TWO unusual garden designs from North Somerset have scooped gold and silver awards at prestigious horticultural shows

TWO unusual garden designs from North Somerset have scooped gold and silver awards at prestigious horticultural shows.Hillier Landscapes, a company based at Cadbury Garden & Leisure in Congresbury, managed to land a gold medal for the best garden at Chelsea Flower Show with a design by Sarah Eberle called 600 Days with Bradstone.Sarah's garden used the setting of Mars as its inspiration and was the result of eight years planning which involved getting help from the European Space Agency and the British Science Museum.She said: "The aim was to create the personal space of an astronaut on a tour of duty on Mars lasting 600 days, with particular attention paid to man's relationship with his environment."The biggest challenge was to integrate the physical and psychological needs of the astronaut into a design which could actually be created on Mars today."Walkers Garden Retreats, based in Weston, received a silver medal at the Royal Horticultural Show at Malvern for a design by Mark Walker entitled Sunken Retreat.Mark's garden was designed for the new children's hospice at Charlton Farm, Wraxall. The eco-friendly garden aims to give youngsters at the hospice a place of privacy and refuge with sensory items, insects and wildlife to enjoy. The design also includes a hobbit style hut with a pyramid rooflight.A spokesman for Walkers Garden Retreats said: "We are absolutely thrilled to have won the silver medal. We were told the garden was one of the most talked about at the show and both adults and children loved the hobbit hut."Cash will now be raised to enable Mark to rebuild it in the hospice grounds.Anyone who would like to help can call 01934 412260.