Landscape Team

BoonBrown Landscape Architects are extremely excited to be working alongside the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, the Chelsea Steering Group and Chelsea Physic Garden to develop and enhance the Chelsea Embankment Gardens.

Our vision for the gardens centres around visually uniting the two spaces, through the use of repetition in planting types between the sites, using naturalistic, drought-tolerant planting – creating a strong design language between the gardens. Swathes of bulbs and informal blocks of planting, alongside multi-stemmed ornamental trees will provide visual screening, whilst enlivening the spaces with colour and seasonal interest.

We have aspirations to obtain funding to restore the Dante Gabriel Rossetti fountain back to its former glory as a working drinking fountain and as a bid to cut the use of single-use plastics – encouraging people to fill up their bottles at the fountain. Further enhancements to the statues within the gardens will include the provision of formal yew hedging as a framing device and as a nod to historic Tudor parterres, whilst solar-powered up-lighting will also serve to enhance their setting.

As an homage to Elizabeth I, a black mulberry tree will be planted within the gardens, as an historical link to the mulberry trees said to have been planted by Queen Elizabeth I at King Henry VIII’s Manor House (now occupied by No.s 19-26 Cheyne Walk). In honour of the late Queen Elizabeth II, a tulip tree will also be planted in her memory.

Planting beds are to undergo arboricultural works to enhance the health and longevity of existing tree stock, whilst infill woodland planting will break up the current gaps in planting, injecting colour, structure and seasonal interest within the existing beds. Our team of Chartered Landscape Architects have chosen plant species for their ornamental qualities, drought-tolerance and biodiversity value, with input and guidance from Chelsea Physic Garden. Further ecological measures will be introduced in the form of ornate ‘bug hotels’, the design of which is to be guided through the input of local school children and will provide a mini nature trail within the gardens. With ecological guidance, potential locations for bat and bird boxes will also be explored.

BoonBrown Landscape Architects are looking forward to bringing the design ideas to fruition, reinvigorating the gardens and injecting much needed colour and life back into the gardens for the benefit of local people and visitors to this beautiful spot.