A NOTTINGHAM Trent University student is creating a design for the world famous Chelsea Flower Show.
Jackie Setchfield is designing a traditional 1950s Hebridean weaver's garden.
Her design has been selected as one of just four 5x4m gardens feature in the artisan section of the show, which takes place from May 21 to 25 and is in its centenary year.
Students from across the university's horticulture courses have been helping to develop the Motor Neurone Disease – A Hebridean Weaver's Garden with Jackie, who is studying a foundation degree in garden design in the university's School of Animal, Rural and Environmental Sciences.
Her design depicts a garden on the Isle of Lewis, brimming with dye plants, the extracts of which would have been used to colour fleece and woven to create Harris Tweed cloth.
The garden is intended to be a nostalgic look back to an arduous way of life within the tight-knit Hebridean communities.
As well as a black house structure, it will include a spinning wheel, dye pot and a range of dye plants available in the middle of the last century – including ladies' bedstraw, bog myrtle, bogbean and knapweed.
There will be a stream – or burn – with small waterfalls, along with wetland plants, wildflowers such as harebell, foxgloves and tufted vetch, as well as heathers, ferns, a tree and a small kitchen garden growing potatoes, onions and cabbages.
The brief for the garden was provided by Motor Neurone Disease Association co-founder Martin Anderson and is being created to help raise awareness of the charity.
"It's been a privilege to be involved in this project and I can't wait to see the garden in place at the Chelsea Flower Show", said Jackie.
"The most challenging aspect of the project has probably been the meticulous research and planning which has gone into this.
"I have been honoured to have the assistance of all sorts of people eager to help, from the charismatic curator of the Blackhouse Museum on Lewis, the staff at the Harris Tweed mills, to the esteemed librarians at RHS Wisley."
Jackie visited the Isle of Lewis to source plants, garden features and materials included in the design to make it as authentic as possible.
Jackie's success comes two years after returning to study having had a successful marketing career.
She added: "The garden highlights the remoteness and bleakness of the island and the skill of the weaver trying to earn a living in a difficult climate and terrain.
"After an amazing trip to the Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides in February, I am keen to capture the staggering beauty of the landscape and translate that essence in to the garden."
Caroline Wright, a senior lecturer in horticulture at Nottingham Trent University, said: "The show garden has provided Jackie and other students with a wealth of challenges and skills development, as well as an exciting opportunity to participate in one of the world's leading horticultural competitions."
