Tom Bannister Studio

It's been a busy start to the year already with no sign of it slowing down anytime soon! I have designed a garden called The Ecotherapy Garden and it has been selected by @the_rhs to be built at The Chelsea Flower show 2024! The garden will be being supported and built by @wrightlandscapesltd @pickmerenursery and of course our own team David, Luke and Leyton who have been out in all weather's building the containers for this garden. Couldn't do it without any of them. I've been involved at Chelsea since 2015 in one way or another but this is the first show garden that I've designed and it just happens to be at the best flower show in the world! No pressure! At a glance: This intimate garden provides a quiet retreat highlighting the benefits of ecotherapy. Imagined as a small London courtyard, a Thames-yellow brick wall supports a hanging green garden that aligns with the biophilic principle that people have an innate attraction to nature 🌿 A cold plunge pool enveloped in lush planting is the centrepiece of the garden where the person using the garden can plunge into cold water and rest aching muscles whilst surrounded by lush planting. A trio of waterspouts emerge through a green wall, feeding a series of pools that lead into a rill that passes through the planting and leading into a cascade at the front of the garden. The gentle sound of the water will create a soothing soundscape.   The space aims to rejuvenate physical and mental well-being. The handmade hyper-tufa containers have a weathered, mossy texture. The containers highlight gardening versatility in confined spaces whilst celebrating the gardener-craft relationship As a garden designer, I know how good it is for me being amongst nature daily. My aim always is to encourage more people to get into nature wherever possible and feel the benefits of getting outside 💚 I have put a link to the RHS website in bio. Wish me luck 🌿 . . . . . . #chelsea #chelseaflowershow #garden #gardeninspiration #gardenpool #gardendesign

After swapping phones over around a month ago, I've been locked out of my account due to not being able to get past two factor authentication. Anyway, I took this image on my new phone of a garden we finished late last year. This is a section of it that gets the last of the evening sunshine. Planted with Olives from @villaggioverde and underplanted (into basically rock and gravel-no soil) with drought tolerant sun lovers and it has thrived. It even looks quite nice in the frost ❄️

These are first draft visuals from an upcoming project in Cheshire. If im honest, I have a feeling this one might kill me off but we're always looking to challenge ourselves and although very simple in layout, the site is quite big and theres lots of details to think about. The pool wont be staying and will become lawn but I think the images look great so its nice to imagine. If anybody knows of any skilled landscapers or builders that would like to get involved building this one with us then send them our way 🌿🏡🌳 . . . . . . . . . #landscape #Cheshirelife #gardendesign #landscapearchitecture #garden #manchester #chester #cheshire #knutsford #alderleyedge #gardengoals #landscapedesign #exploretocreate #gardendesignjournal #prolandscaper #societyofgardendesigners #BALI #apl #Singapore

Last week went beyond any expectation I could have ever had. We have been building this garden for months and quite a bit of it has been made at home in my back garden until gone 11 most evenings. I was often questioning my sanity. Had I finally lost the plot chasing some crazy Chelsea Flower show dream that didn't exist. I found myself talking to my recently departed mother in law who I felt had my back all the way through. The thing with these things is there is a deadline, I couldn't turn up with half a garden to the world's greatest flower show so I had to keep going, every night to get it ready. My gorgeous @katerainers took the brunt of this dealing with 3 small children every night and with little George only being 3 months old. It wasn't the best timing and probably a really bad idea to take on such a project when we had a baby on the way. With the help of Chris Steele @wrightlandscapesltd who dealt with all of the logistics, cajoling me along to get shit done and my sister @anni_banni_bray who literally saved my backside by organising a multitude of people, the garden started to take on a life and it was all coming together. @wrightlandscapesltd gave me complete freedom of there nursery and Mark and Paul Liv and Jason in the nursery helped me so much in the weeks leading up to the show letting me take over there work space. I literally felt like part of the family. I also need to say a big thanks to @_londonstone who offered me paving without even batting an eyelid, nothing is ever too much trouble for that company and then @tapestry_vertical_gardens turned up and saved our backside with his incredible vertical garden(arguably the star of the show) @bsfabs as cool as ever with metal work and then all the volunteers @jacquichapmangardendesign @theenglishcountrygardener and many others all brought this little garden to life and to life it came. Also a massive thanks to @ben_but1er who made the most beautiful bench at last minute(sorry about the decision to age it, the judges loved the details on this) and my little daughter Hebe who has helped me collect lots of little ferns and plants around the nursery after school. Continued in comments...

[🇬🇧further down] Endlich wieder Chelsea Flower Show! Wir haben uns lange darauf gefreut und es war trotz Dauerregens wieder traumhaft schön. Besonders gut haben uns auch dieses Jahr wieder die Balkon– und Container–Gärten gefallen. Sie zeigen, wie auch auf kleinstem Raum eine grüne Oase entstehen kann. „The Ecotherapy Garden“ (Bild 1) von @tombannisterstudio hat eine Goldmedaille gewonnen, ist in dieser Kategorie „Best Garden“ und hat auch uns am besten gefallen. Finally Chelsea Flower Show again! We were looking forward to it for a long time and despite the constant rain, it was still wonderfully beautiful. We particularly liked the balcony and container gardens again this year. They show how a green oasis can be created even in the smallest of spaces. “The Ecotherapy Garden” (pic 1) from @tombannisterstudio won a gold medal, is “Best Garden” in this category and we also liked it best. #rhschelsea #rhschelseaflowershow #balconygarden #balconygardening #balkongarten #containergardening

Designing small gardens that work really well is so difficult! Every line and proportion needs to work perfectly, scale, mass and void very easy to miniaturise the features, and this year at the RHS Chelsea flower show ,the balcony gardens are all very clever in fact the strongest en mass I have seen! This beautiful little gem is my perhaps favourite of the whole show! It’s beautiful ! Completely got me ! The Ecotherapy Garden by Tom Bannister studio @tombannisterstudio is an exemplar of proportion , scale and yes restraint beautifully detailed and oozing atmosphere and soul, an urban retreat to die for ! Built and crafted by my friends @wrightlandscapesltd it’s a masterclass in theatre and narrative ! Just gutted I didn’t design it and build it !!!!🫣😂 well done team 🔥👏👏👏 @the_rhs #landscape #landscaper #garden #gardenbuild #gardendesign #landscapearchitecture #restraint #details #scale #lovemyjob #tbt #london

Well done @tombannisterstudio @coco.potuk

CHELSEA GOLD 🏅

CHELSEA GOLD 🏅