The Asian plantings are visually distinct from the three other parts of the 2012 Gardens. Here the emphasis is on texture and foliage, with swathes of Hostas, Iris and Lilies being interspersed with ornamental grasses. Inspiration came from woodland glades, forest edges and grasslands of temperate Asia, where the 20th century plant collectors would have collected exotic plants, trees and shrubs. 

Mass plantings of the near black flowering Iris chrysographes and elegant Hosta ‘Tall Boy’ create a spectacular scene in June, while later in the summer, large drifts of lilies, Japanese anemone (Anemone japonica), Miscanthus and Calamagrostis x acutiflora ‘Karl Foerster’ bring colour, scent and vertical drama. I designed the planting of the Asian garden in collaboration with Professor Nigel Dunnett of Sheffield University.