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You are here: Home / Chelsea Flower Show / Nature Rises from the Ashes

Nature Rises from the Ashes

July 24, 2019 By Jane Stockel -

One of the newest trends in wood, seen in accent furniture, kitchen products and decorative accessories over the past year or so is Shou Sugi Ban. This ancient Japanese technique involves charring, cooling, cleaning and finishing with natural oils as a way to preserve wood. This process results in a textural character and a deep, rich black.

Chine Side Table in Japanese charred wood finish and Nero Marquina Marble, designed by Jamie Durie for McGuire
Chine Side Table in Japanese charred wood finish and Nero Marquina Marble, designed by Jamie Durie for McGuire
Phillips Collection's Brunt Edge tables in natural and black char
Phillips Collection’s Brunt Edge tables in natural and black char
Presentation boards in boise brule, evoking shou sugi ban, from Maud Supplies
Presentation boards in boise brule, evoking shou sugi ban, from Maud Supplies

At the 2019 Chelsea Flower Show, this look was alluded to in the Gold Medal and Best In Show garden designed by Andy Sturgeon and called the M&S Garden. Inspired by a visit to South Australia’s beaches, where low tides reveal dark, almost blackened rock, Sturgeon recalled this beach-scape with burned logs within a wild forest landscape.

In addition to evoking Australia’s unique black rocks, the combination of charred timbers and a seemingly haphazard arrangement of plants highlights the way in which nature can regenerate after catastrophic fires.

Charred timbers that echo rocks seen in Australia also
highlight how nature can regenerate after catastrophic fires

As wildfires become an increasing menace worldwide, including in the UK, Greece, Portugal, Canada, the US (most notably in California), and of course, Australia, finding beauty in regenerating trees and plants will provide people with a sense of optimism as Mother Earth restores herself. Sturgeon’s garden gives us all a window into what this will look like.

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Filed Under: Chelsea Flower Show, Trend   Tagged With: Chelsea Flower Show, Shou Sugi Ban, Wood Trends

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