DVELAS furniture at Joe Perkins designed The Facebook Garden: Beyond the Screen exhibit.

World-renowned, glamorous and quintessentially British, RHS Chelsea is a truly unique and unforgettable day out.

As a ‘designed landscape’, The Facebook Garden: Beyond the Screen, is designed to celebrate the positive impact of spending meaningful time on social media and how this enriches our lives – particularly those of young people – in the real world.

The coastal themed garden uses the natural connectivity of water and the ocean to represent the interconnectivity between our online and offline lives, and the interactions, social change and opportunities that social media helps facilitate across the world. Whether it’s connecting with friends and family, sharing a passion or interest with a group or driving social action in the community, the garden is designed to start a conversation around how social media can be used as a powerful force for positive change in the real world. The garden will be built with and for young people and will be rehomed to provide a physical space where young people can connect around shared passions or interests.

Show: RHS Chelsea Flower
Designed by: Joe Perkins
Built by: The Outdoor Room
Sponsored by: Facebook
Stand n.: RHW291
Date: 21-25 May 2019
Tuesday – Friday: 8am – 8pm
Saturday: 8am – 5.30pm

 

Garden design concept, by Joe Perkins:

“Inspired by the spectacular coastal landscapes of the Basque Country, the garden uses a coastal theme to celebrate and represent the countless stories of people who use Facebook to find common ground with others and to connect in real life, including the 1.5 million people in the UK who are part of a gardening group on Facebook.

Water connects all of us geographically and physiologically and is an integral part of this coastal inspired garden, making up around 35% of the surface area. The water is a metaphor for the positive connectivity and opportunity made possible through social media, and the dynamic nature of technology.

The energy of a wave represents social interaction. It washes water across the ‘tidal’ pool and over layered rock formations. The rock formations have coastal species planted in the gaps and crevices and represent the sedimentary rocks known as ‘Flysch’ which make up part of the Basque coastline; the original inspiration for the garden.

A wave-form sculpture forms a canopy over the timber deck. The copper ‘wave’ symbolises the industrial properties of technology and references the theme of connectivity. The timber for the deck comes from reclaimed sea defences.

The garden seeks to be a representation of the variety of coastal habitats, not just of the Basque Country, but across the globe. Subsequently, plants from all over the world feature in the garden, the common denominator being that they have developed to grow in a coastal environment. This specialised global community represents the many shared interest and community groups on Facebook.

The coastal habitat is one of the richest and most diverse habitats where many species can thrive. These landscapes are constantly changing and evolving, creating opportunities for interaction and co-existence.”