Talent in full bloom at flower show display

A DESIGN showing how gardening helps people with disabilities and another linking music and the countryside were among the winners of top awards at this year’s Chelsea Flower Show in London.

Judges yesterday handed out dozens of medals – from a coveted gold through to bronze – including honours for a waterless “water” garden and one for a display representing a bowl of rhubarb crumble and custard.

The award for best show garden was given to the Daily Telegraph’s design by Andy Sturgeon, which combines plants from the Southern Cape, Mediterranean, California, Mexico and Chile.

The best courtyard garden entry went to The Two Moors Festival, which designer Christina Williams said reflected the landscapes of Dartmoor and Exmoor, the interior of the south west and the festival’s rural church concert venues.

The Unexpected Gardener, created by charity Thrive with designer Jo Thompson, won the best urban garden prize. The design, aiming to show how the charity helps people with disabilities through gardening, includes raised planter beds for ease of access, an outdoor fireplace, fountain, seating area and trees.

Medwyns of Anglesey scooped the President’s Award for their vegetable display in the Great Pavilion, while the Chelsea 2010 Plant of the Year Award went to Streptocarpus Harlequin Blue.

Other gold awards went to the Green & Black’s rainforest garden, made partly by Cameroonian indigenous women, and the Leeds City Council Hesco garden, which features a pair of giant seeping lock gates.

Australian exhibitor Fleming’s, who returned to the show after being forced to pull out last year because its Melbourne nurseries were hit by bushfires, won a gold for its Trailfinders garden featuring a pool, spa, wet bar and decking surrounded by jungle planting.

The Children’s Society won a gold medal for the third year running with a garden based on the findings of a wellbeing survey published by the organisation in January asking 7,000 young people what made them happy.

Friends, family and having choice over the lives and futures were the main factors that bought joy.

Designer Mark Gregory, who also designed the charity’s previous exhibits, said: “I am absolutely over the moon. It’s an incredible achievement for everybody involved. To come to the most prestigious flower show in the world and win gold three years in a row is an unbelievable feeling.”