First Christian garden at Chelsea Flower Show

Gardeners use shrubs and decorations to portray 'Lord is my Shepherd' psalm

Designer and RHS gold medal winner, Sarah Eberle
Designer and RHS gold medal winner, Sarah Eberle

A Christian garden is being created for the first time at this year's Chelsea Flower Show.

The theme of garden at the Royal Horticultural Society event, sponsored by the Bible Society and costing about £100,000, is to evoke the well-known biblical text Psalm 23.

It is a fitting choice because the psalm "The Lord Is My Shepherd" was included in the Coronation service  of the Queen, who is patron of the Bible Society, Supreme Governor of the Church of England and a regular at Chelsea who is expected to visit the garden.

In previous years there have been Chelsea gardens inspired by Islam and Hinduism,  but a spokeswoman for the RHS said: "We believe it is the first time - and certainly in living memory - that the show has featured a garden inspired by the Christian faith."

Designer and RHS gold medal winner, Sarah Eberle, hopes to bring the popular psalm to life with her interpretation of "green pastures", "still waters" and "the valley of the shadow of death."

 Like all gardeners she will doubtless be praying for rain and sun, and there will be lots of kneeling to tend the plants.

But there will be no public praying area  on the 10m (32.8ft) by 10m plot because Chelsea rules ban visitors from walking on displays.

Hazel Southam, Bible Society spokeswoman, made clear the garden was not intended as a call to prayer or for people to go to church.

"We visited Chelsea last year and saw that banks and gin companies had a presence and decided there was no reason the Bible Society should not be in there too.

"Psalm 23 is 3,000 years old and has inspired art and music across the centuries. It is about a homecoming at the end of a journey and has a message of God being with us through the ups and downs of life.

"It has a relevance for us all whether we are worried about climate change or Brexit Britain. We decided that Psalm 23 should be the theme because it is beautiful and speaks to everybody.

"We want our garden to be restorative and for people to see it and feel they can draw away from the busyness of life."

Artists impression of the garden
Artists impression of the garden

She defended expenditure on the garden as "cost-effective" and "a most beautiful way" of reaching  hundreds of thousands if not millions of people.

Sarah Eberle, an infrequent churchgoer said the garden reflected her own upbringing on Dartmoor.

"The garden is my place of meditation and the place I go to consider my soul.  It does not matter if you are religious or not, I hope Psalm 23 and this garden will help people find their soul. It's about spirituality and finding humanity in nature."

She added: "It's a tough call to get an emotional response from a garden when people have just a few minutes to see it. But I hope this will stop people in thier track and make them look."

The psalm is clear in its landscape description and the "green pastures" will be depicted by a wild meadow, "still waters" will flow through it fed by a waterfall, while "the valley of the shadow of death" will be evoked by the rugged edges of Dartmoor granite and deep shade under the trees.

A hanging rock, foxgloves and cow parsley will represent features of a typical English pastoral scene while a hawthorn tree, gorse and thistles convey the obstacles in life.

The Bible Society hopes this garden will inspire churches, communities and schools to create their own Psalm 23 gardens in church grounds and unused land across the country.

Helen Pettit, director RHS Shows, said previous Chelsea designs had been inspired by different faiths. " The design for the Bible Society - the Psalm 23 garden - creates an accessible interpretation of one of the most well-known biblical texts.

 "The RHS welcomes any garden that promotes connecting with nature and the community, brining people together through gardening."

After the show the Psalm 23 garden is find a new home at Winchester hospice.

The Bible Society, established in 1804, has 70,000 UK supporters and 46 societies worldwide.

The RHS Chelsea Flower Show Gala Opening by the Queen is Monday May 18, opening to members on Tuesday and Wednesday May 19 and 20, and to members of the public from May 21 to 23.

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