Charlotte Harris to design her first show garden, drawing inspiration from
Canada's boreal forest and waterways in the 150th year of the Federation of
Canada
Charlotte to lead all-female design team
LONDON, Nov. 10, 2016 /CNW/ - 2017 marks a significant year
for RBC; not only is it the 10th year of the RBC Blue Water Project™, a wide-ranging, global commitment to help protect
the world's fresh water resources, but also the 150th anniversary of the Federation of Canada. It is these two celebrations that are at the core of RBC's garden at the Royal Horticultural Society
(RHS) Chelsea Flower Show 2017, which draws inspiration from Canada's 1.2 billion-acre boreal forest.
"When designing this garden, I spent time exploring northern Ontario on foot and by canoe –
navigating the waterways, pine forests, flora and granite of the boreal," said Charlotte Harris.
"This time was a precious source of inspiration for the design, providing an appreciation of what comprises this unique and
beautiful environment, as well as the importance of living sustainably and in harmony with our precious ecosystems."
The boreal forest is the largest intact forest and wetland ecosystem on earth, holding the largest unfrozen source of freshwater
and storing twice the amount of carbon as tropical forests.1 The garden seeks to create a space inspired by this
landscape, rather than to recreate it. A wilder garden folds around man-made elements, crafted from materials evocative of the
boreal.
"We are excited to partner with Charlotte for our seventh garden at the 2017 RHS Chelsea Flower Show," said Stuart Rutledge, CEO, RBC Wealth Management – International. "The garden design is a tribute to the beauty of
Canada's boreal forest. As one of the largest Canadian companies in the UK, we look forward to
bringing Canada to Chelsea and marking the country's 150th birthday."
As a company that actively promotes and encourages diversity and inclusion, RBC is proud to support an all-female design team at
the RHS Chelsea Flower Show. This will be Charlotte's first time as lead designer at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show, having previously
worked on a number of Main Avenue gardens, including Luciano Giubbilei's Best in Show garden of 2014 and Hugo Bugg's Royal Bank of Canada Garden in 2016. Charlotte has chosen a strong female design team including
architect, technical detailer and horticulturists.
About RBC
Royal Bank of Canada is Canada's largest bank, and one
of the largest banks in the world, based on market capitalization. We are one of North America's
leading diversified financial services companies, and provide personal and commercial banking, wealth management, insurance,
investor services and capital markets products and services on a global basis. We have over 80,000 full- and part-time employees
who serve more than 16 million personal, business, public sector and institutional clients through offices in Canada, the U.S. and 36 other countries. For more information, please visit rbc.com.
RBC helps communities prosper, supporting a broad range of community initiatives through donations, community investments,
sponsorships and employee volunteer activities. In 2015, we contributed more than $121 million to
causes around the world.
About the RBC Blue Water Project
The RBC Blue Water Project is a historic, wide-ranging, 10-year global commitment to help protect the world's most
precious natural resource: fresh water. Since 2007, RBC has pledged more than $47 million to 760
charitable organizations worldwide that protect watersheds and promote access to clean drinking water, with an additional
$8.8 million pledged to universities for water programs. For further information, visit www.rbc.com/bluewater.
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1 According to The Pew Environment Group, International Boreal Conservation Campaign
SOURCE RBC
Image with caption: "Artist’s rendition of the Royal Bank of Canada Garden for the 2017 RHS Chelsea Flower Show. Image by Sarah
Jane Moon. (CNW Group/RBC)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20161110_C7801_PHOTO_EN_814503.jpg
