Perennial – the UK’s only charity dedicated to helping horticulturists – marks its 175th anniversary next year.

To help mark the milestone, and to showcase the increasing demand for Perennial’s services in an ever-changing horticultural landscape, celebrated garden designer Jo Thompson has designed a sophisticated but relaxed garden for the RHS Chelsea Flower Show in May 2014.

The Perennial Garden draws inspiration from Perennial’s public access gardens at York Gate in Leeds and Fullers Mill in Suffolk. It represents the charity’s metamorphosis from a pension granting body to a contemporary, personal ‘lifeline’ for all those working in, or retired from, horticulture and their families.

Jo Thompson says; “It is an honour to be helping Perennial, in its 175th year, bring its purpose to a wider garden-loving public at Chelsea. I loved my time at Chelsea last year and am so pleased to be back in 2014.  I feel a real sense of passion and drive for a charity close to the hearts of professional horticulturists across the UK. I hope the garden I have designed will bring the work of Perennial into sharper focus for gardeners everywhere.”

Thompson’s design is loosely based on Perennial’s furled arum lily logo – a tough perennial stalwart, which thrives in both shady and sunny areas of the garden. Winding through the design is a traditional, well-worn, brick path and at its centre, the iconic stone sett circle, which visitors to York Gate will be familiar with. This pathway is flanked by welcoming seating areas, designed for a quiet moment of reflection, behind which, perennial borders – a mixture of woodland and sunny – are laid out on either side.

The planting scheme is anchored by yew topiary shapes, which stand at the entry points to the garden, the formality of which breaks up the softer planting beneath. Dappled shade is provided by a glade of silver birch, under-planted with a mixture of ferns, foxgloves and other woodland perennials. The front borders provide interest for sunnier parts, with plenty of flowers to attract essential wildlife, including the perennially popular Verbena bonariensis, Knautia, Ligularia and Helenium cultivars.

The Perennial Garden will appeal to all ages – just as Perennial is there for all horticulturists young and old. Perhaps the journey through the garden, taking in shady areas before arriving back out in the sunshine, is a metaphor for the way in which Perennial guides and assists those it helps through hardship in order to get back on their feet.

For more information visit www.perennial.org.uk