Putting the Concept on Show

When is a conceptual garden not a conceptual garden?

When it’s a show garden, silly.

Visitors to Hampton Court this year surely found themselves questioning the difference as the conceptual and show gardens squared up to each other across the Garden Walk. And the contrast (actually, that should be comparison) was brought into stronger relief when I spoke to Judy Cornford who designed The Eye of the Internet Maze. “I entered it as a conceptual garden,” she said, “but they asked me to be a show garden.”

For me, The Eye of the Internet Maze was a quiet star. Its strong sculptural quality, with clean lines and contrasting textures, made it no surprise to find that Judy trained as a sculptor. She is also shameless in her use of puns.