Plants Fighting Cancer On Display At Chelsea - 9 February 1999
A selection of plants and shrubs which may hold the key to improved cancer treatments will be on show in the Yellow Pages/Marie Curie garden at Chelsea this year (site number MA14).The formal garden, created in partnership with Yellow Pages, is designed by award winning designer Patrick McCann and built by Mark Gregory of Landmark. The garden is called ‘Hope Springs Eternal’. Garden furniture designed by Nigel Westwood and made from recycled Yellow Pages directories will also be on show for the first time.
The garden features plants and shrubs either currently used or being researched for use in cancer treatments. The plant list includes*:
Ricinus communis (castor oil plant)
Taxus baccata (yew)
Saponaria ocymoides (soapwort)
Catharanthus roseus (Madagascar periwinkle)
Linum Flavum (flax plant)
The garden, which celebrates the evolution of Marie Curie Cancer Care as a source of hope for people with cancer, will use the vibrant blue and yellow corporate colours of Marie Curie and Yellow Pages. Contrast is provided by subdued greens, blues, cooling silvers an warming pinks.
The Yellow Pages recycled furniture is created by Cornish designer Nigel Westwood who uses 100% recycled cardboard and paper from Yellow Pages directories - the covers providing an ideal medium for the woven finish of the unique pieces.
Patrick McCann, the designer of the garden said: "The combination of art, horticulture, science and engineering results in a visual experience you’ll never forget."
Sara Tye, Head of Public Relations for Yellow Pages said: "The energy of the corporate colours of Marie Curie Cancer Care and ourselves provides a perfect base for the design of this beautiful garden. We are delighted to be able to support Marie Curie Cancer Care in 1999."
Plants fighting cancer (plants are subject to availablilty)
Ricinus communis (castor oil plant)
Has extremely toxic seeds. New ways of delivering a fragment of this toxin to the surface of cancer cells provides promising avenues for cancer treatment.
Saponaria ocymoides (soapwort)
Provides the toxin saponin which is being evaluated for killing cancer cells.
Taxus baccata (yew tree)
Is a source of compounds known as taxanes. One of these, Taxotere is currently undergoing clinical trials for use in the treatment of ovarian and lung cancers.
Catharanthus roseus - formerly Vinca Rosea (Madagascar periwinkle)
Provides the starting compounds for the family of drugs known as Vinca Alkaloids which are widely used in cancer treatment. Vincristrine for example is frequently used in the treatment of lymphomas.
Linum flavum (Flax flower)
Currently being tested to discover whether this plant has properties to combat the spread of cancer.
Betula pendula (birch tree)
Contains betulinic acid which is being researched as a treatment for skin cancer.
