Opposite The Hepworth in Wakefield is a fascinating old red-brick Victorian mill building. I'm not sure what it's used for now (if anything) but the two so different buildings are a wonderful foil for each other, both very strong in their lines and shapes. In between is a large, open space that has hitherto been no more than a strip of grass. They are now in the process of transforming it into 'one of the UK's largest free public gardens' (though how it deserves that title, I'm not exactly sure).
The garden has been designed by Tom Stuart-Smith, an acclaimed landscape designer with eight Gold Medal winning gardens at the Chelsea Flower Show on his CV. He specialises in combining naturalism and modernity, using sweeps of planting within a defined framework.
The hard landscaping is well underway, some large trees have been installed and the first small area appeared ready for planting. It's all supposed to be finished by summer 2019, so I look forward to watching it as it develops and matures.
Shown right is an artists' impression of what the garden will look like when complete.
It looks like it will be wonderful!
ReplyDeleteThat sounds like a worthwhile initiative.
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