Viking Cruises returns to RHS Chelsea Flower Show with garden inspired by the iconic architecture of Barcelona

Viking Cruises is delighted to be partnering with Garden Designer Sarah Eberle again this year to create a travel-inspired garden for the RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2017. The Viking Cruises Garden of Inspiration will reflect the colours, art and culture of Barcelona, a source of inspiration for Sarah following her previous travel experiences and also a Viking Cruises destination. 

The Viking Cruises Garden of Inspiration will combine colourful mosaics, a fluid 'folded' marble bench and striking metal sculptures of Agave plants, reminiscent of the work of Barcelona's most famous architect, Antoni Gaudi, with a vivid mix of blooms in flaming oranges, scarlets and yellows, deep lavender blues and pale lilacs.

“Barcelona is both an amazing destination, but also a city of great culture. There is an incredible amount of modern art built into the city through its distinctive architecture. Gaudi's designs in particular were inspired by nature so it makes sense to create a garden inspired by his designs,” explains Sarah.

For the past four years Viking Cruises has entered a garden at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show to reflect the colourful voyages of discovery guests can enjoy onboard their ships. This year Sarah and Viking Cruises are collaborating again following their gold medal winning performance in 2016, which saw Viking's Mekong Artisan Garden scoop the prize for Best Artisan Garden.

Wendy Atkin-Smith, Managing Director of Viking Cruises UK said: “The Viking Cruises Garden of Inspiration will bring all the vibrancy and excitement of Barcelona to life. This city is always a popular destination with our guests, and we are delighted Sarah is drawing inspiration from its distinctive art and culture.”

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The RHS Chelsea Flower Show runs from 23 – 27 May 2017. For more information and to buy tickets, visit https://www.rhs.org.uk/shows-events/rhs-chelsea-flower-show/tickets

NOTES TO EDITOR

For more information about the garden, please contact the Viking press office on, vikingcruises@edelman.com

About Viking Cruises

Viking Cruises offers culturally-enriching, destination-focused river and ocean cruises for travellers curious about the world, its rich culture and varied history. Viking Cruises takes its guests on curated, elegant voyages along some of the most iconic rivers in Europe and the Far East allowing a unique window on inspiring destinations and rewarding experiences. Featuring onboard cultural enrichment and included shore excursions, Viking's journeys are competitively priced for genuine value.

Since its 1997 inception the company has grown to become the world's leading operator with a fleet of 60 vessels and christened the Viking Star in May, marking its debut into ocean cruising. The sophisticated state-of-the-art Viking Star can host 930 guests on itineraries that start from the brand's homeland in Scandinavia and the Baltic through to the Western and Eastern Mediterranean.

Viking has consistently won customer-voted and industry-recommended awards including 8 in the last twelve months alone including Best River Cruise Line at the British Travel Awards and Best River Cruises Company by readers of The Sunday Times and The Sunday Times Travel Magazine. In addition, the annual Cruise Critic Editor's Picks Awards named Viking Best River Cruise Line for the third time and Travel Weekly named Viking Best Specialist Cruise Company in its Globe Awards.

For additional information on Viking's River and Ocean offering, contact Viking Cruises 020 8780 7995 or visit the company at www.vikingcruises.co.uk. Follow Viking River Cruises on Facebook www.facebook.com/VikingRiverCruisesUK and Twitter www.twitter.com/vikingriveruk.

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About Garden Designer, Sarah Eberle

Sarah Eberle is a landscape architect, and has been working within the landscape industry for 28 years, working on many projects and running her own business in Devon. Sarah has been presented with 10 RHS Gold Medals including a Best Artisan Garden in 2016 for Viking's Mekong Artisan Garden, plus Best in Show Chelsea 2007 and Best in Show at Hampton Court 2003. In 2016 she became the first ever gardener to have won a gold medal in every category available to enter at the show. She also project managed the Daily Telegraph garden at the Chelsea Flower Show for Michael Balston in 1999, which picked up a Gold medal and was later reconstructed at RHS Wisley.

Sarah's work focuses on both an impression due to the aesthetic effect, but also aims to leave her audience thinking about the key question she has centered her work around. As an example, her 2007 Chelsea Flower Show demonstrated a permanent space station on Mars. This work was futuristic but Sarah also described it as “an investigation into the psychological effects of long term stay in space”.