The news from the showground: all the people, plants and gardens that made the headlines during Chelsea week. |  |
The show's over - Saturday 27
The 84th RHS Chelsea Flower Show is at an end after six days. Nearly 160,000 people have passed through the gates of the Royal Hospital in South-West London to see some of the country's greatest garden designers, nurseries and growers at their very best.
It's been one of the wettest RHS Chelsea Flower Shows in recent years, and the weather has been the talking point of the show. The sun came out for just one afternoon: for the rest of the time, the bad weather included torrential rain, thunderstorms, hail and gale-force winds. "It's blown at us, it's rained at us, it's done everything to beat our spirits," says Bob Sweet, RHS Show Organiser.
"But British gardeners are the greatest folk on earth. They’ve come into the show in the cold, the wet and the windy weather, and they still haven't been put off. I will say one thing though - our ice cream sales have hit rock bottom!"
The standard of the show gardens has been particularly high this year. Tom Stuart-Smith won best in show with his densely-planted, romantic Daily Telegraph Garden with a colour scheme of purple, cerise and grey, which has appeared in several of the gardens. Chris Beardshaw won the BBC RHS People's Award for best show garden with his classical design based on Boveridge House in Dorset. In all, seven of the 19 show gardens and five of the small gardens won gold medals, and 44 of more than 100 exhibitors in the Great Pavilion won gold medals. The People's Award - Saturday 27
The Wormcast Garden, designed by Chris Beardshaw, has won the BBC RHS People’s Award for best show garden. Alan Titchmarsh presented the trophy before a crowd of rain-soaked visitors to today’s show, just before ringing the bell to start the traditional plant sell-off. Chris paid tribute to the two other gardens in the final, the Jurassic Coast Garden and the 4Head Garden of Dreams, saying they were "gardens for gardeners".
"The RHS gold medal is great because it's judged by the professionals. But the People's Award is fantastic because it’s judged by the gardeners," he said.
The Wormcast Garden is a classical, traditional design based on Boveridge House in Dorset, created by the legendary Gertrude Jekyll in the 1920s. The original garden is currently being restored and will house a horticultural training centre for children and young adults with learning difficulties.
Earlier today, the People's Award for best small garden was awarded to Sanctuary, a courtyard garden designed by Adam Woolcott and Jonathan Smith.
"I'm going to be grinning like a Cheshire cat for the next two weeks," said a delighted Adam Woolcott, who's a first-timer at Chelsea. 'First we got invited to go to Chelsea at the last minute, in February; then we won a gold medal straight off - and now this." | 
