The Pure Land Foundation Garden designed by Fernando Gonzalez has scooped a coveted Silver-Gilt medal at this year’s outstanding RHS Chelsea Flower Show. On receiving the award Gonzalez said: “I am very happy that the RHS judges have recognised the work and dedication that went into creating the Pure Land Foundation Garden. It has been a labour of love and to obtain a Silver-Gilt medal is a testament to the dedication of my team. I would also like to thank our sponsor, Bruno Wang, who, through the the Pure Land Foundation made this garden possible.” The garden was inspired by the dramatic topography of the Chinese landscape, with its great mountains and river valleys, and the sophisticated concept of nature found in traditional gardens and scroll paintings, where rocks and plantings were intended to evoke a wild landscape. Traditional Chinese gardens were places where art, nature and ideas were integrated perfectly to create a harmonious natural setting for serene contemplation and meditation. They became the focus of an alternative lifestyle that celebrated tranquillity and a strong belief in a sense of unity between nature and human culture. The Pure Land Foundation Garden is a contemporary interpretation of the flowing shapes found in such gardens and aims to evoke a sense of wellbeing and positive energy by reconnecting our spirituality with nature. For Fernando, the garden offers a new and highly visual way of experiencing space by using free flowing lines and multiple viewpoints to create a pictorial space where colour, texture and spatial form blend rhythmically. The result, he hopes, is a scene of untamed beauty, a small wilderness that ebbs and flows like an ancient river. Mr Bruno Wang, Founder of the Pure Land Foundation, was delighted with how the finished garden looked. Upon being told how the Garden had been received by the RHS judges, Mr Wang said: “The Pure Land Foundation Garden is an enchanting creation that combines traditional Chinese gardens with state-of-the-art technology, materials and techniques. This fusion of old and new was perfectly realised to create a space of great harmony, peace and contemplation. I am delighted that this extraordinary yet effortless creation, the product of Fernando Gonzalez’s incredible vision and skill, has been recognised by this year’s judges.”

2. Pure Land in Buddhism is the realm of higher conscious-
ness, peace and harmony. The Pure Land Foundation is not
based in religion. We believe that art and music can establish
a bridge between the individual and the harmony and high-
er order that exists in all forms of creation. The Pure Land
Foundation seeks, by supporting art, music and wellness, to
establish an inter connectedness that will enable people to
find a ‘Pure Land’ in their own lives.

3. “Pure Land Foundation is thrilled to be involved with Fernando
Gonzalez’ extraordinary yet effortless garden at the RHS Chelsea
Flower Show. Gardens reconnect us with nature; nature reconnects us
with spirituality and helps us to remember who we are. This organic
form of landscape design is inspired by nature’s rhythm and evokes the
image of the Chinese scholar rocks. Our soothing garden is an urban oasis
designed for contemplation and meditation.”
Bruno Wang
Founder, Pure Land Foundation

4. FERNANDO
GONZALEZ
Fernando Gonzalez is an award-winning
garden designer with a reputation for
creating truly bespoke spaces for private
clients using innovative design and the latest
fabrication methods. Named as one of the
‘50 Most Innovative Practices in the World’
by Digital Landscape Architects Now, his
gardens are considered artworks in them-
selves whilst pushing the boundaries of
conventional design.
Fernando is delighted to be return-
ing to the RHS Chelsea Flower Show
after his medal winning Zen garden in 2013,
described by The Guardian as ‘The Marmite
moment’ of the 100th
Anniversary show.
Garden designer

5. THE GOLDEN RAIN TREE
The Pure Land Foundation Garden contains three multi-stem Koelreuteria
paniculata trees which create structural repetition, bring a sense of unity and
provide year-round interest. The slender deciduous trees are native to East
Asia, and the common name originates from the showy yellow clusters of
summer flowers which fall to the ground like golden rain drops.
SUMMER
Cheerful and bright yellow flowers appear
on long and elegant panicles. The flowers
produce a yellow dye and are often used in
ophthalmic medicine: used in medicines to
treat conjunctivitis and epiphora.
AUTUMN & WINTER
The foliage blazes orange and yellow.
Paper-thin lantern shape fruits appear
first green-red before turning bronze-
pink. The pods contain black seeds,
used as beads in necklaces.
SPRING
Pinnate leaves with serrated individual
leaflets unfurl first with a peachy
colour that turn true green as they
mature. Leaves once mature can be
used to create a black dye.
The trees selected for our garden were grown on the banks of the river Maas near village Cuijk in the
Netherlands and are planted in memory of friend and former colleague Friso van Oranje.

