Paradise in Plasticine

In May 2009 James May embarked on the ambitious task of creating and exhibiting a garden entirely made of plasticine at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show, the pinnacle annual event of English gardening. Luckily for me I was able to watch the whole process unfold from beginning to end as part of James May's Toy Stories program on SBS. Enlisting the help of many volunteers to create plasticine flowers and other components of the garden, the project gradually took shape to form a whimsical, fairy tale landscape. Predictably the Paradise in Plasticine garden caused a significant stir among the other exhibitors, judges and the public at Chelsea - this was particularly due to the lack of real plants! However, the garden had people enthralled, winning the RHS Peoples Choice award for 'Best Small Garden'.

Paradise in Plasticine had me spellbound with its child-like landscape filled with colour and joyous creativity. Sure, from a Landscape Architecture perspective the design of the garden didn't appear particularly well researched or developed, but it had me asking the question: what truly defines a garden as a garden? When does landscape become sculpture?

Photo taken from The Guardian.