Following the success at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2024, little interviews goes “live at Chelsea” to catch up with some of the garden designers that Pro Landscaper has been following throughout their Chelsea journey.

The Bridgerton Garden is a secretive and secluded space, based on Penelope Featherington, a wallflower-like character from Netflix and Shondaland’s most recent series of Bridgerton. Designed to reflect Penelope’s personal journey, the garden’s initial focus is a moongate which leads to an ornate water feature and sunken seating area in the heart of the garden.

Winning a silver medal at Chelsea, designer Holly Johnston reflects on the successes of the garden.

Name: Holly Johnston

Company: Holly Johnston Design

Role: Garden designer

Show Garden: The Bridgerton Garden

• What was the biggest challenge?

On a practical level, there were a number of challenges – from the design of the moongate to the placement of the water feature, the size of the trees to the sourcing of historical items. As it’s a relatively uncomplicated space, in terms of levels or buildings, the fit and finish had to be top quality. It takes a huge amount of hard work and clever design to achieve a sense of ease and timeliness within a newly built garden.

The Bridgerton Garden had a lot of detailed stonework built on a radius sitting within a strong geometric design. The whole garden had to be perfectly centred. Getting the radiuses spot on and checking dimensions over and over demanded an almost obsessive patience.

The garden seemed to be a magnet for the public as there was always a queue to view it and a crowd 5 to 10 deep! We had lots of people from Cambridge come to view the garden and there was a lot of excitement about the relocation too.

• Where is the garden relocating to?

The relocation of this garden will be made possible by the collaboration with Netflix and Shondaland, Stewart Landscape Construction, and WT Partnership. As well as Cambridge University Hospitals, where the garden is being relocated to.

I am thrilled that the garden will live on at Cambridge University Hospital and be used by staff, patients, visitors and the public. The WT Partnership has been key in bringing the garden to Cambridge through their CSR programme and will continue to project manage the relocation.

• What are you most proud of?

I’m immensely proud of the moongate — it was the first time I had designed one and to see it come together exactly as I specified was extremely gratifying. The voussoirs (framing the circular opening) were all dry seam (meaning no mortar), so the angle and placement had to be perfect. It was a nerve wracking but wonderful moment locking the keystone into place and seeing the structure take form.

I’m also extremely proud of the team that worked on the garden. It was a group of kind, creative and extraordinarily talented contractors, stone masons and sculptors that brought the garden to life. We really gelled as a team and I’m proud to say it was a collaborative build that came together on time and as specified.

• If you were to do this again – is there anything you would do differently?

My garden had a lot of climbers and ground covers that grew rapidly and knitted together beautifully as the week went on. Prioritising the planting of these areas first would be something I’d try to do in future (if zoning allowed) so they have time to really weave together prior to judging. It’s a tricky balance getting planting just right for judging and show week.

• What has been your favourite feedback so far?

Show guests were extremely kind about the storytelling behind the garden — they loved that they could see the graduation in the planting and match that to the evolution of the character about whom the garden was built. The space had a strong narrative that related to the human experience.

I also had some lovely folks saying they wanted to pick the garden and take it to their own home. These comments have been made better given I’ve had a few post-Chelsea calls inquiring about designing a moongate or portal like structure (each person has their own way of describing it) in their own gardens — the ultimate compliment.