6. working today with traditional materials
is an anachronistic contradiction. it is as if
a man from the twenty-first century were
to walk around wearing medieval armour.
Gaetano Pesce
THE
PURE LAND
FOUNDATION
GARDEN
The garden is inspired by the dramatic
topography of the Chinese landscape with
its great mountains and river valleys as well
as by its sophisticated concept of nature
found in traditional gardens and scroll
paintings where rocks and plantings were
intended to evoke a wilderness scenery.
Traditional Chinese gardens were
places where art, nature and ideas were in-
tegrated perfectly to create a harmonious
natural setting for serene contemplation
and meditation. They became the focus
of an alternative lifestyle that celebrated
tranquility and a strong belief in a sense of
unity between nature and human culture.
Using the latest available technology
and materials, The Pure Land Foundation
Garden is a contemporary interpreta-
tion of the flowing shapes found in these
gardens and aims to evoke the sense
of wellbeing and positive energy by
reconnecting our spirituality with nature.
Garden concept

7. LEGEND
1. White curvilinear structure
2. Koelreuteria paniculata
3. Integrated seating area
4. Small side table
5. Integrated plant & tree
containers
6. Water bowl
7. Silver sandstone linear
paving
8. Chamaemelum nobile
Thymus spp. (various
creeping vars.)
9. - Armeria juniperiifolia
‘Rubrifolia’
- Erigeron karvinskuianus
- Geranium ‘Sanne’
- Raoulia australis
- Scleranthus uniflorus
- Scleranthus uniflorus
‘Bronze’
- Sedum ‘Lemon Ball’
- Sedum spathulifolium
‘Atropurpureum’
10. - Acacia pravissima
- Asphodeline lutea
- Briza media ‘Limouzi’
- Digitalis ‘Illumination
Apricot’
- Euphorbia cyparissias
- Euphorbia griffithii
‘Fireglow’
- Geum ‘Fire Storm’
- Geum ‘Lady Stratheden’
- Iris germanica ‘Kent Pride’
- Iris sibirica
- Macleaya microcarpa
‘Kelway’s Coral Plume’
- Rubus Arcticus
KEY FEATURES
A white marble-like structure
made of JesmoniteTM
flows around
the garden acting as both a bound-
ary and providing integrated areas
including a bench, a small table and
containers for plants.
A planting colour palette in-
fluenced by the principal colours
used in Buddhist art and ritual of
warm yellows, oranges, red and
blue emerge through a matrix of
tussocky grasses. The plants are
used in a painterly way with spe-
cial consideration to their texture
and movement– creating changing
shadow effects upon the gently
sparkling white backdrop.
GARDEN LAYOUT
The garden offers a new visual way of experiencing space by using
free flowing lines and multiple viewpoints to create a pictorial space
where colour, texture and spatial form blend rhythmically. We are
presented with a scene of untamed beauty, a small wilderness that
ebbs and flows like an ancient poem.
78
10
10
9
4
5
3
5 6
9
1
2 3.5m
2m
9m
6m

