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Chinese students question garden

Best of the bunch

Horticultural oscars

10am

The Bradstone Garden, designed by Sarah Eberle, has won Best in Show at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show.

"It's like winning an Olympic gold medal," says Sarah. "I'm overwhelmed - really, really happy."

The garden is a recreation of what it might be like if astronauts lived on Mars - complete with crops you could grow in space. An extraordinary planting scheme includes cactuses, ancient cycads and giant gnarled fig trees.

The judges chose the uncompromising style of Bradstones over several more traditional gardens, including the Fortnum and Mason Garden and Jinny Blom's Laurent-Perrier Garden. Both were among the seven show gardens awarded gold medals.

Five gold medals were awarded to small gardens, most of them going to the City Gardens category where three of the six show gardens won gold. Harpak Designs, hailing from Russia and at Chelsea for the first time, took best in category for their recreation of a Moscow city garden.

In the Courtyard Gardens, Adam Woolcott - winner of the People’s Award for his small garden last year - won a gold medal and Best in Category for his nostalgic vegetable garden, The Old Gate. Best in Category for the Chic Gardens section went to Kate Gould for her urban basement garden lined with Perspex; while the best Roof Garden was Patio Povera, designed by Anthony Samuelson, who at the age of 77 is at Chelsea for the first time.

8am

The waiting is finally over. The judges have made their decisions, for better or for worse: and this morning the designers and exhibitors at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show finally find out which medal they’ve won.

"If anybody tells you they're not here to get a gold they're lying," says Linda Bush, designer of the Hasmead Sand and Ice show garden. "I don't think we’re going to get a gold - but I'm hoping to get a medal.“

Award cards, either for bronze, silver, silver-gilt or the coveted gold medal, are handed to exhibitors in the Great Pavilion last thing on Monday night. The show gardens receive theirs first thing on Tuesday morning, before the show opens, and it's always an emotional occasion as those who have worked so hard for so long finally discover how well they've done.

The judges will also announce which garden they consider Best in Show, as well as category winners for each of the small gardens categories - Chic, City, Courtyard and Roof Garden. There's also a President's Medal for the exhibit RHS President Peter Buckley chooses as his favourite.