At this year's Chelsea Flower Show, multidisciplinary creative studio Of-A exhibited a dark botanical landscape featuring volcanic rock, burnt trees and delicate flowers set within a hemispherical metal structure.

Slow Dream is the second expression from Of-A's evolving series of so-called "garden objects", which it debuted with the Moon Garden during Frieze Week London 2025.

The conceptual horticultural objects aim to bring fragments of landscapes indoors in the form of self-contained living gardens that forego traditional horizontal formats in favour of a more architectural approach.

Informed by interior garden traditions, the installations feature metal structures filled with plants and water features that utilise Of-A's own minimalist curving tap design.

Slow Dream was presented as part of the Chelsea Flower Show's Floristry Laboratory programme, which invited floral artists to explore the boundaries of science, nature and plant growth through innovative techniques.

"We are interested in the garden not simply as landscape, but as an emotional and spatial condition," said artist Raluca Grada-Emandi, who co-founded Of-A with architect Laura Lim Sam.

"Of-A Garden imagines the garden as object, atmosphere and living presence simultaneously," she added. "With Slow Dream, we wanted to create something that feels both geological and futuristic, as though nature is continuously imagining itself into new forms."

Developed in collaboration with floral artists Wagner Kreusch and Frida Kim, the installation imagined the garden as a territory still in formation, rather than a finished arrangement.

The designers incorporated burnt elements to signify cycles of failure and renewal, alongside charred matter evoking volcanic landscapes and vegetation that appeared more like a silhouette than a decorative display.

The dark palette aimed to create a dreamlike atmosphere that was heightened by the sound of the trickling water provided by the water feature.

Blackened matter and geological textures, including volcanic rock from Iceland, formed a backdrop for dense planting featuring Himalayan blue poppies, cobra lilies, tree ferns, wind nymphs, maidenhair vine, carnivorous sarracenia and dense mosses.

The metal structure that supported the garden was fabricated by Brighton-based Kingston Rigging, which specialises in yacht rigging and marine and architectural fabrication.

Medals are not awarded for the floristry competition held in the Great Pavilion during the annual horticultural show; however, Slow Dream was named the Winner of the Floristry Ambassadors' Award.

Emandi and Lim Sam founded their studio to work on projects spanning objects, environments, exhibition and landscapes.

Of-A operates between the UK and Iceland, with a focus on challenging the mundanity of the everyday through the creation of experiences that introduce a performative quality.

Other Chelsea Flower Show projects featured on Dezeen include a fluted mycelium pavilion and a rain-harvesting pavilion made of weathering steel.

The photography is by Edmund Sumner.