We take a look at the I Have a Dream garden at RHS Hampton Court 2013, supported by London Stone and designed by Stephen A Ryan. 

I Have A Dream garden, RHS Hampton Court 2013, with 2 rills meeting in Modeanls limestone paving at a right angle.
Two rills lined with white and black pebbles meet in the middle of the Beige Moleanos limestone paving, where the pebbles mingle.

Stephen Ryan's "I Have a Dream" garden has been designed to mark the 50th anniversary of Martin Luther King's famous speech at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC, 1963. 

The garden's design

The garden has segregated black and white planting areas and a flowing black and white water feature that joins in the centre of the garden.  The garden is designed to celebrate the progress of the multi-racial society and acts as a reminder that prejudice still needs to be resisted.

Moleanos limestone paving with rills meeting at a right angle in I Have a Dream Garden, Hampton Court 2013
The Portland stone bench stands between a black and a white water wall feature.

I am no expert on garden design, so the following review will not be an ultra technical assessment of the "I Have a Dream" garden, but hopefully it will highlight in simple terms why I think its such a great design.

I am a big fan of contemporary garden schemes but I also like gardens that are not too stuffy and exhibit some life.  This garden has all the clean lines that you would expect of a contemporary garden, but the vibrant colours provided by the plants and screens give it a warm and relaxed feeling.  This was further helped by the plants cascading onto the paved areas from the formally shaped beds, and this served to link the paved and planted areas. 

Moleanos Beige sawn limestone paving in I Have a Dream garden, designed by Stephen A Ryan
Limestone setts create texture in the central paving of the I Have a Dream garden..

Paving detail

Stephen chose Moleanos beige limestone paving, supplied by London Stone, and it was expertly laid by Daniel Clark of Open Space.

The attention to detail of the hard landscaping in general was very impressive.  A Portland limestone bench had been supplied to sit in the corner of the garden. The bench sits on top of limestone setts which created a very subtle link between the paving, and the bench.  If the paving had run straight up to the bench, then the contrast between the paving and bench would have been too great, but the setts provide a bridge between the different textures. Little design touches like this are what sets this garden apart. The limestone paving had also been chamfered along the edges, which provided a nice definition along what could have been a boring straight edge.

Silver Gilt winner

I also like the fact that the garden is low maintenance.  People lead busy lives and often don't have the time to spend hours and hours maintaining their gardens, so I am sure the low-maintenance angle will also appeal to others.

3 square beds and Portland bench in 4 corners of I have a Dream garden, by Stephen A Ryan
The three planted beds were designed to represent segregated and mixed societies.

The judges at Hampton Court liked the garden as well, because it was awarded Silver Gilt.  This is the first show garden that Stephen A Ryan Garden Design has done, so they are obviously delighted with the award.  After spending half an hour in the garden my over-riding thought was that I would love this to be my garden.

Well done to Stephen and his team and we look forward to working with him again in the future. Meanwhile, check out the video interview with Stephen for a broader explanation of the symbolism in the garden.

We also supplied another show garden at Hampton Court Flower Show 2013. Take a look at Garden Pad by Dan Bowyer.

Post updated: November 2024