Scottish based children’s charity set to bloom at RHS Chelsea Flower

First time exhibitors, Semple Begg partner with Teapot Trust to reveal their fantasy ‘Elsewhere’ garden with signature ‘Dolly Mixture’ stream

Scottish based charity Teapot Trust and Scottish-Swiss design studio, Semple Begg prepare to reveal their Elsewhere Garden at this year’s RHS Chelsea Flower Show.

Teapot Trust is a charity at the forefront of transformative mental health support that provides art therapy to children, young people and their families living with chronic conditions. The show garden marks a rare Chelsea appearance for Scottish charities and designers and is made possible by a grant from Project Giving Back who provide funding for good causes at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show.

One in four children and young people in the UK live with the pain and stigma of chronic health conditions that cause anxiety and depression. Almost a third of those aged under 21 who take their own lives have a long-term chronic illness. The charity’s art therapy gives children and young people a release from the burdens of chronic illness allowing them to take some control, to express and process their feelings about their diagnosis, their treatment regime, and the impact of their condition on daily life.

Sarah Randell, Chief Executive of Teapot Trust said: “We are absolutely thrilled to have a show garden at RHS Chelsea Flower Show, and delighted to finally reveal the Elsewhere Garden which up until now has existed only in our imaginations. The opportunities this will give Teapot Trust are hugely significant. It’s a platform from which we’ll share the impact of our work and draw more children and families in need to us so they can access our art therapy without barriers or cost.

“Semple Begg has done a fabulous job creating the Elsewhere Garden which perfectly illustrates the release that art therapy gives children, taking their minds to a place of escape.”

Ruth Girvan, Chair of Trustees of Teapot Trust said: “My daughter suffers daily physical and mental pain from an invisible chronic condition.

“The support we had from Teapot Trust to access art therapy helped Neve find ways to understand her condition, her treatment and has enabled her to navigate a world where she faces barriers and stigma often on a daily basis. RHS Chelsea gives Teapot Trust the opportunity to spread awareness, giving more children and young people like Neve access to transformative art therapy.”

The Elsewhere Garden is a fantasy garden representing a child’s imagination as it blossoms in response to the freedom gifted by art therapy. Through this escape into art, children find coping strategies to deal with life. For inspiration, the designers looked to Willy Wonka’s factory, to Oz and Wonderland.

Susan Begg of Semple Begg said: “The design process began with a workshop with children benefiting from Teapot Trust art therapy. We were blown away by the imaginary worlds they created in their artworks, the art therapy literally took them ‘elsewhere’.

“Normal rules didn’t apply. In art therapy, children use their imaginations and creativity to explore their fears and ultimately resolve them. From these insights grew the Elsewhere Garden – a place where a child’s imagination blooms in response to the freedom gifted by art therapy. Where the inner world of a child’s anxiety is expressed as an outer wonderland.”

Nicola Semple of Semple Begg added: “We’ve used plants to paint a picture of what ‘elsewhere’ might look like. A glimpse inside a child’s imagination where there are bright pockets reflective of joy in conquering fear such as our signature ‘Dolly Mixture’ stream, a ribbon of Candelabra primulas,  and quieter, more dramatic, almost spooky areas around our Picea trees reflective of the spaces where fear can be safely explored. There’s fun, there’s fear and there’s things that can’t be entirely explained… like dancing grasses.”

Scottish composer and sound artist Michael Begg and audio visual artist Kathy Hinde have created a unique experimental soundscape to bring the garden to life. The work comprises kinetic water sculptures, dancing grass, sonified data from multiple ambient sensors and live weather feeds along with ambient field compositions mapping to different areas of the garden space; underground, over ground and the canopy. 

Following Chelsea, the garden will be relocated to a permanent home at Royal Hospital for Children in Glasgow which serves areas of social need, where chronic illness in children is 2.5 times more prevalent. An inclusive safe space to help overcome barriers to accessing healthcare, it will be used for outdoor art therapy and all patients and visitors will be welcome.

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