Rae Wilkinson's Living Landscapes HUG (Healing Urban Garden) at Hampton Court Flower Show 2015 was a haven of tranquillity. We look at her choice of paving.

Rae Wilkinson show garden with Kota Blue limestone plank paving staggered in gravel between planting.
Rae Wilkinson's Living Landscapes HUG (Healing Urban Garden), built by Living Landscapes, shows the beauty of Kota Blue limestone. Picture by Jonathan Ward.

 Rhapsody in Blue

Garden Designer Rae Wilkinson designed the garden around a palette of blue, with the intention to create a soothing space that would suit a client such as a Wellness Centre in an urban setting. “We all appreciate spaces that are beautiful,” she said, “and the idea that green space in an urban setting can have a positive effect is growing.”

Layered planting in Living Landscapes HUG show garden designed by Rae Wilkinson, RHS Hampton Court 2015
Layers of planting with blue and white blooms create a verdant urban retreat in Rae Wilkinson's Living Landscapes HUG garden. Picture: Helen Gazeley.

Kota Blue Limestone was the ideal match for the palette. It also has a riven surface that is naturally flat which, with its very even colouring and texture, makes it ideal for a modern design.

Plank paving and planting

Rae chose plank paving. This was a bespoke order for Kota Blue, but it's available as standard in a range of granite, sandstone and porcelain. Plank paving has much to offer garden design.

“I like the way you can stagger them through another surface and they drift off into the planting at the side,” says Rae. Spilling over onto the hard landscaping were perennials and grasses that created a haze of blues and mauves – including Perovskia 'Blue Spire', Euphorbia amygdaloidies 'Purpurea', Nepeta 'Walkers Low' and Eryngium 'Picos Blue' – while silvery leaves from plants such as Artemesia 'Powis Castle' and Stachys 'Silver Carpet' provided highlights.

Also providing highlights were a curved bleached oak bench by sculptor Alun Heslop and the upright pillars in the wall, which Rae chose because, she said, “I wanted a wall that wasn't solid.”

Curved wooden bench with grey pot, kota blue plank paving and gravel in Hampton court show garden 2015
The straight lines of kota blue plank paving balances the curves of pot, bench and rear boundary in Rae's 2015 Silver Gilt-winning garden, built by Living Landscapes. Photo: Helen Gazeley.

Lines and curves

The garden is an interesting yin and yang of curves and straight lines. Curves provided by the back wall, the wide path and the bench itself are counterbalanced by the straight lines which are incorporated into the wall, the bench, and which are, of course, a feature of the plank paving. Even the massed planting, which includes circles of plants filling the round planters, is contrasted with neat, straight rows of thyme planted at intervals between the paving.

Large grey bowl water feature reflects purple blooms at far end of blue limestone plank paving a gravel path.
Rae Wilkinson's HUG (Healing Urban Garden) built by Living Landscapes for RHS Hampton Court 2015. Photo: Helen Gazeley.

Rae is optimistic that we'll be seeing far more quality urban planting in future. “People are valuing green space more in cities. And more space is being allocated by companies, because they recognise that how space looks can affect how people unconsciously perceive them when they arrive at their offices.”

Well, she provided a lovely "blueprint" of what can be done with thoughtful design. Built by Living Landscapes, the garden won Silver-Gilt.

Discover more patio ideas with Kota Blue limestone or check out Kota limestone paving options.

Post updated: June 2023