Finishing touches are being made by members of Down’s Syndrome Scotland to two custom-made timber benches which will feature in the charity’s garden at this year’s RHS Chelsea Flower Show.

Designers of the ‘Down’s Syndrome Scotland Garden’, Nick Burton and Duncan Hall of Burton Hall Garden Design, joined the charity members at the workshop hosted by Laurence McIntosh.

Laurence McIntosh has been commissioned to design and build hand-made curved timber benches, which will form two seating areas in the garden.

Credit: Kevin McCollum

Each one is made from solid European oak and features 21 slats and three sets of legs, a reference to the charity’s symbolic numbers three and 21.

One of the benches will also feature a hand-engraved gaelic proverb: “Hard as the Heather, Lasting as the Pine”. It will be positioned under the garden’s Scots Pine.

Members of the charity got hands-on-experience at the Edinburgh based workshop, learning how to sand down wood pieces, screw some of the bench components in, and wood-carved etchings that will form part of the RHS Chelsea garden benches.

Designer Nick Burton comments:

“We hope our ‘Down’s Syndrome Scotland Garden’ at RHS Chelsea will provide a national platform to celebrate the life of people with Down’s syndrome through its reflection of their unique qualities, such as their compassion and empathy, as well as their positivity and determination.

“We are also proud to use our garden as a chance to showcase craftsmanship from Scottish artisans to an international visitor base at the world’s most famous flower show!’

He adds that this workshop day marks a “significant moment” in the garden’s journey.

The garden will be on display at RHS Chelsea Flower Show, which takes place 20 – 24 May 2025.