All of the medal winners at this year’s RHS Chelsea Flower Show have been announced. This year’s Chelsea Flower Show had everything: from a garden designed by children, for children, a garden that provided a calming, sensory atmosphere to support stroke recovery, and even one inspired by the Netflix show Bridgerton. Discover the Gardeners’ World Magazine team’s show highlights of RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2024.
But which gardens and designers were awarded with a prestigious gold medal?
Who won best in show at RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2024
Muscular Dystrophy UK – Forest Bathing Garden
Designed by: Ula Maria
This tranquil garden was inspired by the atmosphere of a birch grove. It incorporates more than 50 trees, underplanted with shade-loving plants, such as epimediums, hardy geraniums, wild strawberries and foxgloves. The garden includes sculptural benches and seating, made from blackened ash wood, from trees that died as a result of ash dieback. Ula also incorporated many reclaimed materials, to make the garden more sustainable, including clay pavers that are over 100 years old.
Ula Maria shared her top tips for gardeners looking to make their own garden more sustainable: “Choose the right plants to suit your growing conditions, so that the plants will be happy in the environment. And look in salvage yards and reclamation yards for reclaimed materials, rather than always buying new. And choose timber that has naturally come to the end of its life.”
Gold medal winners at Chelsea 2024
Show Gardens – Gold medal winners
- Muscular Dystrophy UK – Forest Bathing Garden, designed by Ula Maria
- The National Garden Scheme Garden, designed by Tom Stuart-Smith
- St James’s Piccadilly: Imagine the World to be Different, designed by Robert Myers
- WaterAid Garden, designed by Tom Massey and Je Ahn
Tom Massey shared his top tips for creating a water-wise garden:
“Firstly, include plenty of tough drought tolerant plants, such as erigeron, that can cope without being watered. Look for ways to harvest rainwater in your garden – this could be as simple as a water butt connected to your downpipes. But the more ways you can collect water the better. And finally, choose water-permeable surfaces for your hard landscaping. I’ve used metal grills for the pathways in my garden, and small pavers that will allow water to drain through the cracks, which have been filled with gritty sand and plants.”
Sanctuary Gardens – Gold medal winners
- Burma Skincare Initiative Spirit of Partnership Garden, designed by Helen Olney
- World Child Cancer’s Nurturing Garden, designed by Giulio Giorgi
Balcony Gardens – Gold medal winners
- The Addleshaw Goddard Junglette Garden, designed by Mike McMahon and Jewlsy Mathews
Container Gardens – Gold medal winners
- The Ecotherapy Garden, designed by Tom Bannister
- mgr Changing Tides Garden, designed by Lucy Mitchell
- Sanctum, designed by Sonja Kalkschmidt
All About Plants – Gold medal winners
- Bowel Research UK Microbiome Garden, designed by Chris Hull and Sid Hill
- The Size of Wales Garden, designed by Dan Bristow
- Sue Ryder Grief Kind Garden, designed by Katherine Holland
Find out more about the judging process, as we speak to show judge James Alexander-Sinclair about how medals are awarded at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show, in the BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine podcast.
