The Alan Partridge Sound Bath Garden
Landesigns was the contractor for an award winning gold medal garden at the recent RHS Hampton Court Garden Festival.
The garden, devised by TV character Alan Partridge, focused on playful design, innovative sound features, and purposeful material choices to create a sensory experience for visitors.
Designed by Joe and Laura Carey of Carey Design Studio, this garden is an incredible example of an award-winning landscape and demonstrates the commitment and vision it takes to bring an idea to life.
Award-Winning Garden
For this garden, the aim was to reflect the iconic TV character’s values and represent his essence in an innovative, engaging platform. Every plant, paving stone and fencing panel was carefully selected to represent Alan Partridge and his strict values regarding structure and purpose.
From the materials to the layout of the garden, every element was chosen to reflect the key values of durability, authenticity and local pride. Reflecting both British and regional cultures, this innovative garden combined various elements to create an accessible, practical yet celebratory display.
Focusing primarily on function and practicality, every element was carefully considered for cohesion, such as:
- Geometrical Layout: Which not only promotes accessibility and cohesion, but also aligns with the strong values of practicality and durability.
- Defined Zones: To provide a complete sensory experience and ensure a cohesive walkthrough for visitors of varying abilities across the Hampton Court Garden Festival.
- Locally Sourced Materials: Such as Norfolk-grown Larch, from the iconic filming locations of Alan Partridge, and British limestone paving throughout.
Created by GardensDB take a look at a 360 tour of the award winning garden below.
Design Features
Made using Norfolk-grown Larch, the fencing around the garden was uniquely crafted to display the title and purpose of the garden in soundwave form. This innovative feature not only looked great, by adding height and structure to the garden, but also encouraged sensory play for a truly memorable experience.
Every metallic element within the garden was the same distinctive gold colour used on Subaru GC8 Impreza alloy wheels, creating a subtle yet highly effective display. These matching elements reflected Alan’s attention to detail and precise measures, as well as his technical finesse, allowing the garden to be a celebration of the iconic character.
Aligning with both the character and the Hampton Court Show guidelines, the garden was also created with practicality in mind. The British limestone gravel pathways were wide and accessible to support wheelchair users, as well as being a stunning visual representation of the character’s culture.
Evoking a sense of local and national pride, the beautifully crafted pathways were complemented by galvanised edging and visible spangles. These industrial elements were key to the story of this garden and the regional roots of the character.
The handcrafted sign from Dartmoor not only adds rustic balance to the otherwise contemporary garden design, but was also essential for the story of the garden. Likewise, the recycled plastic used on the signs represented the durable and practical values of the character, while also supporting the sustainable goals of landscapers.
Materials were chosen to represent heritage, practicality and the overall story of this award-winning garden design.
Credits
360 Tour courtesy of Gardens DB
Photo Credit Alister Thorpe
RHS Hampton Court Garden Festival 2025
Designers: Joe and Laura Carey of Carey Design Studio