RHS Chelsea flower show 2024 - the national autistic society garden

Project Description

The National Autistic Society Garden seeks to capture an autistic person’s everyday experience of the world, using walls of cork to create a series of spaces dedicated to different types of social interaction - at work, with friends and family, with partners, and with ourselves.  

It highlights a strategy called ‘masking’ –a potentially draining process involving consciously or unconsciously hiding autistic characteristics in order to fit in. The cork ‘masks’ encircle a central sanctuary with a mesmeric kinetic sculpture, alluding to the inner mind’s complexity and beauty. 

We are co-designing this garden with Sophie Parmenter and the garden is sponsored by Project Giving Back.  Landform Consultants will be managing the build.

The planting scheme is multi-layered, evolving from wetland meadow to river birch woodland, with a vibrant colour palette at its boundary soothing to softer hues at its heart, textured curling bark sits alongside large crusted blocks of expanded cork.  

A strong ecological ethos runs through the garden, showcasing the circularity of regenerative systems and the interdependent relationship between natural ecosystems and man-made materials.