8. KING’S SPEAR
Asphodeline lutea
Clump-forming perennial with
narrow, channelled leaves and
fragrant bright starry yellow flowers.
BEARDED IRIS
Iris germanica ‘Kent Pride’
‘An ‘old-fashioned’ bearded iris in a
rich marsala colour.
FOXGLOVE
ILLUMINATION SERIES
Digitalis ‘Illumination Apricot’
Newly released sun-loving foxglove
that is sterile and therefore reliably
perennial with long lasting flowers.
AVENS
Geum ‘Fire Storm’
Repeat bloomer with large, vibrant
orange, semi-double flowers.
PLUME POPPY
Macleaya microcarpa
‘Kelway’s Coral Plume’
Herbaceous perennial with large,
rounded and lobed grey-green
leaves and whitish undersides.
CYPRESS SPURGE
Euphorbia cyparissas
Hardy spurge with petal-like bracts
that are green-yellow in spring and
red-purple in summer.
SPURGE
Euphorbia griffithii ‘Fireglow’
Stiff, dark green leaves edged
orange-red, are topped with bright
brick-red summer flowers that
gently fade to yellow in autumn.
SIBERIAN FLAG
Iris sibirica
Blue sun loving Iris first collected
in Siberia in the Middle Ages
by monks, and grown in their
monasteries.
QUAKING GRASS
Briza media ‘Limouzi’
Part of the group generally
referred to as the quaking grasses
because the flowers and seedheads
shake and rattle on their stalks in
the slightest breeze.
OVENS WATTLE
Acacia pravissima
Evergreen shrub with fascinating
triangular leaves- native to Australia
it can grow into a small tree.
AVENS
Geum ‘Lady Stratheden’
Semi-double, vivid yellow flowers
appear on arching stems during
Summer above rosettes of hairy,
scalloped, fresh green leaves.
ARCTIC
BLACKBERRY
Rubus arcticus
Newly released Rubus species with
strong pink-violet flowers and
intense fragrance.
Please note that some plants may not appear in the final garden due to growing conditions out of our control.
For a full list of all plants featured in the Pure Land Foundation Garden, visit www.fernandogonzalez.co.uk/RHSChelsea2015

9. Employing state-of-the-art technologies, materials, and manufacturing
processes– Fernando Gonzalez Garden Design brings endless possibilities
to garden design that have never been possible before. The practice believes
every garden should be completely unique: organic expressions attune with
each person’s individuality and energy. Each garden retains functionality and
a sense of refinement.
Fernando Gonzalez Garden Design has a passion for enhancing and
exceeding a client’s dreams and aspirations.
THE ART &
SCIENCE OF
THE POSSIBLE
Stepping away from symmetry

10. Quiet the mind, and the soul will speak.
Ma Jaya Sati Bhagavati

11. GARDEN DESIGN:
Fernando Gonzalez, www.fernandogonzalez.co.uk
MAIN CONTRACTORS:
The Garden Builders, www.gardenbuilders.co.uk
2D:3D, www.2d3d.co.uk
MATERIALS:
Jesmonite, www.jesmonite.co.uk
Stonemarket, www.stonemarket.co.uk
Kay-Metzeler, www.kay-metzeler.com
PRIMARY NURSERIES & PLANT EXPERTISE:
Madrona Nursery, www.madrona.co.uk
Ebben Nursery, www.ebben.nl
Full Frontal Gardens, www.fullfrontal.org.uk
NEW PLANT INTRODUCTIONS:
Thompson & Morgan, www.thompson-morgan.com
Lubera, www.lubera.co.uk
ILLUSTRATIONS:
Irene Laschi, www.behance.net/irenelaschi
PHOTOGRAPHY:
Mark Vessey, www.pointandsnap.com
GRAPHIC DESIGN:
Rilke Studio, www.rilke.com
PRINTERS:
Kenway Printers, www.kenway.com
SPECIAL THANKS TO:
Mubi, www.mubi.com
The CNC factory, www.thecncfactory.com
ADDITIONAL THANKS TO:
Jackie Edwards
Gillian Goodson
Elizabeth Crompton-Batt
Graeme Watts, www.belmont-house.org
Cyril Gonzalez, www.cyrilgonzalez.com
Fernando Gonzalez Garden Design would like to thank the Pure Land Foundation
for its generous support in helping to make this garden a reality.

12. Pure Land Foundation is a private limited company and a charity pending
registration in England and Wales.
www.purelandfoundation.com | contact@purelandfoundation.com
Fernando Gonzalez Garden Design is a private limited company
in England and Wales (9529160).
Registered Office: 69 Shalimar Gardens, London W3 9JG
+44 (0)20 3290 3888 | www.fernandogonzalez.co.uk | yes@fernandogonzalez.co.uk
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