About the Border
Finding Balance is a gentle, sensory border designed to encourage pause, reflection and calm. The layout takes its shape from the experience of Acoustic Neuroma, a rare, benign brain tumour that affects balance and hearing, and uses contrast to express both instability and stillness. An ear‑shaped, asymmetric plan reflects disorientation, while a softly crunching gravel path guides visitors safely through the planting. A sculptural boulder offers a place to rest and breathe. The planting is resilient, drought‑tolerant and rich in texture, celebrating nature’s ability to adapt. Both personal and universal, the garden explores how nature supports healing, emotional steadiness and our shared need for balance.
Design Inspiration and Purpose
The border is inspired by Megan Dodd’s mum, whose experience of Acoustic Neuroma shaped the design. Watching her navigate dizziness, sensory changes and ongoing adaptation led Megan to create a space that expresses both disruption and resilience. The design explores what it means to find equilibrium again, physically and emotionally. By blending expressive planting with gentle movement and calm structure, the border shows how nature can support us through difficult moments. The purpose is simple: to offer a place where visitors can pause, reset and reconnect with the grounding, restorative power of the natural world.
Sustainability
Sustainability is reflected in every part of the border. Reclaimed stone and permeable gravel paths reduce environmental impact and allow for natural drainage. Climate‑resilient plants support pollinators while reducing water demand. Soil amendments such as gravel and mulch help retain moisture and improve long‑term soil health. The garden will be replanted after the show in a community space and at Calcot Manor & Spa, extending its life and allowing more people to experience its message of wellbeing and balance. Visitors can take home practical ideas like using reclaimed materials, choosing drought‑tolerant species and designing with climate resilience in mind.
Planting
The planting is painterly and expressive, blending cool blues, silvers and soft pastels with warm apricot and copper tones. Statement plants anchor the border, while fine textures and light‑catching grasses add movement and softness.
Key plants include:
- Juniperus scopulorum ‘Blue Arrow’ – upright, strong and structural, symbolising resilience.
- Iris ‘Jane Phillips’ – soft blue flowers bringing calm and harmony.
- Geum ‘Mai Tai’ – warm apricot tones adding hope and emotional lift.
- Nassella tenuissima – feather‑light texture suggesting fragility and change.
- Lavandula angustifolia – aromatic, pollinator‑friendly and grounding.
Unsung heroes such as Verbascum blattaria add gentle colour and detail. Edible aromatic herbs, including rosemary and bronze fennel, contribute scent and sensory interest. Around 300 plants create a layered, responsive and climate‑ready tapestry.
About the Designer
Megan Dodd is an emerging garden and landscape designer based in Gloucestershire. After working in agricultural and environmental policy, she shifted to horticulture to work more closely with the land. She trained at the Cotswold Gardening School, graduating with Distinction, and established Megan Dodd Studio soon after. Her design style is painterly, expressive and rooted in place, blending ecological depth with emotional resonance. She focuses on projects that connect people with nature in meaningful, sensory ways and is passionate about resilient planting, biodiversity and creating gardens with both atmosphere and purpose.
What are the advantages of designing a garden at the Festival?
For Megan, creating a show garden is both personal and professional. The garden honours her mum’s diagnosis and journey, offering a space of resilience and calm. It also gives Megan the chance to experiment at a larger scale, test combinations, collaborate with skilled people and share her design ethos with a wider audience. As an emerging designer, the show provides an invaluable platform to demonstrate that climate‑resilient planting can be both beautiful and deeply meaningful. At its heart, this garden is a tribute, and an invitation for visitors to find balance in their own lives.
Sponsors
The garden is raising awareness for the British Acoustic Neuroma Association (BANA), the charitable organisation linked to the project. Alongside funding support from BANA, Calcot Manor & Spa is the principal sponsor, contributing the majority of the funding. By sponsoring the garden, Calcot Manor & Spa provides BANA with a powerful platform to raise awareness, helping the charity continue its vital work supporting people living with Acoustic Neuroma. The garden itself embodies a holistic space for rest and recuperation, reflecting the importance of nature, balance, and sensory connection in the recovery journey. Bringing its deep commitment to wellness and balance to the show, Calcot Manor & Spa works in partnership with BANA to champion a space of resilience and beauty, values central to recovery, wellbeing, and the restorative power of nature.
