Success at this year's Chelsea Flower Show!

Amberol was happy to step in and help when Birmingham City Council faced a weighty problem with their 2015 Chelsea Flower Show entry.

The council’s design called for the use of granite rocks to depict the sea bed but using real rocks – which can weigh in at around ½ tonne - was just too tricky in terms of cost and transportation. However,  Amberol’s polyethylene rocks weighing just 5 kg apiece proved the ideal solution

Designed to celebrate 300 years of the city’s St Philip’s Cathedral, Birmingham’s display included a five metre tall replica of the cathedral’s bell tower as well as an uphill water feature representing the nave. The lightweight rocks symbolised the sea bed in the display, which also included giant loaves and fish. The display went on to win a Gold medal at the show, as well as the Diamond Jubilee Award in the Grand Pavilion.

Darren Share, Head of Parks at the council was delighted with the result saying: 

“The Amberol rocks allowed us to re-create the effect of the sea bed and formed an important part of the display. Because they are so light to handle, they were easy to transport and place on site – but looked incredibly realistic. I don’t think anyone looking at the display would have realised they weren’t real – until they tried picking them up! ”

The Guernsey granite rocks are moulded from original granite specimens and can be ballasted with sand or soil for stability. They are used by councils, in parks, theme parks and public displays across the UK.

“We have supplied Birmingham City Council with self-watering containers for their communal displays for many years and so we were delighted to support their successful bid for Gold at Chelsea,” comments Patience Atkinson-Gregory, MD of Amberol. “As a council, they are firmly committed to the importance of maintaining public spaces for the community to enjoy - something that we as a company heartily endorse.”