Shows...

With a Little Help from my Friends

A Granada TV production with 'Hell's Kitchen' and 'Brookside' star Jennifer Ellison

The garden was to be a safe and stimulating sanctuary for children. Based on the ‘Yellow Brick Road’, the idea was to have a path that led around the garden to smaller gardens within: play areas, jungle areas, planting areas all inter-connected and waiting to be discovered.

The garden was featured on Granada TV’s ‘with a little help from my friends starring Jennifer Ellison.’

The Old Asparagus Patch

Southport Flower Show debut - Chris Beardshaw

My debut and the idea that propelled me into a career in garden design.

Based on the fact that Formby, where I live, was once an important area for producing world class quality asparagus, I created a fictional garden where an old man cultivating the crop in a small allotment had suddenly left.

No one knew where he went, or why.

His overflowing watering can started a small wildlife pond. Then local trees such as Alder, Silver Birch., Poplar and Rowan crept into the area along with native wild flowers (self-heal devil’s bit scabious, evening primrose, harebell and many more) creating a small wildlife sanctuary.

Further developing the fantasy theme (and because that year’s show theme was sculpture) I created asparagus sprites, the spirit of the asparagus taking on human facial features and magically emerging from the sands blown in from the nearby shore!