Chelsea with Passion

Wednesday, 25th April 2007

IN PROFILE: JOHN CARMICHAEL

Gardening for the Chelsea Flower Show demands the utmost devotion, a calm unflappability and a sense of humour with staying power: qualities that made John Carmichael and his colleague Penny Denoon the perfect choices to design the Silver-medal-winning North East England Passion Garden.

A celebration of the North East people's exuberant spirit and the region's rich heritage, culture and diversity of
landscape, the North East England Passion Garden practically burst from its confines at the 2006 Chelsea Flower
Show. Its vibrant forms and dramatic purple and scarlet colour scheme were, in short, passion in planting. We profile
the man who helped bring it into being.

Name: John Carmichael
Position: Director
Company: Landscape Management
Services (LMS)

What was your brief for the garden?
One NorthEast asked us to create a garden that represented the whole region from North Northumberland to Tees Valley. Apart from that we had more or less a free hand. The passion theme came from North East England's regional image campaign 'Passionate people. Passionate places', and it all went from there.

The planting flowed from a naturalistic landscape to a more structured, ornamental area. What was the thinking behind this?
We wanted a mix of natural and man-made elements to encompass the historical, cultural and natural splendour of the region. We had structural elements reflecting Antony Gormley's iconic Angel of the North, the distinctive Durham countryside and the three rivers of Tyne, Wear and Tees. The front end contained indigenous plants that are found in the varied natural landscapes of the North East, and the planting then became more ornamental with movement to complement the three 'rivers'. The stone walling between the two distinct areas represented Hadrian's Wall.

How did you decide on the colour scheme used?
We used the 'Passionate people. Passionate places' campaign as our starting point, with its strong use of purple to communicate the region's passion and zest. Then we added complementary colours to strengthen the scheme. Red as another symbol of passion, and blues and darks for a gothic feel.

Which local products were used in the garden's creation?
Oak timbers from Northumberland; stone for walling and paving from near Barnard Castle; a water feature in Sunderland glass; metalwork from Cramlington; plastics for the water channels from Tyneside; and plants from Northumberland and Durham. It's a good showcase.

What was your favourite part of the Passion Garden and why?
If I had to choose I'd go for the seating area at the back. It was peaceful and secluded, with a beautiful holly hedge
behind you, the water feature in front and the garden spread out before you.

And your favourite plant?
The red hawthorn (Crataegus laevigata 'Paul's Scarlet'). When the red blossom is out it's just stunning.

Can you tell us about the actual creation of the garden?
It went by in a flash. It was great having One NorthEast as our sponsor and having such a good brief. In my time designing for Chelsea I've done a football garden, a chocolate garden and now a passion garden. Football, chocolate and passion - what more is there to life?