The garden is designed to promote communities around resident-friendly public gardens. Inspiration for the design comes from Incheon, a city in Korea surrounded by a landscape of mud flats and forests. As the area is being reclaimed for development, the garden looks at the question of ownership of shared spaces and how people can live harmoniously … [Read More]
Category: Gardens and horticulture
Virtuous Garden: Korea’s entry in London Design Biennale
Can we live harmoniously and sustainably in this age of globalisation? Design from past traditions can help to bridge the gap between humans, nature and the modern and future world by following the principles of balance, coexistence and collaboration. Visitors will be transported through time and distance to the ‘Virtuous Garden’ via the modern means … [Read More]
Hwang Jihae wins her third Chelsea Gold
LKL reports from the Chelsea Flower Show Press Day, for which Jihae Hwang prepared photo opportunities with designer Paul Smith and daegeum player Hyelim Kim. But she hit the jackpot with an extended visit from the King which ended with a photo opp which could not be planned. [Read More]
Jirisan – the landscape that inspired Hwang Jihae’s “Letter from a Million Years Past” garden at Chelsea
LKL goes on a field trip to the deep valleys of Jirisan, the landscape that inspired Hwang Jihae’s “Letter from a Million Years Past” garden at Chelsea Flower Show and talks about the designer’s aims for the garden itself, which advocates letting nature to its own devices so that the aboriginal plants can thrive. In Jirisan, that means plants that benefit human health. [Read More]
A Letter from a Million Years Past: Jihae Hwang’s show garden at Chelsea Flower Show
This year’s Chelsea Flower Show (23–27 May 2023) will have a taster of South Korea delivered to Main Avenue, along with an important message about stopping landscape destruction for the benefit of people, plants and places. At the most important flower show in the world, Jihae Hwang will raise awareness of the vital role that … [Read More]
Hwang Jihae returns to Chelsea in 2023 with her third garden
Korean garden designer and environmental artist Hwang Jihae will be returning to the Chelsea Flower Show in 2023 with a show garden titled “A Letter from a Million Years Past”. The news was released at a press conference at RHS Linley Hall in central London today. Hwang won Gold Medal and Best Artisan Garden in … [Read More]
Korean food under lockdown
As the UK Covid-19 lockdown was announced back in March, what was one of the many concerns for me? The fact that I wouldn’t be able to go to a Korean restaurant for a samgyeopsal feast for the foreseeable future, obviously. So I began to plan for second best. While, somehow, samgyeopsal always tastes best … [Read More]
The mysteries of the Abies Koreana
Around 17 years ago, on a trip to Ashwood Nurseries in the West Midlands with the in-laws, I sneaked an unauthorised plant onto the trolley, much as a child might sneak a bag of sweets into the shopping cart on a trip to the supermarket. On my stroll around the nursery grounds, I had seen … [Read More]
The World’s First ‘Active’ Greenhouse
The greenhouse is an ancient invention, dating back 2,200 years. Modern ‘active’ greenhouses are distinguished from older ‘passive’ ones by the fact that they allow for the adjustment of air and soil temperature. Previously, the first such greenhouses were believed to have been built in Germany in 1619, using a stove to regulate air temperature, … [Read More]
Exhibition visit: Circulation Metaphor, at the KCC
There’s a little bit of Jeollanamdo in the KCC at the moment. Although the exhibition is co-organised by the Asia Cultural Center in Gwangju, and by the Gwangju Museum of Art, the subject matter of the exhibition strays outside of the city limits into Damyang, Hwasun and further afield. The first work to engage you … [Read More]
2019 Travel Diary #3: Anmyeondo
Having enjoyed the peace of Mallipo and Chollipo beaches and the rich rewards of Chollipo arboretum on previous visits to Taean-gun, for LKL’s third visit to the county it was time to explore the coastline elsewhere. This time, we were to venture into Anmyeondo, Korea’s 6th-largest island, where the attractions include a recreational forest and … [Read More]
2019 Travel Diary #2: The Taean Tulip Festival
Every county has its hallmark festival. Taean’s is the Tulip Festival, located in Korea Flower Park just at the back of Ggotji beach on Anmyeondo. It has been an annual event since 2012, and as I write this in April 2020 I’m glad to see that it has survived the Covid-19 lockdown. What more is … [Read More]
2018 travel diary 2 – Chollipo revisited
10 November 2018. In Chollipo’s famous Arboretum the best of the Autumn colour had finished, but there were still some good reds, oranges and yellows to be found, and the grasses were particularly fine. In October last year this new statue of Carl Ferris Miller, Chollipo’s founder, was installed in this secluded area in the … [Read More]
A look at Hay Joung Hwang’s silver gilt winning LG Eco-City Garden
Two years ago at the Chelsea Flower Show Hay Joung Hwang teamed up with LG to showcase how technology can be used to maximise the benefits from an urban garden – from lighting to smart sensors to monitor the moisture and nutrients in the soil. Encouraged by the silver gilt awarded to the garden, the … [Read More]
Chelsea Flower Show: Hay-joung Hwang’s LG Eco-City Garden
After winning silver-gilt in 2016, let’s hope Hwang Hay-joung earns a medal upgrade this year: LG Eco-City Garden at the Chelsea Flower Show 22 – 26 May Designed by: Hay-Joung Hwang Built by: Randle Siddeley Ltd Sponsored by: LG Electronics LG Eco-City Garden represents the green space allocated to one housing unit in a ‘vertical … [Read More]
Hwang Jihae’s Shoes Tree project at Seoul Station
This year’s Chelsea Flower Show has just come to an end. No Korean participation this year, as far as I am aware. Last year Hwang Hay-joung won silver gilt for her Smart Garden sponsored by LG. But loyal readers will remember back to 2011 and 2012, when Hwang Jihae, without a big name corporate sponsor, … [Read More]