Going for gold at Chelsea
With a full slate of idyllic biodiverse show gardens on display, the RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2023 is well underway, and the medals have finally been revealed.
See here a full list of the Gold Medal winners lining Main Avenue:
Horatio’s Garden
Designed for the UK spinal rehabilitation charity, Horatio’s Garden puts the priority of all those with different mobility needs at its heart, with every element of the garden influenced by the experiences of patients with spinal injuries.
The garden was designed by Harris Bugg Studio- the owners Charlotte Harris and Hugo Bugg have both previously won Gold medals at Chelsea in years prior.
Horatio’s Garden will be relocated to the Princess Royal Spinal Cord Injuries Centre in Sheffield, to aid in the rehabilitation of patients.
Olivia Chapple, founder and chair of trustees, Horatio’s Garden says: “This garden is a story of people coming together to make something very special. From the inspiring individuals that make up the transformative community that is Horatio’s Garden to all the dedicated and talented people that worked with us to create the garden.
“We are so grateful to Charlotte and Hugo from Harris Bugg Studio, for pushing the boundaries to create such a thoughtful, pioneering and exquisite garden. “
Harris Bugg Studio has also won the coveted Best in Show award for Horatio’s Garden, On selecting this year’s winner. Charlotte Harris and Hugo Bugg comments on their win: “It’s a really special garden for us because of the nature of the charity. Horatio’s is a charity about gardens and how they help on journeys of healing and so it feels absolutely right that it should win Best in Show.”
Horatio’s Garden, credit to the RHSCentrepoint Garden
At the garden’s centre is the remains of a dilapidated Victorian townhouse reclaimed by nature, a stark ideology of ‘home’ and what it means to be young and homeless.
With the planting scheme the central focus, designer Cleve West admitted ahead of the show: “I just want to do a good job that’s going to get a lot of publicity for Centrepoint. So, it’s going to be a Marmite garden in that people will either love it or hate it. As long as people are talking about it, that’s fine by me.”
Far from being Marmite, the Centrepoint garden has won the prestigious Best Construction Award for contractor Crocus.
Centrepoint Garden, credit to the RHSThe Nurture Landscapes Garden
The garden, designed by Sarah Price, is inspired by Cedric Morris’s paintings and the garden he kept at Benton End, Hadleigh. The artist is recognised for breeding and painting bearded iris and producing at least 90 named varieties.
The sixteenth century surroundings at Benton End have inspired the contemporary use of locally sourced and sustainable materials to create structural features indicative of the era.
The garden is sponsored by Nurture Landscapes, one of the largest green service providers in the industry, founded by Peter Fane. His brother, Mark Fane’s company Crocus built the sustainable show garden.
The Nurture Landscapes Garden, credit to the RHSMyeloma UK — A Life Worth Living Garden
The garden’s transformative design offers a reminder to live in the moment and appreciate the present, encouraging a celebration of the intricacies of nature and the positive impact it can have both mentally and physically.
Veteran Chelsea Garden designer, Chris Beardshaw says: “What I would like people to feel is the joy of the garden, an appreciation of the delicate fragility of the natural space and, almost by definition, the delicate fragility of our own lives; to feel the importance of enjoying the moment we’re in.”
The Myeloma Garden marks the 25th anniversary for the charity which assist patients and raise awareness of the incurable but treatable blood cancer.
Myeloma UK — A Life Worth Living Garden, credit to the RHSA Letter from a Million Years Past
Designer Jihae Hwang celebrates her home country of South Korea, representing the medicinal herbal colony located in the eastern part of Jirisan.
The planting is influenced by native Korean species such as the endangered Filipendula Formosa Nakai, while the structural features were created using traditional Korean techniques with rocks and soil.
Hwang says: “I’m so delighted that the RHS has recognised that my garden is a message about people’s respect for the environment; for recognizing that medicinal plants are all around us; and that people are intimately connected with – and responsible for – the health of our planet.”
A Letter from a Million Years Past, credit to the RHS
With just over four days left of the infamous show, the accolades will continue throughout, with the coveted People’s Choice Award set to be awarded on Friday.
Every show garden on display at Chelsea this year has been designed for relocation upon the show’s close, adhering to the shows overarching message of sustainability and environmental protection.
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