Great Outdoor Living Ideas from the 2015 Chelsea Flower Show

The RHS Chelsea Flower Show is arguably the world's premier garden event—landscape architects, designers, plant breeders, and even royalty attend. I've been twice (once as a surprise birthday gift from my husband 11 years ago). After covering the planting displays and winning show gardens on day one, day two focused on outdoor living ideas—from grand concepts to subtle details that teach us how to live beautifully in the garden, at any scale.

Debra Prinzing

Naturalistic Ponds

Dan Pearson's Laurent-Perrier Chatsworth Garden honored the Chatsworth estate's trout stream—nature in charge. Shallow pools lined with native Chatsworth stone, margins softened with riparian plants: Luzula nivea, ferns (Dryopteris filix-mas, Osmunda regalis, Matteuccia struthiopteris), Juncus effusus, Iris pseudacorus. The effect: timeless, rooted, as if no human hand was involved.

Debra Prinzing

Deck-Style Pathways

Narrow footpaths and sturdy wood planks installed at-grade, connected like puzzle pieces—safe crossing over wet/muddy ground. Translatable to residential scale; keep boards moss-free.

Debra Prinzing

Mixed-Media "Carpet" for Stormwater

Sean Murray's Great Chelsea Garden Challenge entry (a BBC/RHS competition winner) for a downsizing couple: fine gravel, crushed slate, and honed pavers create a monochromatic patterned "carpet" planted with grasses, ground covers, succulents. Purpose: stormwater control. Result: gorgeous tapestry far better than lawn.

Debra Prinzing

Planted Driveway

Alternating vertical/horizontal stone slabs form two solid bands for car wheels—doesn't look like a driveway. Low plants in gravel soften the bands.

Debra Prinzing

Recycled Tin Can Art

Sphere: Crushed cans on a rebar ring—peel labels, flatten, drill centers, string, mount, let rust. Innovative repurposing of kitchen waste.

Debra Prinzing

Debra Prinzing

Habitat tower: Stacked cans filled with hollow pieces for solitary bee nesting—artful and ecological.

Debra Prinzing

Sunken "Living Room"

Grade change creates a secluded gathering area, screened by shrubs/trees, accessed by steps. Dry-stacked stone wall encloses the space and doubles as seating. Hardy succulents and sedums tucked into wall crevices.

Debra Prinzing

Debra Prinzing

Generous Pathways for Two

Charlie Albone's "The Time in Between" (Husqvarna/Gardena): 36-inch-wide sandstone pavers—designed for two people walking side by side. Circumnavigates a garden designed to tell his late father about his life. Easy to imagine father and son walking together.

Debra Prinzing

Iconic Circular Forms

Circle motif throughout: central water pool, curved path, abstract metal sculpture, clipped shrubs repeating the shape. Calming, serene, meditative.

Debra Prinzing

Enclosed Intimate Seating

Australian sandstone unifies the garden. Semi-hidden circular seating area enclosed by stone and foliage—sandstone pillars (each representing a loved one) form a protective wall. Central round fire pit reinforces safety and comfort.

Debra Prinzing

Water Pathways

Marcus Barnett's Telegraph Garden (De Stijl inspiration): shallow recessed runnel with dark stones reflecting plants and sky, flowing end-to-end. Suspended walkway crosses safely. Graphic, modern, refreshing.

Debra Prinzing

Permeable Walks

Fernando Gonzalez's Pure Land Foundation garden: precut stone bands with spacing for water infiltration. Contemporary silver sandstone, smoothly cut linear paving by Stonemarket (UK supplier).

Debra Prinzing

Intimate Writer's Nook

Jo Thompson's M&G Garden (writer's getaway): tucked-away diminutive circle with stone benches, encircled by tumbling perennials, herbs, roses. Small = secret. Replicable with a few stone blocks (or a stump) and fast-growing perennials.

Debra Prinzing

Diagonal Drama

Harry and David Rich's Cloudy Bay Garden: patio with low walls at angles—not the predictable perimeter. Increases dynamic tension, more interesting to view and inhabit.

Related: Great Garden Ideas From the 2015 Chelsea Flower Show | See Winning Gardens From the 2015 Chelsea Flower Show