"Take eight grains of musk and put in rose-water eight spoonfuls, three spoonfuls of Damask-water, and a quarter of an ounce of sugar. Boil for five hours and stain it"

     This is the original recipe for a perfume created by Queen Elizabeth I in the 16th Century. Its creation came following some other less than successful attempts that included ingredients such as rotten apples.

     Thankfully architect Laurie Chetwood and landscape designer Patrick Collins have chosen the rosewater infused fragrance as their inspiration for the Perfume Garden at the 2009 Chelsea Flower Show. The duo, who won a Gold Medal at the show in 2007, are creating a garden that aims to reach back into history and literally touch the past through our sense of smell. To do this they will not only design a scent-filled garden but Procter & Gamble Prestige Products will also create a modern interpretation of Queen Elizabeth’s perfume to mark the event.

     The garden will be sponsored by Gazeley, the global provider of sustainable logistics space, as part of its 21st Anniversary celebrations. Visually the garden takes reference from the source of many great fragrances, the flower. Envisioned as a striking spiral form, the swirling garden design is inspired by the pattern of seeds in a sunflower head or the spiraling arrangement of leaves on many plant stems. The planted swirl starts low at its extremities, representing the low lying plants, roots and even fungi used in perfume making. As it grows in size vertically, the swirling design sweeps towards the centre of the garden, incorporating larger planting, shrubs and a recessed wall that holds collections of dried perfume-making products. At the centre, the highest and most concentrated part of the garden, the swirl takes on an architectural form, housing the perfumery itself in a shroud of stainless steel. Here, Laurie Chetwood’s intricate design can be read as a metaphor for the flower head - the delicate stamen, stigma and pistil - surrounded by an abstract petal canopy that reaches out enticing visitors to step into its shade, see the perfume distillation process and smell samples of the Elizabeth I perfume produced especially for the Chelsea Flower Show.

     Inspired by the pioneering sustainable technologies utilized in Gazeley's developments, the central perfumery also incorporates a sculptural wind turbine, rising from its centre like a flower stamen to power the lighting and irrigation of the garden. The feature wall, which acts a boundary onto the public path, contains all of the services required for irrigation, lighting and power for the garden. And, if it were not built in central London above tube lines and countless services, water for the garden would be pumped direct from a borehole drilled below the centre of the swirl.

     In keeping with the historic theme and perfume, the planting for the garden includes different rose types (Mme Hardy, Tuscany Superba and Gertrude Jekyll). There are also Iris, three varieties of geranium (Spessart, Ingwersens and Bevan’s Variety), silver posies, lilies, narcissis and violets. Fragrant plants such as French lavender, sage, thyme, fennel and sweet flag abound. While, more structured forms are created using clipped Western red cedar and Mugo pines.

     “In the 16th century global exploration and new trading links led to an influx of new and exciting species,” says landscape designer Patrick Collins. “Many of these can be seen in the Perfume Garden, including Thuja occidentalis, Hyacinthium orientalis, Geranium macorrhizum and Acorus calamus.”

     Similarly, in Elizabethan times most large households kept part of the garden for cultivating fragrant plants to use in perfumed preparations (fragrant waters and perfumes, pomanders and potpourri) for around the house and person: while the first botanical gardens were being created in Europe to accommodate the new exotic plant species. Up until this time plants had been grown largely for their medicinal and culinary qualities rather than their beauty and scent.

     The Elizabethan period hailed gardening and gardeners as fashionable.

     “The garden is a unique and fragrant environment; a garden to connect with our senses,” says Collins. “The plants within it have been carefully selected for their scent, colour and association with the perfume industry. Historic and more contemporary varieties illustrate the range of plants that have been used for the creation of scents and fragrances throughout the ages.”

     “We want to connect with visitors in multiple ways,” says Chetwood. “We want them to be able to walk through and experience our garden, enjoy it and learn how perfumes are made at the same time - the story of perfume from plant to bottle. Then, when they are entranced by the magic of perfume, they will be able to experience an historic scent that reminds them of the garden but most importantly provides an olfactory window into the past and a hint of the personality of Queen Elizabeth I.”