Created by first-year horticultural apprentices, ‘Eden’s Apothecary’ garden for the 2025 Cornwall Garden Society Spring Flower Show, showcased the therapeutic and pharmaceutical properties of plants. The first-year Cornwall College University Centre students, studying Garden and Landscape Design at the Eden Project, created the ‘Echoes of Tranquillity’ garden, designed to provide a space for reflection and renewal.
The Cornwall Garden Society was established in 1832 and their annual spring flower show attracts some 5000 people and features show gardens, floral displays, growers, specialist nurseries and holders of National Plant Collections.
Their first foray into designing and creating a show garden, the apprentices transported visitors to a Victorian apothecary with their ‘Eden’s Apothecary’ garden – where ancient folkloric traditions merged with modern scientific advancements, demonstrating nature’s power to heal. The garden showed the long history of healing plants, from the more exotic to some often-overlooked everyday species with remarkable properties.
Drawing on inspiration from the Eden Project, the apprentices presented how plants have long supported human wellbeing, but as global biodiversity declines, we risk losing many vital species and damaging the health of the planet in the process. The garden posed solutions to consider soil health and regenerative gardening practices to help mitigate the decline.
Sustainability was central to the design, with materials repurposed from across the Eden Project and many of the plants grown at Eden’s Growing Point plant nursery. Among the plants on display were Foxgloves (Digitalis purpurea) which, whilst poisonous, were often used in old folkloric remedies long before modern medicine refined them into treatments for heart conditions. The ruby red foliage of the toxic Lobelia cardinalis poking through the undergrowth has the potential for treating addiction and neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s.
Catherine Cutler, the Eden Project’s head of horticulture, said: “We are incredibly proud of our apprentices for demonstrating their creativity, passion and skill with such a fantastic show garden. It’s been so wonderful watching it all come together. At the Eden Project, we pride ourselves on being a place of hope and inspiration for gardening enthusiasts of all ages, so it is particularly wonderful to see our young apprentices finding that inspiration from our site, our mission and our ethos. Visitors to the Spring Flower Show have clearly enjoyed exploring the unique space the garden provided and we hope they have been able to take some of its important messaging home with them.”
Following the Spring Flower Show, the plants used in ‘Eden’s Apothecary’ will be used to form part of a new pharmaceuticals exhibit at the Eden Project, which visitors will be able to enjoy in 2026.
Echoes of Tranquility
The ‘Echoes of Tranquillity’ garden was inspired by the philosophies of Japanese gardens and used both hard and soft landscapes to help visitors connect with nature and ground them in the present moment. A dry riverbed and water feature helped add to the peacefulness of the space, while dense, layered planting and shades of green provided a sense of calm.
Through this project, students have had the opportunity to implement their newfound skills using modelling software, as well as technical drawing and photoshop rendering skills to explore spatial layouts, textures and colour schemes.
Toria Glover, Programme Manager for the HNC/HND Garden and Landscape Design said: “It’s been a real pleasure to watch the students venture into the creative world of garden design in a practical, realistic and local setting. And what a place to showcase what they have achieved in just one year of studying, celebrating horticultural ingenuity amongst fellow enthusiasts. It’s such a wonderful thing to add to their portfolio and I’m sure everyone at the show were just as impressed! This is one of the many real-live projects we encourage our students to get involved with, which we believe not only supports their learning experience but also positively impacts the future of our local green spaces.”
In addition to the show gardens, the Eden Project was also awarded the Cornwall Garden Society Plantsman Award for new and exciting cultivars of Kangaroo paw (Anigozanthos), currently on display in the Mediterranean Biome. This award recognises encouragement of new plant introductions of special merit.
The Eden Project offers a range of learning opportunities run in partnership with Cornwall College and Truro and Penwith College – providing a chance for talented, enthusiastic and passionate individuals to work at the Eden Project while studying for a nationally recognised qualification.
