Lime Mortar Creates a Stunning Backdrop
for Chelsea Show Garden
 
'From the very beginning, we made a commitment to do things differently; to push boundaries, to innovate, to strive to create a beautiful, elegant garden as sustainably as possible” says Landform Consultants Managing Director Mark Gregory; the multi award winning landscape designer and man behind The Savills Garden at RHS Chelsea this year.

Set within the grounds of an imagined country house hotel, the working kitchen garden was packed with edible and ornamental plants.  There was a working kitchen where lunch was prepared daily by Chef Sam Buckley, one of just 23 Michelin-green-starred chefs in the UK. 
The whole design was then enveloped in a stunning reclaimed brick wall on two sides, using reclaimed bricks and Lime Green’s Natural Lime Mortar.
Not only was it used for the wall but also for the sunken dining area with a high and low wall creating a room within the garden, in which Chelsea pensioners dined each day.

The choice of our bath-coloured mortar, worked perfectly with the reclaimed bricks. A specialist team that usually works in the theatre were bought in to give the wall and other elements in the garden an aged, time worn, quality and although that process was achieved in a couple of days, it perfectly illustrated just how beautiful lime looks after some time has passed.  It just gets better and better with age.

Lime Green first worked with Mark and his team at Landform Consultants, in 2022, on the aptly named Superbloom project.  A brand-new accessible ramp into the moat at The Tower of London, which would enable ALL visitors the opportunity to experience, up close, the flower filled moat each year.
Having been impressed with the performance, aesthetics and natural character of Lime Green’s Natural Lime Mortar it was a natural choice for Chelsea and a visit to Lime Green back in January saw the teams at Lime Green and Landform Consultants collaborate closely to realise the ambitions of the garden.
There has been a noticeable shift at RHS Chelsea Flower show this year with many garden designers embracing a less formal and more sustainable approach.  Traditional borders and topiary gave way to more naturalist planting and materials. 
 

Landform Consultants Managing Director Mark has created over 100 gardens at Chelsea and is a 5-time Chelsea Gold Medal winner and as the RHS Landscape Ambassador, Mark has placed environmental considerations at the heart of his design. Highlights of this sustainable garden include the use of reclaimed bricks, pantiles and York stone paving along with our lime mortar. Mark said: 'It’s been a steep learning curve, even for a seasoned professional like me but we have to do things differently in landscaping going forward.  As a team we imposed a number of restrictions upon ourselves, including no plastic, no cement or concrete in the garden and no waste to landfill.  We didn’t know if it was possible but working with passionate suppliers like Lime Green, we made it happen.
 
Mark said: I’ve been very impressed by Lime Green mortar. It’s very good to work with and the different strengths makes it an easy product to apply. The benefits of using it were two-fold. Not only is it beautiful to look at, but its ability to be recycled, enabled us to re-use the bricks for the garden’s permanent home in Nottinghamshire.

Lime Green Natural Lime Mortar is a premixed general purpose lime mortar for building and pointing stone, brick and block.
It can be used for external works and landscaping projects and comes in many different strengths, colours and two textures, perfect for achieving the best possible match with any existing brickwork or a particular building style.

Simon Ayres, Co-Founder and Managing Director at Lime Green said: “It’s been great to see our products used in such a creative and beautiful way, one that’s pushing boundaries and shaping the future of landscape architecture and garden design.  Mark’s clear vision and relentless pursuit of achieving his goal was truly inspiring.  Well done to his whole team.”

Mark concluded: “I am an experienced bricklayer and garden designer and I will never again use conventional concrete for projects I’m involved with. We will take advantage of the wide colour choices and excellent workability of your lime mortar.”

 
 
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