ONE Garden picks up Best Show Garden, a Gold medal and the RHS Environmental Innovation Award at RHS Malvern Spring Festival 2026.

The first Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) show of the year, medals have been celebrated across show gardens, Blooming Borders and Indoor Plant Gardens.

Centred in sustainability, ONE Garden was designed by Ian McBain for a an individual happily living independently. Inspired by the eight million people living alone in the UK, the garden encourages people to spend time in nature.

McBain told Pro Landscaper that the win was “completely unexpected”. He adds, “We wanted the gold medal. I’ve done this show twice and we’ve got silver-gilt both times – which is a wonderful medal, but we wanted gold. I’m so happy for the team that we got Best in Show. I’m not quite sure how it happened. It’s just so lovely. There are so many beautiful gardens here, to get Best in Show doesn’t feel real.”

But for McBain the award that meant the most was the RHS Environmental Innovation Award. He says, “That’s the one I was most excited by. I wanted gold for the team but to get the Environmental Innovation Award was the icing on the cake.” 

Built by Pickwell Paving, the garden uses reclaimed and repurposed materials. The timber screen is reclaimed scaffolding boards, for example. But, McBain told Pro Landscaper, the star of the show is the bricks. Made from construction waste, the K-Briq’s are produced by Kenoteq by using compression technology from near 100% recycled construction, demolition and excavation waste. The garden has tied these bricks together to showcase an alternative way of creating raised beds. 

On whether clients are more conscious of being environmentally responsible, McBain says people are becoming more open to it but often it comes down to budget. He said, “Prices are going up on everything. Budgets are strained. As designers, or landscapers, or plants people it’s about trying to get across this idea that we have a responsibility. We need to leave the planet in a better state than we found it and we’re not doing that at the moment. 

“We’re using too many virgin materials at the moment. It’s cheaper and easier to use brand new wood. It shouldn’t be. It’s cheaper and easier to use cement. It shouldn’t be. Concrete is a brilliant material, but it’s horrific. So it took longer to lace the brick together to create raised beds but these bricks are clean. I can take them apart and reuse them. 

“Everything in this garden can be repurposed and reused. So it’s about having the conversation with clients, making them aware that there are alternatives. We just have to work a bit harder. We just have to think more cleverly.” 

Noting the scaffolding boards, McBain explains you can’t use scaffolding boards after three years. By utilising them within gardens for screening, planters or even furniture he explains it’s saving timber that would otherwise be chipped or wasted. 

“Why on earth would we keep cutting down more trees to get timber, when we could be using an alternative?” McBain says. “That’s why shows like this are so important. I’ve done this three times and each time we’ve tried to show people something new. This is why I’m so humbled by winning the Environmental Innovation Award.” 

Other Best in Show awards include Back to Grandma’s House, which was awarded Best Indoor Plant Garden, while After the Rain was named Best Blooming Border. The Blessings from the Sea was awarded Best Construction (Show Garden).

Take a look at the gardens given medals during the show while the RHS People’s Choice Award will be revealed towards the end of the show.