Design: Shared moments inspire design

Paul Hervey-Brookes is collaborating with Yealands Family Wines on a garden for the show.

Pebbles inscribed with Christchurch people's memories and messages will feature in an Ellerslie International Flower Show garden by one of the world's top designers.

Paul Hervey-Brookes is a noted English garden and landscape designer who has won many awards, including gold medals at the Royal Horticultural Society Chelsea Flower Show and Gardening World Cup in 2013.

His garden for Ellerslie International Flower Show this month explores shared moments.

"The inspiration for the garden comes from the idea of unique moments in life that we either experience individually or with friends or family," says Hervey-Brookes.

"If you think of the memories that you can easily recall they are moments, either joyous or not, that have strong emotions around them. This is the core inspiration for the garden."

The design is based on the ripples from a drop of water and features three discs planted with a mixture of New Zealand native perennials and shrubs, with a single central tree surrounded by the engraved pebbles.

Hervey-Brooke's The Moment with Yealands Family Wines garden is one of a record 16 major gardens at this year's Ellerslie International Flower show.

Hervey-Brookes is collaborating on it with Yealands Family wines as they share similar environmental values and goals.

Trained at the Royal Botanic Gardens in Edinburgh, Hervey-Brookes now creates gardens in Britain and many other countries.

After Ellerslie, he will design and lay out a Main Avenue Garden at the Chelsea and launch a new series of his popular gardening gifts for British retailer Marks & Spencer.

Ellerslie International Flower Show is in Christchurch's North Hagley Park from February 26 to March 2. Tickets are on sale at www.ellerslieflowershow.co.nz. Earlybird $29 tickets are available until February 9.