NZ garden designer wins big at the Chelsea Flower Show with a ‘love letter to home’

A nostalgic container garden designed to be a love letter to New Zealand has proved to be a hit at the prestigious Chelsea Flower Show in London.

“Feels like Home”, created by New Zealand-born and raised designer Rosemary Coldstream, not only earned a gold medal, it also won Best Balcony and Container Garden, and a coveted People’s Choice Award.

“It has long been an ambition to have a New Zealand-themed garden at Chelsea Flower Show,” says Coldstream.

“My own UK garden is full of NZ plants, so I wanted to share the fun you can have with creating a home-away-from-home garden.”

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The green oasis is designed around the national colours of black, white, silver and red, with each element is informed by the landscapes and botany of New Zealand.

Handmade black clay pots house a collection of native plants, paired with non-native varieties reminiscent in their texture and habit of NZ plants. A bespoke water feature is inspired by the silver fern and a pīwakawaka sculpture from Virginia King that Coldstream owns.

The charred timber cladding is inspired by New Zealand’s modern architecture and is from sustainable Pinus radiata, while the timber seat is made from a single piece of 3000-year-old reclaimed kauri (Agathls australls).

Through the use of these plants, colours and materials, the courtyard was designed to bring back memories of her childhood.

Born in Christchurch, Coldstream moved to Auckland when she was 12. She started a career in fashion design, but after moving to the UK on her OE and settling there with her English husband, she changed to garden design and set up her practice in 2006.