Qatari Diar - The Chelsea Barracks Garden

The Chelsea Barracks Garden, designed by Jo Thompson for the 2016 Chelsea Flower Show, is being donated to the Royal British Legion Industries (RBLI) and will be permanently relocated at the Royal British Legion Village in Aylesford, Kent.  The Chelsea Barracks Garden will form the centrepiece of the RBLI’s new housing development, which will provide much needed permanent homes for wounded, injured and sick veterans.

Qatari Diar, the sponsors of the Chelsea Barracks Garden, will also be supporting two veterans, resident at the Royal British Legion Village, who are interested in pursuing a career in horticulture to undertake training and gain formal horticulture qualifications, enabling them to carry out the ongoing maintenance for the garden in its new location.

The RBLI is a national charity which was founded after World War One in 1919 to support army veterans returning to civilian life.  Today it provides support, care and employment for hundreds of ex-servicemen and women each year, particularly those affected by disability, health conditions or social welfare needs. The new development where the garden will be located at the Royal British Legion Village will comprise of purpose built apartments, specifically designed to support mobility needs of the wounded veterans and to help them to live independent lives.

Jo Thompson is one of the UK’s leading garden designers and this will be her eighth year at the Chelsea Flower Show.  Jo’s design is inspired by the heritage of the Chelsea Barracks site in London, the former British Army barracks, with cues taken from the architecture and landscaping of the new development, which neighbours the Royal Hospital (where the Chelsea Flower Show has been held since 1913). Roses, with perennial planting between, will be a main feature of the garden. They reference the listed Garrison Chapel, with its historic Rose Window, which is preserved at the heart of the new development on the Chelsea Barracks site.

“We have been very impressed by the valuable work done by the RBLI to support ex-service men and women as they transition to civilian life,” said a spokesperson for Qatari Diar, the sponsors of the Chelsea Barracks Garden. “Given the important military heritage of the Chelsea Barracks site, the Royal British Legion Village in Kent seems the perfect home for the garden. We are delighted to secure a permanent legacy for the Chelsea Barracks Garden and to know it will make a positive contribution to this community of veterans for years to come.” 

Plant List: 

Taxus baccata	Athyrium filix-femina	Astrantia major subsp. involucrata 'Shaggy'
Tiarella cordifolia	Myrrhis odorata	Erigeron karvinskianus
Digitalis purpurea 'Sutton's Apricot'	Geranium pratense 'Mrs Kendall Clark'	Salvia x sylvestris 'Mainacht'
Carpinus betulus	Fagus sylvatica	Tellima grandiflora
Rosa 'Felicite Parmentier'	Rosa 'Nuits de Young'	Hosta 'Royal Standard'
Rosa 'La Reine Victoria'	Athyrium niponicum var. pictum	Luzula nivea
Centaurea montana	Geranium phaeum 'Samobor'	Gillenia trifoliata
Nepeta racemosa 'Walker's Low'	Aquilegia vulgaris var. stellata 'Ruby Port'	Geranium sylvaticum 'Mayflower'
Geranium phaeum 'Album'	Anthriscus sylvestris 'Ravenswing'	Astrantia major 'Roma'
Pimpinella major 'Rosea'	Rehmannia elata	Silene fimbriata
Mathiasella bupleuroides 'Green Dream'	Salvia nemorosa 'Caradonna'	Aquilegia vulgaris var. stellata 'Black Barlow' (Barlow Series)
Geranium phaeum 'Lily Lovell'	Hosta 'Devon Green'	Lupinus 'Masterpiece'
Verbascum 'Caribbean Crush'	Amicia zygomeris	Chaerophyllum hirsutum 'Roseum'
Rosa 'Chianti'	Briza media	Verbascum x hybridum 'Copper Rose'
Verbascum phoeniceum 'Violetta'	Thalictrum 'Black Stockings'	Rosa 'Louise Odier'
Rosa 'Madame Pierre Oger'	Melica altissima 'Alba'	Geranium x magnificum 'Rosemoor'
Digitalis lanata	Geranium himalayense 'Derrick Cook'	Delphinium Dusky Maidens Group
Heuchera cylindrica 'Greenfinch'	Verbascum 'Cherry Helen'