Our favourite Chelsea Flower Show gardens from this year

Why it’s one of our favourite Chelsea Flower Show gardens: We felt physically and emotionally moved by its atmosphere. 

About the garden: Designed by Gavin McWilliam and Andrew Wilson of McWilliam Studio, the Silver Gilt medal-winning garden focused on opening positive conversations about the end of life, encouraging people to discuss the often hard-to-broach topic of death and share their dying wishes with loved ones. 

As we walked along the open, spacious central pathway – which was uneven in places and had smaller paths leading away from it in different directions, to show how everyone’s journey through grief is different – the noise of the crowds seemed to fade away. The imposing stone structure at the end was softened by the sound of falling water from a waterfall and provided a moment of quiet contemplation (often hard to come by at the show). The garden’s effect moved many people to tears, and we found ourselves talking about those difficult topics a little more easily. 

What will happen to it after the show: The garden will be relocated after the show to the grounds of the Memoria North Oxfordshire Crematorium and Memorial Park, where it will offer a tranquil space for people to reflect on and remember their loved ones in nature. 

Why it’s one of our favourite Chelsea Flower Show gardens: The cool, calming air drew us in and watching the waterfall was a boost for our wellbeing. 

About the garden: The second of our favourite Chelsea Flower Show gardens was designed by the Gold medal-winning Kazuyuki Ishihara and also features a waterfall.  

This Japanese-inspired Sanctuary Garden featured a small house (which in Japan is known as a ‘hanare’) nestled next to a tumbling waterfall. For a moment, the show melted away and we were on a peaceful mountainside in Japan, surrounded by acers and water irises. 

The air felt cooler around this garden, with dappled shade offering relief from the sun. We stopped and for a moment we felt truly biophilic – totally absorbed in the plants, small garden rockery and peaceful sounds from moving water.  

What will happen to it after the show: For the first time this year, the RHS has stipulated that every garden must live on, so while we don’t have the exact details of this garden’s second lease of life, we have no doubt it will provide peaceful sanctuary in its next location too.  

Why it’s one of our favourite Chelsea Flower Show gardens: What at first seemed destructive and chaotic evolved in front of our eyes into a wild, thriving habitat that can help to heal.  

About the garden: Even though this was the first show garden we stopped to explore, its design and message stayed with us all day. Winning the Best Construction Award (Show Garden) and a Gold medal, Cleve West’s creation hit home for many people. 

The garden centres around a demolished home – the hearth is there, but it’s in ruins. But all is not lost, as nature has been gently growing over and bringing its healing power into the rubbly remains. At first glance, we felt a little overwhelmed by the destruction in front of us but, looking closer, we saw a thriving hub of wildflowers, insects (and even an escaped houseplant, living outside the conventional home environment, like so many young people Centrepoint supports).  

What will happen to it after the show: Parts of the garden will be relocated to one of Centrepoint’s hostels in Ealing, west London, providing a space for young people to look after and relax in.  

Why it’s one of our favourite Chelsea Flower Show gardens: So many outside spaces are inaccessible to people with mobility issues, so it was refreshing to see somewhere focused on changing that. 

About the garden: We couldn’t compile our favourite Chelsea Flower Show gardens without including Horatio’s Garden. Charlotte Harris and Hugo Bugg’s fully wheelchair-accessible design scooped Best Show Garden and a Gold medal. Quite rightly too.  

Horatio’s Garden is a charity that nurtures wellbeing after spinal injury in vibrant sanctuaries in NHS spinal centres, and the show garden put mobility issues at the heart of every planting decision. 

Each element of the garden began its journey in the experiences of spinal injury patients. Planting was layered to accommodate different ways of seeing, and a garden room provided a moment’s sanctuary from the crowds. Smooth, cement-free terrazzo paths were patient-friendly and more sustainable too – with a 77% reduced carbon footprint compared to regular cement.  

What will happen to it after the show: The garden will be relocated to the Northern General Hospital in Sheffield. 

Why it’s one of our favourite Chelsea Flower Show gardens: Food you don’t have to go to the shops for? Result! A fully functional kitchen garden was an impressive first for the show this year.  

About the garden: The Silver Gilt medal-winning design from Mark Gregory featured the show’s first ever functioning kitchen in a show garden. Chef Sam Buckley – who has won a Michelin Green Star for sustainability at his restaurant Where The Light Gets In, in Stockport – foraged daily for ingredients from The Savills Garden’s edible plot, preparing food for Chelsea Pensioners.  

This garden felt like a masterclass in al fresco living, with an outdoor kitchen and dining area (complete with hearth); like an intimate walled garden in a luxury hotel, yet welcoming to all. This garden was an ideal marriage between ornamental and edible, and we certainly wanted a seat at the table.  

What will happen to it after the show: The sponsors, the estate agent Savills, will work with the Shaw Trust charity to relocate the garden to Nottinghamshire, where it will help teach cookery skills to young people in a residential setting. Additionally, Savills will work with existing charity partner Rethink Food, an organisation focused on educating schoolchildren on food security, to share learnings from the garden. 

Why it’s one of our favourite Chelsea Flower Show gardens: In an instant we were transported to a mountain-scape in central Africa, with landscaping that looked thousands of years old. 

About the garden: Our third and final waterfall – we’re sensing a theme here – was part of an ecotourist’s trek through the tropical forests of a central African mountain. The Silver medal-winning concept from Jilayne Rickards put the critical importance of protecting nature at the forefront of this design. A tourist kiosk, medicinal garden and true-to-life gorilla’s nest were neighbours for the week in this garden, showing how vital it is that people collaborate with each other and nature to achieve sustainability and conservation.  

What will happen to it after the show: The garden will be relocated to the biomes of The Eden Project in Cornwall.