22-05-2025
‘Together with Tiggy, we've created something beautiful in Ed's memory'
Pillars of honeysuckle and banks of river iris now frame the Bull Ring Gates at the Chelsea Flower Show, where shoals of model plaster salmon appear to leap from a botanical stream.
The installation, an ode to the wild Atlantic salmon – now classified as endangered in Great Britain – is the result of a collaboration between three women: Tiggy Legge-Bourke, the fly-fishing expert and former nanny to Princes William and Harry; garden designer Nadine Charlton; and botanical artist Tattie Isles.
Its story begins last summer, when Legge-Bourke delivered a powerful talk on the plight of salmon at a fundraising event for the Atlantic Salmon Trust at Fonthill, Wiltshire. In the UK, wild salmon populations have fallen by around 70 per cent since the 1980s – a stark warning that our aquatic ecosystems are under threat. The solution is simple, yet urgent: cold, clean water.
Charlton was in the audience. 'I thought, this is the sort of thing that needs a platform,' she says. Afterwards, she approached Legge-Bourke with a bold idea: 'We should do Chelsea.'
Legge-Bourke agreed instantly. The Bull Ring Gates, just metres from the Thames, offered the perfect setting to raise awareness of salmon restoration and the broader importance of healthy river habitats.
Although Charlton had previously shown at Chelsea, her expertise lay in garden design. For this ambitious project, she needed a partner with a botanical eye – and royal florist Shane Connolly knew just the person. He introduced her to Tattie Isles of Tattie Rose Studio, renowned for her wild, romantic floral installations.
Despite having just welcomed her fourth child, Isles accepted the challenge.
But then in January this year, a family tragedy for Legge-Bourke irrevocably changed the focus of the project.
'We were going through the process with Chelsea to bring the idea to life when the tragic events happened with Tiggy's stepson,' recalls Charlton.
Edward Pettifor was among the 14 people tragically killed in the New Year's Day terrorist attack in New Orleans in 2025. The attacker, Shamsud-Din Bahar Jabbar, who was reportedly inspired by Isis, drove at speed down Bourbon Street, targeting pedestrians in a deliberate act of violence.
In a statement released shortly after the incident, Edward's family said: 'The entire family are devastated at the tragic news of Ed's death in New Orleans. He was a wonderful son, brother, grandson, nephew and a friend to so many. We will all miss him terribly.'
Prince William said, 'Our thoughts and prayers remain with the Pettifer family and all those innocent people who have been tragically impacted by this horrific attack.'
A fly fisherman and keen campaigner for the plight of salmon like his stepmother, it felt like a natural decision to realise the project in his memory.
'I felt it made it even more compelling to do something,' says Charlton. 'There are bad things that happen in the world and so it's great that we can do something with a positive message. I had a sense that Tiggy would want to do it even more so.'
Legge-Bourke and Charlton secured a private sponsor for the project in Pettifor's memory.
'People who wanted to support Tiggy have enabled this to happen in Ed's memory so there's a lasting legacy and it has some positive impact on a cause they're all passionate about.'
Private funding has meant that the trio haven't had to seek brand sponsorship alongside their message. 'It allowed it to become more personal within the team now,' says Charlton.
The installation, titled Across the Ocean, Home Again, takes on added poignancy in the wake of Pettifor's death. 'If you think about his journey and the salmon's journey – they go across the ocean and come home again – which is essentially what happened to Ed [after his death]. It's deliberate,' says Charlton.
Wild Atlantic salmon undertake one of nature's most extraordinary migrations – born in the headwaters of our rivers, they travel thousands of miles across the Atlantic to the waters off Greenland, before returning to their native rivers to spawn, completing a powerful cycle that sustains entire ecosystems.
The installation aims to inspire thousands of visitors to reflect on the vital role of wild salmon restoration in addressing the twin crises of biodiversity loss and climate change. Organisers hope it will galvanise collective action to protect and restore cold, clean water habitats – essential not only for salmon, but for the health of the planet and future generations.
The display features 100 plants in addition to cut flowers, including cow parsley, Marsh marigold, Yellow flag iris, lesser bull rush and lace capped viburnum. The plants have been sourced from suppliers based along British rivers and additional foliage has been collected from hedgerows at Isles's West Dorset home.
The one hundred plaster salmon have been hand made by Isles, cast from actual whole salmon.
'Tattie is the designer. So it's her vision,' says Charlton. However, it has very much been a family affair coming up with the concept. 'The vision of the mould for the salmon was created by Tiggy's brother.'
Salmon, a prehistoric species, are now in sharp decline. As a keystone species, they support a complex web of life – countless sub-species rely on their presence to survive. 'Because of what we're doing in terms of climate change and pollution, killing key stone species that support a whole network of other things,' says Charlton.
That shared concern is rooted in something deeply personal. All three women live by rivers: the Usk for Legge-Bourke, the Test for Charlton and the Frome for Isles – places where their love of the water and its fragile ecosystem has taken shape over a lifetime.
Both Charlton and Isles bring a strong commitment to sustainability to their work in garden and botanical design. As a show runner at the Chelsea Flower Show, Charlton has overseen not just the creation of gardens, but their thoughtful repurposing once the event ends. Her path to horticulture was an unconventional one: previously part of the senior leadership team at professional services network KPMG, she eventually left corporate life to follow her passion for the natural world into garden design.
Now a leader in sustainability within the horticultural industry, in particular she has pioneered the concept of carbon handprint, which measures the positive environmental impact of a product or service, specifically focusing on how it helps others reduce their carbon footprint.
Isles uses only sustainably sourced ingredients and minimal waste. All of the plants used in the installation will be replanted, and cut flowers and greenery composted.
The frame and structures, made from repurposed materials, will be used again.
The model salmon will go on to be used to raise awareness for salmon conservation in other ways following the show.
For Charlton, the project shows what individuals can achieve when they are passionate about something they believe in.
'Tiggy is incredibly passionate and energetic, and you could say the same things about all three of us. We have different skills and yet with our different networks we've come together. And we're creating something really beautiful with a beautiful legacy message as well. It's in Ed's memory but it's about making something that has some value for the future.'
