The RHS Chelsea Flower Show is the most prestigious flower show in the world. As the highlight of the horticultural calendar, RHS Chelsea is the place to see cutting-edge garden design, breathtaking floral displays and innovative garden products, with some 168,000 visitors attending the show each year. 

This year Maltese-based company Exante won the Silver Gilt award for its project ‘Connected, by Exante’ a green garden with a unique connection to British culture and the Queen's Jubilee. Connected by Exante is a garden made entirely of green and recycled materials to encourage biodiversity and improve mental and physical health. Designed by Finnish horticulturist Taina Suonio, the garden’s main feature is a three-metre oak tree stump. After the RHS Chelsea Flower Show, the garden was donated to University College London Hospital’s cancer ward to aid patients in their recovery. 

“This award is special because it helps to raise awareness of, and support for, maintaining our green areas and protecting the environment in which we live so to improve the mental health of those who inhabit it,” said Patrick O Brien, Exante’s communication director. “Safeguarding our green spaces and creating new ones should be of the utmost importance to us all and being innovative with the materials and resources at our disposal, rather than the unfettered choice we’ve become used to.”

After two years of disruption the Chelsea Flower Show returned to its traditional May slot, with the Queen dropping in as guest of honour ahead of its opening to the public. The 96-year-old monarch arrived in a buggy to tour the Royal Horticultural Society’s showpiece event.

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