Exodus Adventure Travels unveils its ‘Sounds of Adventure' garden ahead of Hampton Court Palace Garden Festival

Leading adventure tour operator Exodus Adventure Travels is set to unveil its very first garden at Hampton Court Palace Garden Festival (2-7 July): The Sounds of Adventure Garden. Designed by Nic Howard of We Love Plants and built by Gardenlink, the garden has been designed to reflect Exodus’ ethos of responsible travel and conservation. With plants from around the globe and raw recorded sounds piped through discreet speakers, the garden will engage all the senses, celebrating the sounds and sights of an Exodus adventure. 

The garden aims to reflect Exodus’ commitment to minimising its environmental impact, encouraging visitors to tread lightly and cherish the world around them. Inspiration for the design and feel of the garden comes from the natural world. Throughout the garden flows a watercourse, supporting its biodiversity and playing a crucial part of the garden’s balanced water management system. Water-efficient irrigation systems, such as rainwater harvesting techniques and permeable paving materials, are used throughout to reduce water waste. 

Each species of plant has been selected to create the feel of a natural oasis and support the development of a resilient landscape adapted to regional climate conditions. Key plants include ‘hydrangea quercifolia’, ‘nepeta’ and ‘echinops ritro’, which are particularly sturdy and tolerant of a range of conditions. The garden also enjoys pops of colour provided by the bright petals of ‘cosmos bipinnatus’ and a selection of classic roses. 

The heart of the garden is a central building designed as if to hover above the ground. The building, and the garden itself, has been constructed without any concrete, with ground screws providing support for the building, meaning no trace will be left behind. In keeping with Exodus’ ethos, the garden is set to be repurposed at a site open to the National Garden Scheme, ensuring that members of the public can enjoy its tranquil atmosphere beyond the end of the festival on 7 July. 

Visitors to the garden will enjoy an immersive garden experience, enhanced throughout by speakers playing Exodus’ Sounds of Adventure playlist. This collection of raw recorded sounds from 12 destinations that travellers can experience on an Exodus holiday ranges from a dawn chorus in Vermont (USA) to the early morning atmosphere at the sleepy harbour of Pepperskär Hamen (Finland).  

To coincide with their debut garden, Exodus Adventure Travels has launched a new collection, Gardens around the World, spotlighting trips such as Cape Town & the Garden Route and Ancient & Modern Japan, which take guests to spectacular horticultural sites.