Remnant > Dan Bowyer, Andrew Fisher Tomlin, 2014

In the Middle Ages, the history of Amiens was very strongly influenced by the cloth industry. These activities were concentrated in the western part of the Hortillonnages and specialised in the production of blue cloth, as the local climate was suitable for growing Isatis tinctoria, the famous woad, which was used in former times to produce indigo dye. This garden, which was conceived by two British landscape designers, Andrew Fisher Tomlin and Dan Bowyer, pays homage to this textile past. Christened Remnant, it reproduces the remnants of a fabric from the era. Its geometric motifs, an alternation of squares and rectangles, are presented on a grand scale through plantations of yellow and blue flowers. As well as these plants with their bright blossoms, the vegetation palette is completed with grasses to help the garden survive the heat of the summer months without damage. Strung out between the flower beds, sleepers of burnt wood take up the idea of a weaving loom frame. To create them, the team worked with Streetscape, a London social enterprise which helps young people under twenty five who are long-term employed to enter the world of work.