The PoliNations super garden has been designed by RHS Chelsea Flower Show award-winning horticultural designers, Chris and Toby Marchant. After the event, all 6,000 plants and shrubs were distributed to residents of Birmingham, and community groups from across Birmingham and the West Midlands. 

Here, Chris has shared with us the lists of plants and shrubs found in the different planting areas of the vibrant garden. Read on to be inspired!

The Sunny Prairie Meadow and Fringes

Loosely inspired by the American Prairie where a matrix of flowering grasses add movement and continuity through the massed effect:  

Seslaria autumnalis with silvery wands, Pennisetum setaceum Rubrum with dramatic burgundy bottle-brush flower plumes and Miscanthus sinensis 'Morning Light' rise up slightly higher than the main body of flowering plants in this area. Within that floral body, we feature a high proportion of composite flowers (daisies) in purples and gold. There are flat-headed Verbena bonariensis in vibrant purple, and various different Salvia forms which add spikes of Violet and Magenta Pink. Asclepias curasavica - an important North American Prairie plant, sits alongside bright Rudbeckia Goldsturm. Plants here have also been chosen for their high nectar content in the hope that they might attract some passing polinators (bees, beetles and butterflies) to the space.  

Plants here have also been chosen for their high nectar content in the hope that they might attract some passing polinators (bees, beetles and butterflies) to the space.  

Full plant list: Asclepias curassavica; Aster umbellatus; Dahlia Honka Series Red; Dahlia Bishop of Oxford; Eurybia x hervyi ‘Twilight’; Foeniculum vulgare; Miscanthus ‘Morning Light’; Nicotiana affinis; Nicotiana Lime Green; Pennisetum ‘Cassian’s Choice’; Rudbeckia ‘Goldsturm’; Salvia ‘Amistad’; Salvia ‘Wendy's Wish’; Seslaria autumnalis; Salvia ‘Caradonna’; Symphyotrichon ‘Monte Cassino’; Verbena bonariensis

Temperate Forest under the Super Trees

The irregular shaped beds which fall under the Architectural Trees contain more exotic shrubs, annuals and herbaceous plants with an emphasis on colour and textural variety.

Full plant list: Acidanthera murielae; Amaranthus cruentis Oeschberg; Asplenium scolopendrium; Begonia Bossa Nova Series; Bergenia cordifolia; Carex buchananii Red Rooster; Carex Irish Green; Cyrtomium falcatum; Dahlia Honka Series Yellow; Dryopteris cycadina; Dryopteris erythrosora; Dryopteris wallichii; Miscanthus Morning Light; Nicotiana affinis; Nicotiana Lime Green; Pennisetum Cassians Choice; Pennisetum setaceum Rubrum; Persicaria Indian Summer; Rodgersia pinnata; Verbena bonariensis

Sensory Garden and Green Wall

This area has been designed to offer heightened experience for visitors who may have selected sensory impairment. Here scented leaves & flowers are positioned within reach of all ages, including green wall plantings for those in wheelchairs. The intention is to touch, see, smell and hear the plants! 

Full plant list: Lagyrus ovatus; Mentha spicata; Mentha rotundifolia Variegata; Origanum laevigatum; Rosemary officinalis Jessops upright; Rosemary prostrata Capri; Erigeron karvinskianus; Nepeta Summer Magic; Mentha pulegium; Melissa officinalis Aurea; Origanum officinalis Aureum; Lavandula Grapenhall; Lavandula spicata; Seslaria autumnalis; Stachys Silver Carpet; Aloysia citriodora; Salvia argentea

Lavender Iconic Mirror Bed

Full plant list: Lavandula Grappenhall, Lavendula spicata, Seslaria autumnalis, Nepeta Summer Magic, Origanum laevigatum Herrenhausen, Erigeron karvinskianus.

Children's Woodland Den

Full plant list: Fatsia japonica, Fargesia murielae, Pennisetum setaceum Rubrum, Nicotiana affinis, Cyrtomium falcatum, Dryopteris erythrosora, Asplenium scolopendrium