Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky Fettercairn has unveiled a display bringing a flavour of its home turf to this year’s RHS Chelsea Flower Show.
The Fettercairn Wilderness Retreat has been imagined as the urban balcony of a busy city professional, decorated to remind them of their trips to the Cairngorms, with echoes of grassy heathland, rocky outcrops and mossy glens.
The installation was designed by Sonia Kamel, Sally Giles and Helier Bowling, collectively ssh scapes, who visited the 200-year-old Fettercairn distillery, and its surrounding landscape, on holiday.
As well as the colours, textures and planting inspired by species native to the area, the trio have included nods to the distillery’s copper cooling ring in the shape of a copper ice bath.
Giles said: “I stumbled upon Fettercairn Distillery on a wind-swept visit to the north of Scotland and was transfixed by the colours, textures and of course, flavours I found there.
“We started our design with a passion for this Scottish landscape and have used colours reminiscent of the skyscapes, mountains and glens. The heritage of the distillery itself shines through, particularly in terms of the copper and oak.
“This garden is a retreat from the indoor, urban lifestyle with the resident able to simply shut the door behind them and find themselves in the elements. We want to recreate something of the environment of The Cairngorms on this high-rise city balcony, providing the space to breathe and relax – slowing the mind following a bracing dip in the ice bath.”
UK brand manager at Fettercairn, Lucy Joss, said: “Our Cairngorms distillery is located in what’s often called the Garden of Scotland and this partnership for the RHS Chelsea Flower Show is a celebration of that.
“Fettercairn has a 200-year-old history of flavour-led innovation and this is something that comes across in this striking garden.”
This is Fettercairn’s first sponsored garden at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show, building on its focus on the natural surroundings of the distillery, which has included The Scottish Oak Programme, which explores the possibilities of using native oak in Scottish whisky production and supports traditional coopering skills.
In 2021, the distillery planted 13,000 oak saplings on Fasque Estate, creating Fettercairn Forest. This long-term legacy not only provides a haven for wildlife but will also see the distillery supplied with oak for its casks – albeit not for some further hundred years.
After the show, the Fettercairn Wilderness Retreat, will be relocated to the distillery in the Cairngorms, in a new planting scheme designed especially by Sonia, Sally and Helier.
The RHS Chelsea Flower Show is taking place from 20th to 24th May within the grounds of the Royal Hospital Chelsea. The Fettercairn Wilderness Retreat can be found at site number SE802.
