Steel force

This malleable material can be fashioned into durable, defining and decorative features that will bring life to your garden.

- JACKY HOBBS

1. Structural work

Designer Ruth Willmott, who created The Morris & Co. Garden for RHS Chelsea 2022, innovatively transposed William Morris' delicate Willow Bough leaf design (1887) to the pergola screens and rill liners. The earthy colours are evocative of Morris' prints, yet the filigree laser cut pattern work brings a more contemporary edge. The pavilion and rill were fashioned from powder-coated stainless steel, a material which facilitates intricate design work, whilst maintaining durability. Working in partnership with metalworking specialist Outdoor Design, the ideas were worked up into technical drawings, ensuring hidden fixings and a subtle overlapping effect of the gold-coloured base, overlaid with the red, laser cut-out metal design.

2. By the sea

In the La La Landscapes, mgr Changing Tides Garden, RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2024, designer Lucy Mitchell used 'reclaimed, mild steel trench piles (reminiscent of coastal shoring) to create a sustainable, coastal garden. "The metal sheets, cut into smaller sections, are welded together to create textural planters. This low-carbon steel possesses a unique combination of affordability, strength, and malleability and is 100% recyclable,' says Lucy. 'Whilst it lacks Corten's outer self-protective layer, it soon weathers to a rich patina, which provides a rustic aesthetic with warmth. These resilient containers spill with drought-tolerant plants able to withstand coastal winds and salt air, including low-lying succulents, grasses with deep-anchoring roots and trees with needle-like leaves.'

3. Level best