Ilkley-based garden designer Melissa Morton has been chosen by the Association of Professional Landscapers (APL) to design its show garden at this month’s Harrogate Spring Flower Show.
Titled A Garden for Gathering, the 9m x 6m garden will be one of just six show gardens at the event, which runs from 24 to 27 April at the Great Yorkshire Showground. The show attracts over 40,000 visitors across four days.
The garden explores how smaller outdoor spaces can be transformed into relaxing and sociable environments, with a focus on balance and flow. Sustainability is central to the project, with locally sourced materials including gravel from Lightwater Quarries in Ripon, a water feature from York-based Urbis Design, and willow fencing from Estate Sawmills in Bradford.
Melissa, whose business marks its 15th anniversary this year, is an APL-accredited designer and has recently become one of only eight registered members of the Society of Garden and Landscape Designers (SGLD) in Yorkshire.
Construction of the garden is being carried out by Huddersfield-based J Paxman Landscapes, long-time collaborators of the Harrogate show. Planting follows forest gardening principles, with layers of fruit trees, shrubs and ground plants designed to boost biodiversity.
Visitors to the show will also be able to speak to Melissa and APL representatives at the APL Design Clinic, located in the garden.
The project is sponsored by Bradstone and JA Jones, with judging for the show gardens carried out by the Guild of Horticultural Judges. The Harrogate Spring Flower Show is organised by the North of England Horticultural Society.
