Gardening writer, author and presenter, David Hurrion is designing the headline Showcase Garden at this year’s BBC Gardeners’ World Autumn Fair, held in association with English Heritage at Audley End House in Essex. Hurrion’s show garden, entitled The Raised Bed Revealed aims to demonstrate how raised beds and borders can be ideal for the plants, the garden, the natural world and for the gardener.
For many, the concept of a raised bed conjures images of somewhat unsightly, stacked timber sleepers filled with compost to accommodate vegetables. However, as the designer explains, raised beds have substantial design potential to bring form and structure to any growing space.
“Planting in raised beds dates back thousands of years. The structures and cultural techniques have been handed down the generations to result in a diverse range of bed designs and growing systems,” explains Hurrion. “The Hanging Gardens of Babylon for example, were raised beds. The top of Machu Picchu, the 15th-century Inca citadel is all raised beds. Raised beds can be used for all sorts of reasons. Mounded raised beds can be used when dealing with very heavy soils for better drainage as an adapted form of agriculture. In South America, people also grow on beds on stilts – a container/table bed on legs to stop local wildlife eating their crops.”
Hurrion goes on to explain that in garden design, raised beds offer ample opportunities in terms of terracing a sloping garden, screening boundaries or as the Landscape Architect, Humphrey Repton, who was wheelchair bound after a carriage accident, ensure the garden is within reach.
BBC Gardeners’ World Autumn Fair
To show their versatility, Hurrion has designed an impressive 6m2 tiered series of raised beds featuring the customary vegetables and herbs, but also vibrant autumn perennials, drought resistant plants, exotics, trees and even a lawn. In addition, Hurrion has included demonstrations of techniques such as the ‘Hugelkultur’ which is a type no-dig raised bed system, widely used in Germany and Poland to hold moisture, build fertility and maximise surface volume for growing fruit, vegetables and herbs.
Unknown to many, though a regular feature at gardens shows as a presenter, Hurrion has also often been a key team player in the build and planting of RHS Chelsea Show Gardens. He worked closely with Adam Frost on his gold medal winning RHS Chelsea The Homebase Garden ‘Time to Reflect’ and so too with Jekka McVicar on her Silver-gilt winning ‘A Modern Apothecary Garden’. The Raised Bed Revealed Showcase Garden at the BBC Gardeners’ World Autumn Fair is Hurrion’s first show garden in his own name.
Practical at heart, Hurrion a trained teacher, has a knack for making his chosen subjects easy to understand and demystifying the botany and science behind gardening. This showcase garden is a case in point. And even though he is the designer of the Raised Bed Revealed and author of the Raised Bed book, Hurrian has no qualms to stipulate that in many cases a raised bed may not be preferable over growing directly in the soil. However, where applicable, he hopes that this Showcase Garden will elevate growing in raised beds, beyond usage for just vegetables, will inspire new and experienced gardeners, in their own gardens.
The BBC Gardeners’ World Autumn Fair takes place on Friday 30 August – Sunday 1 September, at Audley End House in Essex.