Switzerland Tourism’s entry, A Swiss Sanctuary, designed by the British landscape architect and garden designer Lilly Gomm, has been awarded the Bronze award in the ‘Sanctuary Gardens’ category at this week’s RHS Chelsea Flower Show.

On the initiative of Switzerland Tourism, and in partnership with the regions of Ticino, Bern and Lake Geneva, A Swiss Sanctuary highlights some of the many reasons to visit Switzerland’s picturesque countryside and vibrant cities.

Described by designer Lilly Gommas ‘a personal haven that draws together the unique flora typifying Switzerland’s different regions’, the garden boasts between 1,500 and 2,000 plants, ‘the longest plant list she’s ever had for a show garden.’ These plants all grow in the Alpine and Mediterranean climates of the Bern, Lake Geneva and Ticino regions.

The garden also draws on the Swiss ethos for sustainability, conveying the year-round natural appeal of this destination – spring for green city breaks, summer for hiking and outdoor activities, autumn for local food and wine, and winter for skiing and other snow sports.

Many of the materials used to create A Swiss Sanctuary will be repurposed after the flower show to ensure minimal waste. The glacial boulders, sourced from Wales rather than Switzerland to reduce their carbon footprint, will be returned to the supplier. The wooden wall, which conjures up thoughts of mountain chalets, will go to one of the landscapers who built the garden. The water pump will be collected and reused. All of the plants are to find new homes at charity-run parks or community gardens in south London: Myatt’s Field Park, Incredible Edible Lambeth and Roots and Shoots.

Lilly’s inspiration stems from various trips to Switzerland, where she met with a camellia expert, toured vineyards, hiked Alpine trails, visited the Brissago Islands botanic gardens, explored a farmer’s garden and wandered streets dotted with magnolias, palms and oleander: ‘A Swiss Sanctuary is a garden that shows how horticulture can reflect our favourite places, in this case with Switzerland at its heart.’

Switzerland Tourism and Lilly Gomm’s show garden has been two years in the making due to the Covid-19 pandemic, but today’s announcement from the judges has made it all worth it.

Alex Herrmann, Director of Switzerland Tourism UK & Ireland, is delighted with the result.

‘We are so happy that A Swiss Sanctuary has been awarded Bronze at such a prestigious event as RHS Chelsea, and we are incredibly proud of our garden designer Lilly Gomm and her team, who have worked tirelessly to create this beautiful garden that is so representative of our destination and which, we hope, will encourage visitors to the show to visit Switzerland in the future. Our heartfelt thanks again to Lilly for joining us on this Swiss adventure.’

-ENDS-

© Clive Nicholls / Switzerland Tourism
© Clive Nicholls / Switzerland Tourism
© Clive Nicholls / Switzerland Tourism

Notes to editors:

Key elements of the garden:

  1. Meadow zone: Home to grassland and herb species such as stachys, achillea and echium.
  2. Malus domestica: Apples are Switzerland’s most popular fruit, and almost every rural garden has an apple tree. This beautiful specimen makes a striking feature at the front of the garden.
  3. Woodland zone: Switzerland is known for its pine forests, often consisting of the Scots pine, Pinus sylvestris. Many other types of pine also grow in the country and Lilly is also using a Swiss stone pine, Pinus cembra here.
  4. Boulders: Lilly has opted for Welsh glacial boulders to conjure the feeling of a mountainous landscape while keeping the garden’s carbon footprint low.
  5. Water feature: References Switzerland’s many waterfalls and lakes (over 1,500 of them), and provides a calming place to sit and enjoy this garden sanctuary.
  6. Boundary wall: Made of wood panelling, it features ornate decoration, reminiscent of
    the detailing seen on Swiss mountain chalets.
  7. Pathway: This is made of compacted gravel, bringing to mind Switzerland’s countless wildflower- fringed hiking trails.
  8. Bench: Made of iron and with a sinuous, criss-crossing design, this is a nod to Switzerland’s network of railways, the most sustainable way to see the country.
  9. Alpine zone: This flanks the path at the front of the garden contains plants including gentiana, armeria, saxifrage and, of course, edelweiss.
  10. Mediterranean zone: Very different to what most people think of as Mediterranean plants, this section captures the lush camellia, azalea and rhododendron gardens of the Ticino region.

Key plants (may differ slightly during the show):

  1. Leontopodium nivale subsp. Alpinum: No Swiss garden could be complete without the star-shaped bracts of edelweiss, the country’s national flower.
  2. Betonica officinalis ‘Hummelo’: A good clump-forming plant for the front of the border with scalloped leaves and upright purple flower spikes adored by bees.
  3. Eryngium x zabelii ‘Big Blue’: Full sun, good drainage and protection from winter wet is needed to get the best out of this herbaceous perennial whose blue bracts and silvery foliage shine in the light.
  4. Achillea millefolium: Much loved by pollinators, yarrow bears flat heads of creamy-white flowers on slender stems and is best grown in full sun.
  5. Aster alpinus: A late-flowering, clump- forming perennial with cheerful, daisy-like petals with golden centres. A mountain native, it needs good drainage and doesn’t like winter wet.
  6. Erigeron karvinskianus: Well known to many as Mexican fleabane, it is happy in sun or partial shade and flowers for months, producing hundreds of small daisy-like flowers that turn pink as they age.
  7. Rosa Westerland (= ‘Korwest’): Combining scent, glossy foliage, a long flowering period and a beautiful, intense apricot hue, this shrub rose has it all.
  8. Sempervivum arachnoideum: This tiny houseleek, with its cobweb-like hairs, is a marked contrast to many of the other plants in the garden. Mat-forming, it needs full sun.
  9. Asplenium trichomanes: The perfect plant for shady pockets where little else will grow, this hardy evergreen fern thrives in rock crevices and at the base of walls.
  10. Alchemilla alpine: As easy to grow as Alchemilla mollis, this has a more interesting leaf, deeply divided and edged with white.
  11. Helianthemum ‘Sterntaler’: For much of the year, this rock rose is simply a cushion of evergreen foliage. That changes in late spring, when it converts into a clump of golden flowers.
  12. Pinus sylvestris: The Scots pine is a slow-growing, evergreen conifer that can be grown as a specimen tree or in groups.

Useful links:

Professional photos of A Swiss Sanctuary at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2022: https://collect.wetransfer.com/board/sj9957nuecowfzp4d20220523224112?token=210cecc7-bf07-43e4-9542-f1c557932372

A Swiss Sanctuary at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2022 (microsite): www.myswitzerland.com/en-gb/microsites/gb/a-swiss-sanctuary-at-the-chelsea-flower-show-2022

A Swiss Sanctuary souvenir booklet (digital edition), published by Gardens Illustrated: https://issuu.com/stnet/docs/gim_312_p901-936_swissbooklet_final

Media contact:

Myriam Ziesack, Head of Media and Communications UK & Ireland

Tel: +44 (0)20 7845 7691 | E-mail: media.uk@switzerland.com

About Switzerland Tourism:

Switzerland Tourism is the Swiss national tourist board in charge of promoting Switzerland as a premier travel, holiday and convention destination. Headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland Tourism is present in 22 markets worldwide, employing around 240 people. Its UK and Ireland office is in Holborn, London.