RHS Chelsea Flower Show’s coveted Main Avenue will feature a 5.5m waterfall
The waterfall will feature as part of Fauna & Flora’s Gorilla Garden to highlight the company’s conservation work with mountain gorillas
International wildlife conservation organisation, Fauna & Flora will be showcased at this year’s RHS Chelsea Flower Show.
The show garden will be situated at the top of the coveted Main Avenue, with a design that reimagines a slice of the volcanic landscape of the Afromontane region of Central Africa, home to the much-loved and endangered mountain gorilla.
The team’s mission is to sustainably create a garden that not only tells the story of the endangered species and their precious habitat, but also raises public awareness of the vital importance of protecting nature around the world.
Fauna & Flora’s conservation journey with mountain gorillas began in 1978 when the company’s vice-president Sir David Attenborough returned from filming the species for the BBC’s Life on Earth series.
Since Fauna & Flora began its collaborative conservation work, the number of mountain gorillas has increase from a mere few hundred to over 1,000 today.
The Gorilla Garden has been designed by RHS gold medal winner Jilayne Rickards with sustainability and biodiversity awareness at its heart.
The 5.5m waterfall will be constructed with boulders weighing up to 4.7 tonnes but is entirely cement and concrete free.
Instead, an innovative Rootlok method that holds the boulders in place using bags filled with soil on a stable base, and stacked together with interlocking plates, is being applied.
The Rootlok method has been engineered by GeoGrow Ltd and is providing the materials and installation of the garden’s retaining wall and waterfall free of charge.
The boulders forming the waterfall are a waste product from agricultural farming, donated by CED Stone Group. Upon the show’s completion the boulders will be returned to CED Stone Group to be used again.
Additionally, the Fauna & Flora Garden will be relocated to the Tropical Biome of the Eden Project in Cornwall, where it will help to educate and inspire around one million visitors a year.
Fauna & Flora’s Gorilla Garden is one of many gardens featured at this year’s RHS festival season prioritising the importance of sustainable agricultural and horticultural solutions;
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To find out more about Fauna & Flora and its work to protect threatened wildlife and habitats across the world, please visit: www.fauna-flora.org
