Chelsea Flower Show 2017 | The White Garden for David Harber

In 2017, Nic designed a contemporary White Garden at the Chelsea Flower Show as a backdrop to David Harber’s iconic sculptures. The garden formed part of an award-winning collaboration, where landscape and art were carefully composed to enhance one another.

The design is built on a deliberate contrast between horizontal and vertical elements. Ground planes are dark, moody, and tactile, combining charred composite decking, dark grey porcelain, and richly textured English clay pavers. These materials create depth and anchor the space, allowing the lighter elements to lift and breathe above them.

In contrast, the vertical elements of the garden are defined by fresh white forms and light-filtering trees. A contemporary garden shelter sits amongst multi-stem silver birch, their pale trunks and delicate canopy bringing movement, rhythm, and a sense of calm.

Planting is intentionally soft, immersive, and textural. A restrained palette of fresh green foliage and glistening white flowers creates a luminous, layered effect, drawing visitors into the space and enhancing the reflective quality of the sculptures. The result is a garden that feels both contemporary and timeless, a carefully balanced composition of material, planting, and light.