Very proud to have had the opportunity to help on Capel Manor College Discovery Exhibit at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show in May 2017 designed by Vlad Chirila and Tessa Crichton-Miller.
The Design Brief was about Compost, Energy and Light. The aim of the exhibit was to demonstrate how technology and science can be used to utilise waste for the benefit of horticulture.
Typically 32,000 tonnes of rubbish can produce 9,000 tonnes of compost and enough energy to power 72,000 homes.
The Compost zone demonstrates how food and garden waste is recycled into compost and can be used by allotments, agriculture, community growing projects and gardeners.
A small ‘potager’ was created to show what delicious food can be grown using the recycled compost.
This small area is planted with Rosemary, Courgette, Beans, Salads, Alliums, Fennel. Annuals like Tagetes and Calendula bring a touch of colour and attract bees to pollinate the blooming vegetables.
The back is a green wall planted with scented herbs (Thymus, Origanum, Mentha, Parsley, Majoram), strawberries and Salvia.
The Perspex inserts hold bits of paper, food and garden waste and other rubbish that can be recycled by composting.
The Energy zone demonstrates how energy can be released from a variety of waste products using techniques such as anaerobic digestion and incineration and how microalgae culture can capture energy while removing unwanted nutrients from waste products.
We had great fun playing with the various forms and texture of the plant selected.
Foxgloves, Anthriscus, Aquilegias and Euphorbia soften the algae tubes, while Hostas, Ajugas and Dryopteris form a great Ground Cover.
The combination of fine and coarse leaves work very well as do the colour of the leaves and flowers.
The Light zone demonstrates how this energy can power lights used in food and plant production, so closing the cycle.
The importance of light in hydroponic grow tents is highlighted at the back, displaying different salad and peppers at different stages of growth.