Rhoda Nevins, the creator of the 12-panel Magna Carta Embroidery project to commemorate the 800th anniversary of the sealing of the Magna Carta has designed two banners for the Magna Carta Garden at this year’s RHS Chelsea Flower Show.
Five times Chelsea Flower Show award winners Patricia Thirion and Janet Honour of A Touch of France Garden Design are designing the Magna Carta garden.
“It is such an honour to have been asked to contribute to A Touch of France’s Chelsea Flower Show Magna Carta garden. It is already a very exciting year for all things Magna Carta and for the Magna Carta Embroidery project. Being part of Chelsea is a real highlight”, says Rhoda Nevins, who is a member of the Royal School of Needlework and part of the team that embroidered the Duchess of Cambridges’ wedding dress.
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Above the Runnymede Panel of the Magna Carta Embroidery
Rhoda has designed two Heraldic pennants as part of the garden, which will have a formal layout evocative of gardens of the medieval period. It will also include a wattle arch over a turf bench provides support for climbing plants such as old roses and honeysuckle. The garden’s symmetry symbolizes the new law and order of the time.
Patricia and Janet are proud and excited to be working with sponsors Surrey County Council and the Runnymede-on-Thames Hotel to create a garden linked to such an historic event.
“It is remarkable that a document originally drawn up as a peace treaty between King John and the Anglo-Norman barons went on to influence important legislation such as the American ‘Bill of Rights’ and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The Magna Carta, has come to symbolize liberty and democracy for many. It is a fascinating story to tell at Chelsea”, says Janet and Patricia.
“Janet and Patricia have designed what looks like being a spectacular garden that, like the Embroidery Project will bring the story of the Magna Carta to life. It’s a fantastic collaboration and I feel so very excited to be involved and able to contribute”, says Rhoda.
