Harrogate Spring Show Garden 2026 – The Breathing Space
Unique urban garden spaces – APL feature garden
The Association of Professional Landscapers (APL) champions excellence and innovation across the landscaping and horticultural sector. For 2026, Harrogate Show has partnered with the APL to offer members the opportunity to design and create a series of unique urban garden spaces.
We are delighted to be pairing with fellow APL member Land Masons Ltd, who will be constructing and crafting our designs.
This garden explores how small urban spaces can actively support wellbeing through thoughtful design, material honesty and a closer connection to nature.
Inspired by Nordic design principles and grounded in Yorkshire materials, this compact space (4 × 5 metre) is centred around a small but perfectly formed luxury garden sauna for two to share – kindly sponsored by Wildhut. This is a place of warmth, ritual and restoration. A simple timber boardwalk leads through naturalistic planting to the sauna, encouraging a slow transition from the everyday into a quieter, more mindful space.
Designed to stretch the seasons, the garden remains purposeful all year round. In warmer months, the sauna outdoor shower offers refreshment, encouraging use beyond traditional summer dining. As temperatures cool from autumn through to early spring, the sauna becomes a source of warmth and comfort, inviting people back into the garden when it might otherwise be overlooked.
Crafted locally quarried stone provides a bench, bird bath and sculptural birds referencing the local heritage and the use of durable materials which work hard, weather beautifully and remain relevant over time, echoing Scandinavian values of longevity, function and restraint.
Planting is relaxed and nature-led, with grasses and seasonal perennials creating movement and softness around the built elements. Planting selected for their autumn berries provide food for wildlife while bringing colour and structure through the seasons, reinforcing the garden’s relationship with the wider natural world.
A compact bistro set crafted from bare metal, offers a place for conversation, reflection or quiet observation, demonstrating how even the smallest gardens can accommodate both social and restorative uses.
Our Sponsors
Melissa Morton Garden & Landscape Design is collaborating with various partners to showcase the creative use of enduring materials, innovative features and skilled craftsmanship. We would like to thank the following sponsors…
Wildhut Saunas
GRAD Decking Systems
Ashlar Stone Products
Jennifer Tetlow Stone Sculpture
Burnt Orchid Bespoke Metalwork
Moss & Moor Garden Centre
JA Jones Tree Nursery
