West London based garden designer Jonathan Snow will be making his debut on Main Avenue this year at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2018.

He submitted his very first application, secured an established Chelsea sponsor in Trailfinders, and an experienced contractor in Mark Richardson’s Stewart Landscape Construction, and lined up some of the best tree and plant nurseries in the UK and Europe to help source and grow his plants.

His design was accepted and allocated a much coveted Main Avenue location. Jonathan said: “I’m trying to concentrate on delivering my vision for the garden and making sure I choose the right plants and materials. If I manage that, then I have a chance of doing welll.”

Jonathan’s inspiration for his Trailfinders Garden is the Winelands of the Western Cape of South Africa. The area not only produces world class wines but attracts visitors from all over the world
who come to sample the wines, soak up the old world charm of the Cape Dutch architecture and enjoy some of the best scenery, wildlife and food on the planet. It’s rather fitting that the sponsor
of the garden is the UK’s leading independent tour operator, Trailfinders, as they tailor-make holidays to South Africa for thousands each year.

The architecture of the charming Cape Dutch homesteads, with pretty verandahs and neatly manicured parterre gardens situated in the wonderfully evocative vineyards of the Cape Fold valleys made quite the impact on Jonathan. It is this landscape, with the characteristic ‘Fynbos’ planting that he is seeking to represent with his Trailfinders South African Wine Estate Garden.