Shot! Kazuyuki Ishihara’s MOROTO no IE Garden at the 2024 RHS Chelsea Flower Show
With its tumbling waterfall, calming rock pool, colourful acers, elegant irises and moss-covered stones a small part of Chelsea was transformed into a gem of a Japanese garden.
Whether it’s the prestigious show gardens on Main Avenue or the smaller Sanctuary gardens around the corner, the Chelsea Flower Show has regularly featured designers who aim to bring the flavour and fauna of a far flung country to Chelsea as well as to the RHS’s other London show, the Hampton Court Palace Garden Festival.
Over the years, we’ve seen gardens representing all manner of overseas locations from Australia, Chile, Mexico and the United States, to Provence, Normandy and Monaco. Other transplants include The Azores, Finland, Greece, Italy, Malta, Monaco, Norway, Spain and Switzerland, not forgetting South Africa, Dubai, Jordan, Bangkok and the Far East. And closer to home, we’ve seen gardens that recreate other parts of Britain, namely Derbyshire, Stoke on Trent, Suffolk and Yorkshire.
But in terms of horticultural exotica, one country more than any other, always manages to provide the wow-factor. And that’s Japan, who thanks to the passion and exuberance of garden designer, Kazuyuki Ishihara, have been represented at Chelsea almost every year since 2004.
Indeed, between 2006 and 2023, his exquisite tableaus have won him no less than 12 gold medals, making the Nagasaki native a Chelsea institution.
Of course, Japan has a long tradition of gardens that are as much about art as they are landscaping. Typically, they are created in a small plot that immerses the viewer both visually and emotionally, subconsciously transporting them to another place.
Over the years, it seems like Ishihara’s gardens have gradually grown a little larger, but one thing never changes: they’ve all carried his signature features, a tumbling waterfall, delicate acers, elegant irises and, what he’s best-known for, his moss-covered stones.
And unlike so many designers, he always finds a way of hiding the backdrop so nothing distracts you from his verdant oasis.
Something he’s especially skilled at is packing an awful lot into a very small space — and Sanctuary Gardens at Chelsea range in size from 6m x 9m plots up to 10 x 10m sites. One of the ways he achieves this is through the use of proportion. His perfectly formed landscapes trick the eye, appearing to be wider and deeper than they actually are thanks to clever placement of rocks and trees that help give the impression of depth and scale.
Whilst I have to say all his gardens are more evolution than revolution, this one in particular spoke to me more than the others. Kaizen is the Japanese word for continuous improvement and it really exemplifies Ishihara’s Chelsea gardens, they do get better and better.
I can’t confess to understanding what this one’s enigmatic name means, all I know is it just looked beautifully serene, a calming oasis. Indeed, standing in front of it, I found myself transfixed.
This was also one of those gardens that looked so much better in person than its original sketch suggested.
I did get to have a very brief chat with Ishihara on press day and asked him (through his interpreter) when he was going to have a Main Avenue show garden. I was told it’s something he’d love to do, but the cost has prevented him in the past. He did say he hoped to be doing a show garden in a couple of years time, once he secured sufficient sponsorship.
When I first saw the garden, I wondered why there was an old motorbike and side car parked on it, although I do recall he did have a classic Mini on his 2016 garden. Apparently, he has an affinity for these vehicles and this was a garden that featured the things that make him the most happy. They have a word for this in Japan: kurashi, meaning your ideal lifestyle.
Irises were prevalent on many show gardens at Chelsea this year, and Ishihara featured clumps of them throughout his to provide pops of colour. He kept to one variety of Siberian iris. The RHS’s Show Guide stated they were Tropic Night, but Ishihara’s own handout listed them as Caesar’s Brother, a variety most describe as having intense violet flowers, although in the Press Day sunshine they looked more blue than violet.
Restricting himself to just one variety and one colour, where other designers usually mix many different flowers in many different colours, was an inspired decision. It’s how things often are in the wild, where one variety provides the single colour in an otherwise green-dominated landscape. On his garden, Ishihara’s irises sparkled like intensely blue gems.
Talking of flowers, something else I learned was that all the plants and all the trees as well as all the rocks were sourced from England, specifically from the Japanese Garden Centre near Tonbridge in Kent, who were also responsible for building the garden. I always assumed pretty much everything came from Japan. So that surprised me.
That was nothing compared to when I heard the next day that the judges had only awarded it a silver gilt. I was gobsmacked by their decision. Like many, I felt it was not just deserving of a gold, but it was hands-down my favourite of all the gardens at Chelsea this year, including the eight on Main Avenue. Mr Ishihara put on his usual flamboyant celebration when receiving his medal, but I’m sure on the inside he would’ve been just a tad indignant.
Behind the shot: All these images were taken handheld with the iPhone 14 Pro. As always, it was all about looking for interesting compositions and avoiding people getting in the frame. Photographed at Chelsea Physic Garden on 20 May 2024.
About the author: Based in Sussex-by-the-Sea, on England’s south coast, Gary is a creative writer and image-maker. He specialises in creating out of the ordinary portraits of musicians and people with interesting faces, as well as photographing some of the world’s finest flowers and gardens, not forgetting an array of automotive exotica.
On the writing side, he has used his research skills to author deep dives into some noteworthy songs beginning with Bryan Ferry’s ‘These Foolish Things’ ‘Ghost Town’ by The Specials, ‘Real Wild Child’ by Ivan and ‘All The Young Dudes’ by Mott the Hoople.
He has also written a biography of Robert Palmer and the stories behind Whitesnake’s blatant Led Zep rip-off, ‘Still Of The Night’, Harry Styles’ anthem to positivity, ‘Treat People With Kindness’ and the little known Queen track ‘Cool Cat.’
Most recently, Gary has penned the fascinating story behind George Orwell’s dystopian novel ‘Nineteen Eighty-Four.’ as well as ‘Believe It Or Not’ a look into the rise of fake news.
All these can be found here on Medium, along with his reviews of gigs and events and chats with musicians including the likes of Royal Blood, Joe Satriani and Wolf Alice.
