The design takes its inspiration from migratory goldcrests and the pine forests they inhabit. Plant species have been selected for their resilience and durability, as well as their value to many much-loved animal species. Mediterranean varieties such as Pinus pinea, which is better adapted to heat than many northern European natives, are combined with drought-tolerant perennials and grasses commonly found in East Anglian gardens.

A water bowl cools the immediate environment and provides a vital source of for wildlife. A Corten steel wave replicates Norfolk’s arid soil and beaches - and out of that sand springs life, full of rich colour, texture and movement.

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About the designer - Sam Outing

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Sam is a Norfolk-based garden designer working across the UK, with a background in art, design and heritage shaped by over a decade in London, including study at Central Saint Martins and work with the RHS. After retraining at the Norfolk School of Gardening, Sam established a practice rooted in Curated Naturalism. He creates gardens of all sizes, both urban and rural,  that are both beautiful and biodiversity-rich. Sam teaches garden and planting design at the Norfolk School of Gardening, and is involved in a multi-year RHS Chelsea Flower Show project delivering climate-conscious planting for the Ranelagh Gardens.

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Climate heroes

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Sam has singled out four plants from this border as Climate Heroes: species that don't merely survive a warmer, drier future, but thrive in it:

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Pinus pinea, the Stone Pine, is the star of The Goldcrest Garden. Native to Mediterranean coastlines and hillsides, it is as strikingly beautiful as it is resilient: tolerating extreme heat and tough growing conditions while remaining evergreen year-round.  A natural windbreak, it brings robustness and structural permanence to the garden in every season.

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Stipa tenuissima brings movement and lightness while tolerating heat and dry soil with ease.

 

​Teucrium fruticans 'Azureum' offers silver-leaved, aromatic resilience beloved by pollinators.

 

​Erigeron karvinskianus is delicate in appearance, tenacious in nature: self-seeds freely and flowers for months without irrigation.

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Full Plant List​

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Trees & shrubs

Pinus mugo 'Pumilio Group'
Pinus pinea
Pinus strobus 'Connecticut Slate'
Pinus thunbergii 'Sayonara'

Teucrium fruticans 'Azureum'

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Grasses

Stipa tenuissima

Perennials

Achillea 'Terracotta'

Agave ovatifolia 'Iced Heart'

Erigeron karvinskianus

Eryngium bourgatii 'Picos Amethyst'

Euphorbia myrsinites

Geranium 'Rozanne'

Helenium 'Moerheim Beauty'

Nepeta × fassenii 'Junior Walker'

Salvia nemorosa 'Caradonna'

Stachys byzantina 'Big Ears'
Thymus praecox 'Red Carpet'

Verbena officinalis var. grandiflora 'Bampton'