16. Bon thé bon genre
This garden invites us to an English tea-time!
Put on your Sunday best and don’t forget your good manners. Keep to the traditional etiquette: never make too much noise drinking your tea, never interrupt a guest, wait to be offered tea before having some more. England and tea are made for one another. Imagine the old-style tea rooms, embroidered doilies, flowery china and shortbread biscuits.
For thousands of years people have known how to use teas and herb teas for their restorative qualities for body, soul and mind. Bon Thé Bon Genre (Posh Tea, Posh People) takes you on a voyage of discovery of the traditional uses of native plants in making herb teas and of the possibilities of incorporating these plants – so often disregarded – into contemporary beds.
Every weekend at 4 pm, tea will be served in the garden. Visitors will also be invited to taste a herb tea, made using only the plants that are around them.
DESIGNERS
PiP Partnership, co-founded by George Richardson and Jules Arthur, is a Brighton-based landscape design firm working in the UK and abroad. Their work ranges from small private gardens to larger estates and public work such as playgrounds in parks. PiP maintains an awareness of local ecology and biodiversity, encouraging habitat creation and native plant use where possible. PiP also designs and builds furniture, creates installations and constantly experiments with new applications for current and emerging technologies and skills. Jules and George also spend a lot of their spare time foraging for wild food, making wild jams, pickles and wines.
George Richardson worked as a gardener since he left school and trained as a Landscape Architect in London. He worked in Turkey, Ireland and the UK as a Landscape designer on a varied portfolio of international projects, some winning awards. This includes being an integral part of a Chelsea Gold medal design team. George has experience in ecological landscape design, playground design, Urban community gardens, high-end gardens, roofs and hands on gardening.
Jules Arthur, after his degree in art at Oxford, Jules set up and directed Beatabet: an experimental art, performance and music collective. Beatabet currently has thirty members and has built up a name for itself within the field. Nowadays they specialise in site-specific performances known for their innovative use and transformation of disused spaces across the UK. Since leaving university Jules has worked as a freelance landscaper and enjoys introducing the conceptual priniciples of his art into his garden work.
