Our living wall took centre stage at the RHS Hampton Court Palace Garden Festival 2024

Get Growing with Meristem

We were thrilled to be invited back to showcase our stunning living wall at this year’s RHS Hampton Court Palace Garden Festival (2-7 July).

Our team designed and installed this vibrant piece of living green art for the main bandstand stage - Get Growing - with over 540 plants making up the display.

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(L-R) Vio, David, Kesh, Nina, Joe, Shan

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Made up of over 540 plants

Held annually, the Garden Festival takes place at Hampton Court Palace, a historic royal residence located in East Molesey, Surrey, England. Invited back to transform the main stage of the festival into a green vision, Meristem Design were given a brief to create a green wall with a splash of colour.

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Vision inspired by our Living Wall Designer and Maintenance Manager, Nina Simoes

CONSTRUCTING AND DESIGNING THE LIVING WALL

Living walls, green walls, or plant walls are self-sufficient vertical gardens that are attached to a free-standing frame or to the exterior or interior of a building. Many types of plants will tolerate the high life in a green wall, from herbs and fruit to grasses and ferns. Included in the RHS Hampton wall are the following plants:

The wall contained individual pocket-sized planters each filled with soil and one or more plants.

• alchemilla mollis

• polystichum setiferum

• pachysandra terminalis

• muehlenbeckia complexa

• heuchera blondie in lime

• asplenium scolopendrium

• polistichum tsus-simens

• carex oshimensis evergold

• hedera helix

• nepeta racemosa

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carex oshimensis evergold

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nepeta racemosa

REPURPOSING THE PLANTS

To ensure the green wall stayed lush and vibrant throughout the festival, we ensured the plants got plenty of water. We chose these plants because they are evergreen and hardy. Similar to our living wall at RHS Chelsea, we will be repurposing many of the plants to other schools sites. as part of our primary school project work to educate and engage children on the importance of nature.

What WAS on at the Get Growing Festival Stage?

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Garden designer Adam Frost sharing his journey with our living wall as a vibrant green backdrop

The Get Growing main stage at the festival is the place to be to get garden inspiration, advice and entertainment.

From creative demonstrations to practical workshops, the stage was filled with experts and celebrities sharing their gardening tales.

For those with a love for music, the stage also included some a capella delights.

New vibrant living wall in North London

Meristem has recently completed the installation of a vibrant new living wall at a private property in North London. This project marks the first stage of an extensive garden design initiative we are currently developing for our client.

TURNING THE GREY GREEN

The motivation behind this living wall stemmed from the construction of a brick wall by a neighboring property. Rather than facing a plain, empty wall, our client desired a dynamic and visually appealing alternative for their home.

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What makes up the living wall?

The living wall is a lush tapestry featuring over 250 carefully selected plants, reaching 7.36sqm.

Among the diverse array of species are the:

• silver-leaved convolvulus cneorum

• striking purple blooms of erysimum 'Bowles's Mauve'

• evergreen pachysandra terminalis

Each plant was chosen for its unique texture and colour, contributing to a rich and ever-changing visual experience.

The benefits of the living wall

This living wall not only enhances the aesthetic appeal of the garden but also offers ecological benefits, such as improving air quality, providing habitat for wildlife, and contributing to the overall sustainability of the property. We are excited to continue our work on this garden design project, which promises to transform the outdoor space into a serene and picturesque retreat.

HOW DO LIVING WALLS WORK?

Living walls are constructed in the same way as real walls. They are built with a skeletal structure that is suspended with sections containing the plants and flowers that will make up the green wall.

Living walls contain a large amount of plants in a relatively small, vertical space. By using the walls and extending upward, the plants, which provide maximum benefits, are installed without reducing the floor space.

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How we are helping to improve Milton Keynes flood resilience

local flooding issues

Heavy rainfall causing flooding has been a significant issue in Milton Keynes over the years, often overwhelming the capacity of local drainage networks and resulting in surface water flooding in the area.

As reported by Milton Keynes Borough Council and WSP, internal property flooding has affected thousands of homes, a number of business premises and even the Hospital. Bucks Fire have been required to rescue people from their properties and many families have been affected.

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Image from MKFM

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Image from MKFM

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Improving Coffee Hall’s flood resilience

According to MK Citizen, heavy rainfall that overwhelmed Milton Keynes drains in 2018 caused economic damage to the city totalling an estimated £7million. Creating major disruption, flood damage and stress and worry for local residents, an area wide SuDS programme has been set in motion to help mitigate these issues.

