Award winning RHS Wentworth Woodhouse garden encourages accessibility
The treble winning RNIB Legacy Garden at RHS Wentworth Woodhouse reflects the industry’s growing trend of organisations encouraging accessibility for all.
After taking home a Gold medal, Best in Show and Best Construction, the garden’s leading landscaper Gareth Wilson looks back on the win:
“We’re seeing more organisations doing sensory audits on public and commercial spaces. It’s about designing for everyone – from gradients and path widths to the surface material.”
Working alongside horticultural designer Paul Hervey-Brookes, the RNIB garden invited people without visual impairments to experience the world through the eyes of someone with sight loss.
Using products from Breedon, including Welsh slate hard landscaping material from Penrhyn Quarry, the garden explored texture, form, sound and scent for accessibility.
Since the garden’s build, Wilson turns to other landscapes as he describes 2025 as the year of the accessible garden:
“Landscapers need to think about using materials that are unique and allow visually impaired people to detect the type of surface underfoot.”
Wilson is a frequent contributor to Pro Landscaper, his recent article in the August issue discusses the use of Welsh slate.