Chelsea Flower Show 2024 Top Picks
The RHS Chelsea Flower Show made its return in 2024 for a festival of plants, flowers, trees, lawns, topiary and everything in between.
2024 sees a total of 16 gardens competing in the Show and Sanctuary Gardens categories, with each of them aiming for Best in Show or a Gold medal. There is Silver Gilt, Silver and Bronze medals as well but being honest most designers are only interested in Gold.
There are more beautiful gardens to see in the All About Plants and Balcony & Container Garden categories.
The Top Show Garden Picks for 2024
The National Garden Scheme Garden
Established designer Tom Stuart-Smith has used plants contributed by the National Garden Scheme’s members to create an “edge of woodland” theme for this garden.
The focal point is a timber shed which is very much a “dream shed”!
The garden has an ‘edge of woodland’ theme and appearance, laid out through an open hazel coppice with a collection of more drought tolerant woodland plants suited to the south east of the UK.
A native hedge encloses the garden providing a sense of refuge. The garden is to be relocated at Maggie’s Cancer Centre at Addenbrooke’s Hospital, in Cambridge.
The WaterAid Garden
There are a number of gardens at Chelsea in 2024’s show that aim to take a look into the future of gardening, this one sends visitors 50 years into the future.
Focusing on sustainable water management, designers Tom Massey and Je Ahn are showcasing an array of colourful, drought-tolerant plants.. A large natural pond filled with boulders lies at the entrance to the garden, crossed by bridges and pontoons to give a sense of exploration.
At the centre of the design is a rainwater-harvesting pavilion, inspired by WaterAid’s work with communities around the world to develop sustainable water solutions.
The structure harvests every drop of rainfall, filtering and storing this precious resource for drinking and irrigating while also slowing flow and providing shade.
The Octavia Hill Garden by Blue Diamond with the National Trust
This garden is inspired by that of Octavia Hill, a co-founder of the National Trust and a keen gardener, who believed in “the healthy gift of air and the joy of plants and flowers”.
It was also chosen as the RHS Children’s Choice Award winner which is lovely and the first time the award has been presented.
Conceptually located on an urban brownfield site, this beautiful, plant-filled urban community wildlife garden is designed to stimulate physical, mental, and social wellbeing. The garden increases urban-biodiversity and encourages visitors to feel they are part of nature by making intimate connections with plants and wildlife.
Muscular Dystrophy UK – Forest Bathing Garden
Inspired by the Japanese art of shinrin-yoku, or forest bathing, this garden aims to help visitors awaken their senses and reconnect with nature.
Designer Ula Maria has created a large flint wall, chosen for its texture and form, which is supposed to be reminiscent of muscle cells.
Given a Gold Medal and chosen as the “Best Show Garden” it has been one of the big talking points of the 2024 show. Fantastic that a young and talented designer has taken the plaudits and deservedly so!
There was some debate sparked when BBC presenters Monty Don and Joe Swift offered their opinion that the judges may have “lost that sense of delight that makes a garden” and that judging has become more of a box-ticking exercise.
Stroke Association's Garden for Recovery
Designed by stroke survivor Miria Harris, this garden is based on her own recovery and the stories of other stroke survivors. It is meant to be as peaceful and sensory as possible. Colour, fragrance and the sounds of tumbling water will help those with visual or mobility impairments find their way around the space.
I think it was unlucky to be awarded a Bronze Medal as I genuinely see this as a garden that connects with the visitor and provides elements that help tell the very personal story of recovering from a stroke.
Monty Don commented that the dark pool in the middle of the garden was something that really connected with his own experience of recovering from a stroke as it showed that space where memories were black and not in focus. I loved it, sorry judges!
