cities Garden was designed by Chris Beardshaw to provide space for people living on council estates in Poplar, east London, to grow vegetables and enjoy time together outdoors.
Among its central elements are the water fountains running through the centre which were inspired by traditional Islamic garden design, in recognition of the large number of Muslim families in the area.
Mr Beardshaw said: “I’m thrilled the judges were able to understand what we were trying to convey. At the heart of the garden is the idea of trying to create a positive green space for an urban environment. It highlights the positive effect green space can have on that kind of community.”
Mr Beardshaw, a garden designer and TV presenter, worked with local residents to explore what kind of facilities, design and planting they wanted to see incorporated into the garden.
Local primary school children designed tiles for the garden on the theme of nature, and recordings of them talking about their experience of plants and gardens will be played in an alcove housing a statue of an adult carrying a child.
Once the RHS Chelsea Flower Show has come to an end the garden will be dismantled and rebuilt on a large vacant patch of ground surrounded by council flats in the heart of Poplar.
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