HE took rock music to its wildest limits and now it’s time for... well, a spot of gardening. Iggy Pop, the celebrated forerunner of punk rock, is one of the inspirations for this year’s Chelsea Flower Show.

A showpiece garden, designed for the Children’s Society, is based on the opening guitar riff and shuffle drumbeat of Iggy’s Pop’s most famous song, Lust for Life. The singer — whose other songs include I Wanna be Your Dog and Search and Destroy — will be in London during the show and it is hoped that he will open the garden.

Angus Thompson, the garden’s designer, said that he wanted it to excite visitors and capture the energy of Lust for Life. As garden lovers go by, the fountain will spurt out water to the track’s beat.

“Rather than create a tranquil space, I wanted something that was invigorating,” said Thompson. “You can’t ignore that opening drum loop that is Iggy Pop. It was that notion I wanted to bottle in some way.

“An arc of water will take that rhythm. It’s going to be a pulsating water effect and after 10 minutes of that you are energised rather than rested. Iggy has seen the plans and likes them. He is quite a keen gardener.”

The garden is designed for urban workers and is set in Portland stone and beech wood. It is landscaped with white allium flowers clustered around a medlar tree.

Iggy Pop, whose real name is James Osterberg, turned 60 last month and is said to have entered a more reflective phase of his life. He once had a three-hour conversation backstage with a fan on the challenges of gardening.

He is often referred to as the “godfather of punk” and was infamous for his live performances, which included smearing raw meat over his torso, writhing on the stage in peanut butter and a dramatic stage dive into the crowd.

Iggy’s first band, the Stooges, was disbanded because of his growing heroin addiction and he subsequently spent some time in a psychiatric unit. His career was retrieved by David Bowie, who in 1977 worked with him and produced two of his best known albums, The Idiot and Lust for Life.

He now lives in Miami, where he has a Mediterranean-style smallholding with a cottage, where he does t’ai chi. In one interview he said: “I wanted a crumbling old place with walls and a yard where I could go out and sit under my own tree with my own squirrel and pee on my own grass.” This weekend he said: “I love frangipane, hibiscus, orchids and roses. I love bougainvillea, but they have no smell. My garden in Florida has iguanas, racoons, stray cats and rats.

“I hope this whole deal keeps some kid in touch with the idea that your dreams can grow like plants, clean, simple and unstoppable if you believe. They can even break concrete.”

Iggy is not the first pop icon to have declared his support for the flower show. Ringo Starr and Rod Stewart are both fans.

More than 150,000 visitors are expected at the show from May 22-26. With an increasing interest in green issues, many of the gardens will be incorporating themes of sustainability and the environment. One garden, called Urban Oasis, will be using solar power to pump water to the plants. The 40ft high sculpture which will harness the sun’s rays is based upon the design of a flower.

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