Meet the DesignersGet inside the minds of Chelsea's top designers and find out where you can enjoy their design work outside the show. |  |
Gabriella Pape and Isabelle Van GroeningenShow garden 2007: The Daily Telegraph Garden Chelsea track record: First time at Chelsea  Design trademarks: Both Gabriella and Isabelle are internationally renowned designers, and bring a continental approach to British garden design from their training in Belgium, Holland and Germany. The pair are fascinated by what happens when you bring Germanic and British gardening traditions together. They think German planting styles are 'boring' but sensible, always putting the right plant in the right place; they feel the British, on the other hand, garden with their hearts rather than their heads. Their style has been described as 'seriously pretty'; expect wisterias, foxgloves and delphiniums galore. But they like to confine all this romantic indulgence within strict lines of box and granite - as Gabriella Pape explains it, 'you get tension where a billowing plant hits a straight line'. Where to see their work: The Moat Border, Eltham Palace, London. Cliveden, Maidenhead, Bucks In their own words: "Eccentricity and ego have no place in our Chelsea garden." Denise Preston: Leeds City CouncilShow garden 2007: Scent of a Roman Chelsea track record: Four show gardens: two bronze medals (2004 and 2006) one silver (1997) and one silver-gilt (1998).
 Design trademarks: Leeds City Council works as a team to design their Chelsea gardens, with Denise Preston, the city's Chief Recreation Officer, chairing meetings. The result is a reflection of a cross-section of expertise throughout an outstanding Parks and Gardens service. Leeds cares for 11 National Plant Collections and is the only council which exhibits regularly at Chelsea. Denise admits that she prefers a Yorkshire cottage garden style; but she and the team add modern twists, such as bedding displays using unconventional new varieties in innovative colour combinations, modern sculpture and architectural plants. Where to see their work: Roundhay Park, Golden Acre, Temple Newsam Estate, Lotherton Hall Estate, The White Rose Shopping Centre (for their relocated 2006 Chelsea show garden), all in Leeds In their own words: "I'm afraid I don't do much gardening myself. I prefer someone else doing the work and me sitting on the garden bench watching, preferably with a drink in hand!" - Denise Preston Paula RyanShow garden 2007: Amnesty International Garden for Human Rights Chelsea track record: Bronze Flora for her Small Urban garden in 2005
 Design trademarks:Paula is used to working with awkward and demanding spaces. Her designs are highly practical, modern compositions with the flexibility and ingenuity needed to coax the beauty out of even the trickiest corners. Roof gardens are typical of the type of urban environment she works in, where special consideration has to be given to every element, there are always problem areas to overcome, and creative thinking is essential. Planting ranges from the unashamedly pretty to the minimalist and unobtrusive; Paula is able to adapt her palette according to the environment she's working in. In her own words: "Shadow and light are always a big thing for me. I love to play with different feelings of shadow and light throughout a space, throughout the day, throughout the year. I also like the contrast between slabs of horizontal with soft verticals of planting." Website: For more information visit www.paularyangardens.com Roger Smith: Scenic BlueShow garden 2007: The Marshalls Sustainability Garden Chelsea track record: Two small show gardens, a Courtyard Garden in 2005 and a Chic garden in 2006, winning them one silver and one gold medal. This is their first full-size show garden.
 Design trademarks: The Scenic Blue design company is making a trademark out of coming up with superb, innovative and ground-breaking new ideas for today's gardens. Their 2006 small garden, Anna's Sanctuary, featured a sunshade which doubled up as a water collection system, and this is typical of their environmentally-aware, lateral-thinking approach to garden design. They embrace the concept of the garden as a room outside, with the emphasis on living and entertaining. It's a predominantly urban style, but the ideas are good enough for adapting to any garden, anywhere. In their own words: "Garden design is the UK's best kept secret. The perception is it's only for the good and the great, but there's no reason that it's not for everyone." - Judy Behl, Managing Director Website: For more information visit www.scenicblue.co.uk | 