Coffee Hall was identified as one of the main estates suffering from localised flooding, including the local community church, primary school, youth centre and a number of residential properties.

Our SuDS planters were installed at locations to:

• support efficient water management

• reduce the impact on local drains

• allow vegetation and plants to absorb rainwater

How do they work?

SuDS planters collect rooftop runoff and work like a rain garden in a planter allowing for sustainably managed flash flooding and stormwater. They effectively enhance the capacity of the surface water piped drainage network by capturing and storing rainfall, allowing it to soak into the ground, or release it slowly back into the piped network. Read more on this here.

Cold Harbour C of E Primary School

Due to the location of the school and that it sits below surrounding areas, heavy rain and flash flooding brings water towards and in the school. The volume of water that comes off the school roof also has a large impact on flooding into the school environment.

“The whole school community loves the planters - they make a striking feature.”

— Dawn Green, School Business Manager

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Community Youth Centre

“Our planters are in and we love them!”

— Tash Darling, Youth and Community Services Manager

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Christ the Vine Community Church

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RESIDENTIAL PROPERTIES BENEFITTING FROM SUDS PLANTERS

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What’s coming next?

The next stage of Milton Keynes flood mitigation programme will see rain gardens installed in the area. Rain gardens are a type of Sustainable Drainage System (SuDS) that capture rainfall before it enters the piped network and either releases it slowly into the network or allows it to infiltrate into the ground.  

Take a look at some of our recent rain garden projects.

Our Living Walls Return for Exclusive DJ Set at Chelsea Flower Show

Meristem Design were thrilled to return and install living walls for both the main stage and DJ booth during the 2024 RHS Chelsea Flower Show. Our main wall was 24 m2, creating an impressive and eye-catching backdrop for attendees to enjoy.

This year saw Chelsea Late take off with successful DJ Jo Whiley taking the stage for the first time ever at a RHS show.  Gardening and a rave - what a combo!

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Designing the living walls

With a legendary DJ headlining the evening stage at RHS Chelsea for the first time, we wanted to ensure that our walls were as bright and beautiful as ever, including the uplifting and bold RHS Chelsea purple hues. The creation was brought to life by our very own Living Wall Designer Nina:

“My inspiration for this year’s design began just a few minutes from my home at Warwick Gardens, where I noticed the stunning Lavandula stoechas blooming among other plants. The living wall features a diverse array of green foliage, dotted with lush ferns and vibrant flowers.

One of the most rewarding aspects of this project is participating in the installation. It’s an incredible experience to be surrounded by a fantastic team brimming with energy and enthusiasm.
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— Nina Simoes - Meristem Designer

INSTALLING THE WALLS

Living walls are constructed in the same way as our real walls. They are built with a skeletal structure that supports our living wall troughs. The only real difference is we do not install an integrated irrigation system for events.

They contain a large amount of plants in a relatively small, vertical space (40 plants per square metre). By using the walls and extending upward, the plants are installed without reducing the floor space, making it an ideal setup for RHS Chelsea and Jo Whiley to entertain the crowds. 

THE BENEFITS OF A LIVING WALL

Our living walls also provide many ecological and environmental benefits including air purification, encouraging biodiversity and having very low water consumption.

WHAT PLANT SPECIES DID WE USE?

With over a 1000 plants used to create the living walls, it was important to choose plant species that would deliver an aesthetic impact, provide benefits to wildlife and thrive in a living wall. 

• Heuchera 'Lime Marmalade'

• Osteospermum Solana

• Osteospermum Valencia

• Pachysandra terminalis

• Polystichum setiferum

• Polystichum tsussimense

• Asplenium Scolopendrium

• Blechnum spicant

• Campanula portenschlagiana

• Carex Oshimensis 'Evergold'

• Dryopteris goldieana

• Erysimum 'Bowles's Mauve'

REPURPOSING THE PLANTS

Following the end of this year’s show, all plants used within the living walls are being repurposed as part of our primary school project work to educate and engage children on the importance of nature. This will help to reduce waste and help deliver our commitment to fostering an environmentally conscious generation

These workshops allow the students to immerse themselves and learn all about sustainable living and how they can care for their environments and become more eco-friendly day to day.