Goodwood Revival 2024
Discover how Transform Landscapes created a stunning show garden at Goodwood Revival 2024, blending traditional English garden design with 1950's inspiration and showcasing our craftsmanship and passion for both landscaping and classic cars.
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Categories: Case study
Date: 13th September 2024
Project brief:
At Transform Landscapes, we pride ourselves on building exceptional landscapes, but we also share a passion for cars. In previous years when visiting Goodwood Revival, we noticed a lack of gardens and felt Revival could be the perfect opportunity to return to the show garden world. As a prestigious event local to us, it provided the ideal platform to showcase our craftsmanship.
Designed in-house by Abbey, the garden was intended to demonstrate the diverse skills of our team—bricklaying, planting, paving, and more—without overcrowding the space. Drawing inspiration from 1950's design, we incorporated geometric shapes while maintaining a traditional, familiar feel. Using English materials and a colour palette of purples, greens, and whites, the garden exuded a timeless charm.
Simon, one of our directors, and Paul, our soft landscaping manager, visited Palmstead Nurseries in Kent to handpick the plants for the garden. It was a fantastic visit, and we’re deeply appreciative of their support.
No Goodwood Revival garden would be complete without a car, so we were thrilled when Abbey’s friend kindly agreed to lend us 'Trevor', a 1968 Morris Traveller, to be the centrepiece of our display. This inspired us to call the garden 'Traveller's Rest.'
Construction began in mid-August. During the build the team came across a few challenges which they tackled head-on. As we were not permitted to dig into the ground and had to work on a membrane, innovative problem-solving became key. Directors Graham and Craig led the build, with Graham taking over as site manager. Another hurdle was addressing the fall in levels across the plot. To resolve this, we constructed a sleeper edge to level the ground and built the lawn on a temporary stage of pallets and plywood, ensuring it was sturdy enough to walk on for the duration of the event. The shed was also supported by sleepers to keep it secure and level. Through the build period, Chandlers Building Supplies provided us with many of our materials.
As the show week approached, everything began to take shape. The first plants to arrive were Portuguese laurels, loaned by CGJ Mathias & Sons (Hedges Online), which provided a beautiful lush green backdrop. Soon after, the plants from Palmstead arrived, and with ornamental bark provided by Bury Hill Landscape Supplies, the beds started to take shape.
Abbey and Glynn installed the In-lite lighting system, kindly loaned by Landscape Plus, as the final touches were added to the garden. With 'Trevor' the Traveller in place, along with tables, chairs, and other vintage elements, we were ready for the show.
Completed works:
Members across our Soft Landscaping, Construction, and Maintenance teams volunteered to man the stand over the weekend, rotating shifts so everyone could experience the event. Dressed in 1950s-style clothing, we braved the rain with umbrellas in hand. Despite the weather, we met many wonderful people and saw amazing cars in action on the track.
'Trevor', being the only Morris Traveller on display, was a tremendous hit! So much so that the Morris Minor Owners Club expressed interest in writing an article about his story - many visitors came by specifically to see him! We had many people comment that our garden was by far the prettiest stand at Goodwood this year, calling it a 'little oasis'.
Sunday afternoon brought some much-needed warmth sunshine. Though, much of the weekend had been wet and muddy the turnout remained strong, with many continuing to fully embrace the the vintage theme - complete with umbrellas and wellies! With crowds enjoying our stand, we became an impromptu photo location as many wanted to have their photo taken along side 'Trevor' on the only patch of grass that wasn’t covered in mud!
The results:
But... all good things must come to an end. Once the show had finished, we had a week to dismantle the garden, leaving the ground bare once again. Graham and his team embarked on the bittersweet task of disassembling all of their hard work commenting that the experience of being part of Goodwood Revival made it all worthwhile.
Goodwood Revival was a fantastic experience for us and beyond the event itself, seeing members from different teams work together as one, blending their knowledge and skill sets was truly rewarding.
We would like to extend our sincere thanks to all our sponsors: Palmstead Nurseries, CGJ Mathias & Sons, Bury Hill Landscape Supplies, Landscape Plus, Chandlers Building Supplies, as our show garden would not have been possible without their support.
"When you are weary of the long road and the open sky, I wish it may be my house that you're passing by, I wish it may be my garden where you sit down or lay, and tell your tales of distant lands, so far far away."
Our event poem