Thursday 5 July 2007

Hot Topic

Hot topic inspires flower showpiece at the RHS Flower Show Tatton Park

A garden sculpture made by a Shropshire designer will feature in a garden at the RHS Flower Show at Tatton Park this month.
Vale Royal Borough Council approached Phil and Bridget Rogers of Down To Earth who design and make garden sculptures from steel for help in creating a sculpture for its show feature garden.
The council wanted to find an artist who could create a sculpture inspired by the theme ‘Climate Change – Reflecting On Our Future.’ The sculpture in steel and hand-blown glass titled “Balancing Act” has been designed and made by Phil in collaboration with local glass designer and maker Sara Wood. Kept under wraps until the big day it comprises of a hand –blown glass globe representing the Earth, surrounded by hand blown glass vessels. The sculpture aims to show that nature is a finely tuned balancing act.
The show feature garden comprises three gardens in one. Each garden illustrates how are actions are causing climate change and demonstrates the potentially devastating effects on a garden.
Visitors journey first into a typical garden of today, complete with traditional planting, water feature and house. Then they move forward in time to 2080, the furthest point in time we currently have climate change predictions for, and see the impact temperature increases of 2°c and 4°c could have on gardens.
Stark messages about the catastrophic effects of this level of climate change on the developing world are also placed in these gardens to offer a balanced perspective.
The Down to Earth sculpture “Balancing Act” will be placed in the 4° rise section of the garden and the glass vessels will be filled with a nectar solution to encourage butterflies, and illustrates how our actions could have potentially devastating effects on wildlife. Scientists’ predictions mean today’s typical planting styles would not exist – instead we would see a garden in the full grip of climate
change with plants, animals and humans struggling to survive.
The show takes place at Tatton Park, Knutsford from Wednesday, July 18 to Sunday, July 22. For all enquiries regarding garden sculptures please contact Phil or Bridget Rogers on 01948 780 377 –
Email sculpture@contemporarymetalwork.co.uk or visit the website www.contemporarymetalwork.co.uk

ENDS

For enquiries, please contact:
Bridget Rogers
Down To Earth
Telephone 01948 780 377
Email: down.2.earth@btconnect.com

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