Chelsea Flower Show garden to feature Caithness stone
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THE county's famous flagstone will be firmly in the spotlight this month when it features at the Royal Horticultural Society's Chelsea Flower Show.
Lieurary-based Norse Stone is supplying the Caithness flagstone as the centrepiece of a Facebook-sponsored garden.
The local flagstone quarrier was chosen to supply huge feature slabs, which were then transported from Caithness to a specialist depot a few weeks ago in preparation for the big day.
Norse Stone managing director Michael Ronaldson said: "To supply stone for a garden sponsored by one of the biggest companies in the world, at the UK's most high-profile horticultural event, is a huge honour. It's great for the profile for Caithness stone and the county generally.
"Being part of a project where we were so close to the creative team from the outset was also a fantastic experience. Rather than just producing to a spec, this was a truly collaborative effort."
The Beyond the Screen garden was designed by award-winning landscaper Joe Perkins and is intended to celebrate the positive impact of spending meaningful time on social media and how this enriches our lives – particularly those of young people – in the real world.
Getting the size, shape and texture of the stone just right required collaboration between Norse Stone, CED Stone Group, Joe Perkins and The Outdoor Room, which is actually building the garden. Such is the importance of keeping the creative project true to vision that Joe and the CED Stone Group managing director Giles Heap travelled to Caithness to see the stone and meet the Norse team.
Joe Perkins said: “I was blown away by the Caithness stone. It has beautiful colours and textures and is very strong, meaning we could use it in huge sizes to get the drama needed in the garden.”
This is the first time Facebook has sponsored a garden at the Chelsea Flower Show, which normally attracts over 150,000 visitors over five days. This year the event runs from May 21-25.
