DUNCAN CARGILL
Formerlya creative director for luxury
clients from Veuve Clicquot to Mulberry,
Duncan Cargill retrained as a garden
designer and has set up his own practice.How did this show garden come about?
The horticultural charity Perennial chose Colm
Joseph, a fellow graduate from the London College
of Garden Design, and me to create thePerennial
Lifeline Garden to celebrate its 180th anniversary.What can visitors to the show expect to see?
It will be a reimagined rose garden and colonnade,
inspired by Sir Roy Strong’s garden at The Laskett
in Herefordshire, which he has bequeathed to
Perennial. We have taken all the formal design
principles of that garden and run a contemporary
rose meadow right through it.What are you most nervous about?
The weather; the RHS Chelsea Flower Show is so
unpredictable. It can be dry or wet, hot or cold, and
makes presenting a perfect garden a real challenge.What are you most excited about?
The garden will be seen from every side and is a
walk-through space, so I’m looking forward to people
experiencing it completely, not just from afar.What is your favourite element of the design?
The plant combinations. We are combining old
species roses with unusual wildflowers and grasses
to make a 21st-century rose garden.JILAYNE RICKARDS
After designing gardens for almost two
decades, Jilayne Rickards will take on
her first RHS Chelsea show garden this
May for the charity CAMFED.How did you get involved in this project?
I bumped into my old primary school friend
Charlotte one day. Charlotte works in international
development and introduced me to the Campaign
for Female Education (CAMFED), a fantastic charity
that supports girls in rural Africa to stay in school.What is the idea behind the garden?
A vibrant and positive garden that shows the spirit
and optimism of young women who strive to lift their
communities out of poverty through education.What are the main elements of the design?
Giving Girls in Africa a Space to Growwill feature
an outdoor classroom with edible plants, iconic red
soil, and exuberant planting. It will also include solar
energy lights, a water pump, sustainable growing
techniques and vitamin-fortified crops.Have you had any problems with the project?
We are importing tender plants from Alicante,
and Brexit is playing havoc with the timing.What are you looking forward to most?
We will be showcasing so many unusual plants, many
of which haven’t been seen at Chelsea before, which
are being grown for us by the Eden Project. I can’t
wait to share these with the public.Meet the new names unveiling exciting debut projects this year