RHS Chelsea Flower Show has kudos and as such, not only is it prestigious for designers, horticulturalists and retailers, it’s a bucket list must for keen gardeners and plant lovers. Inspiring and immersive is on the order book for visitors, but for the garden designers and developers, hearts and souls are thrown into show stopping projects, with all eyes on judging and that fabulous gold medal. However, much as the show will satisfy with its pure visual feast, over the years it has evolved to be so much more – there are key lifestyle messages to take home.

So where do we begin to understand the underlying purpose? Well a good place to start is with the RHS’s ambitious aim of ‘Bringing gardening to life – expert advice, inspiration, and innovation for all’. This year the Chelsea Flower Show celebrated the theme of ‘Your Space, Your Story’ highlighting how ‘we each express our own personal passions and perspectives through gardening’, beautifully illustrated by Monty Don with the ‘RHS and Radio 2 Dog Garden’ (below)

Personal expression was a hit with both the Judges and the public, with the Garden of the Year and People’s Choice Awards going to a visual feast – Kazuyuki Ishihara‘s ‘Cha No Niwa’ a Japanese Tea Garden.

However, it is clear that designers, growers, landscapers and product developers aim to demonstrate more than personal expression. Many of this year’s gardens had specific aims, whether it be to highlight environmental issues or the needs of people in difficulty.

Environment

Environmental messages abounded, from climate change to waste management to ensure resilient future-proofing. The gold medal winning Killik & Co ‘Save for a Rainy Day Garden’ designed by Baz Grainger demonstrated an innovative approach to saving water whilst at the same time planting for drought conditions. The Pathway Garden, awarded a silver gilt medal and designed by Allon Hoskin and Robert Beaudin features white blocks constructed from mycelium (the vegetative part of fungus) bound with waste material into a wall.

Philanthropy

Then there’s philanthropy in the form of Project Giving Back, supporting a variety of charitable causes by awarding grants to organisations to design and build gardens at Chelsea, particularly those affected by a decrease in income during the Covid 19 pandemic. Many show gardens were funded in this years show, including the The Hospitalfield Arts Garden designed by Nigel Dunnet and the Hospice UK: Garden of Compassion designed by Tom Hoblyn, both of which are to be relocated to permanent homes. Both gardens were awarded a silver gilt medal.

Relocation

The RHS Chelsea Flower Show emphasises sustainability through waste management by requiring plans for the relocation of all show gardens. This requirement has led to numerous communities benefitting from gardens over the years with 2025 being no exception.

The ‘Room to Breathe Hospital Garden’ a gold medal winner designed by Jen Donnelly and Catherine Gibbon is a delightful courtyard garden, described ‘as a restorative retreat for parents and caregivers of patients in hospital’. The garden is to be relocated to Amersham Hospital in Buckinghamshire. 

The thought provoking ‘Tackle HIV Challenging Stigma Garden’ designed by Manoj Malde was awarded a  silver-gilt medal. Striking colour combinations abounded, along with symbolic elements such as the hexagonal paving signifying a key chemical structure found within many HIV medications. Positivity is used in phrases around the garden, including “Undetectable = Untransmittable” on the bench above. The garden will be relocated to Calthorpe Community Gardens, Kings Cross, London. 

Inspired by the founder of the Red Cross movement, Henri Dunant, the gold medal winning ‘Here for Humanity’ Garden designed by John Warland and Tom Bannister features a modern interpretation of a Swiss alpine garden, utilising stone columnar planters. The garden is to be relocated to NHS Maudsley Hospital, South London. 

The gold medal winning Avanade Intelligent Garden designed by Tom Massey and Je Ahn is an urban tree garden, demonstrating how urban trees are ‘essential allies in combating climate change ‘in that they filter air pollution, cool the air and support wildlife. The garden is to be relocated to a public urban space.

The silver medal awarded Children with Cancer UK ‘ A Place To Be…..””designed by Tom Clarke and Ros Coutts-Harwood provides sanctuary for children recovering from cancer, away from the medicalised world of treatment. Its design brief to be a happy and carefree place has been achieved and in its future location at Raines Retreat, North Yorkshire, it’s sure to bring pleasure to many children. 

The Wildlife Trusts’ British Rainforest Garden designed by Zoe Claymore was awarded a silver-gilt medal and the People’s Choice Best All About Plants Garden. Inspiration comes from the 100-year mission of The Wildlife Trusts and Aviva to bring rainforests back to the British Isles, and the garden demonstrates the habitat that covered the country that is now so rare that it only covers about 1% of the land. The garden is to be relocated to Bristol Zoo.

So any messages – yes of course and not only about gardens and gardening and their value to our personal stories but hopefully influential in environmental care and conservation. As in the words of Frances Hodgson Burnett “If you look the right way, you can see that the whole world is a garden.” [The Secret Garden]. Roll on next year!