Mother Earth carved from a fallen tree, a dry-stone arch and plants sourced from fly-tipped garden waste: The story of the RHS Chelsea Garden of the Year
The Campaign to Protect Rural England Garden: ‘On the Edge’, designed by Sarah Eberle, has been named RHS Garden of the Year at the 2026 Chelsea Flower Show.
Eberle had actually retired from creating show gardens for the annual celebration of gardening in the grounds of the Royal Hospital Chelsea, but was persuaded to come back by the CPRE.
She'll be glad that she did, as will all those who've seen her work: the garden is nothing short of breathtaking, and she now has 14 show garden gold medals and four best-in-show awards to her name — more than any other gardener in the 113-year history of the Chelsea Flower Show.
Chris Bailes of the judging panel praised the garden's 'elements of myth and remarkable theatre. The planting speaks to an exceptionally rare sense of atmosphere, created through a clear connection to the urban and the countryside. Unexpected beauty is found in the concrete drain repurposed from an agricultural accessory into a mesmerising water feature using common duckweed. The garden achieves a beautiful, natural planting style that is difficult to accomplish, bringing wildness into a garden space with elegance and light touch.'
It's not just the huge scale of the carving, but also the detail — particularly around the willow sculptures that are both around and part of the piece: 'The very twiggy hair bit is I think one of those "dead hedges", a habitat for rodents and other woodland creatures,' points out Kathryn Bradley-Hole.
Garden photographer Clive Nichols points out how the flow into each other, with the willow carving become one with the walls: Mother Earth's 'hair' flows to the dry-stone arch that snakes through the garden, while her hand hand touches water from a shallow pool.
The stone arch, like Sleeping Beauty's greenery-clad castle, at the heart of the CPRE garden at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2026.
The garden has hidden stories, too: the plants have been sourced from fly-tipped garden waste, showing that many of the natural flowers we often dismiss as weeds are actually 'rich, diverse and textural', and 'vital to our ecosystems'. The garden as a whole 'symbolises hope and resilience on our doorstep, and that with with the right care, these fragile places can recover and thrive for future generations.'
'I am thrilled to bits to receive Garden of the Year,' says Eberle.
'The difference between a good garden and a great garden is how it makes you feel and I'm often told by the next generation of gardeners that I have inspired them, which, if nothing else, is the greatest gift of all. This garden's mission is very personal to me. I am a country girl through and through so I embody the same message and beliefs that the Campaign to Protect Rural England and this garden holds.'
Among the smaller gardens the overall winner was A Little Garden of Shared Knowledge Sponsored by Viking, designed by Katerina Kantalis.
Again, it's a garden whose details add layers of richness. It's designed as a sanctuary for an imagined retired couple, who have downsized to a small home in London, but who still want a space to share their lives, their stories and their dreams with each other and their families.
In the Small Show Gardens category, the overall winner was another space designed to fit into a London home. The Addleshaw Goddard: Flourish in the City garden, created by husband and wife duo Joe and Laura Carey, offers 'sanctuary, freedom and community amid the urban rush'.
It's another of the gardens that was picked out by Kathryn and Clive for special praise on the Country Life Podcast, with both naming it the garden they'd most like to have at their own home.
Marie-Louise Agius, chair of the RHS's judging panel, called the garden, 'a subtle, dignified and elegant design,' and 'a masterpiece in the importance of pocket planting for green spaces in cities.'
The Country Life ‘Garden Lover’s Library’, designed by George Saumarez Smith of Adam Architecture, is at stand PW215 at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show, May 18–23.
The first 200 subscribers at Chelsea will receive a bottle of The Grange Classic Sparkling NV, worth £39. Rated 94 points by Decanter magazine, this premium sparkling wine from Hampshire was described in Country Life as ‘the connoisseur’s choice’. Offer available with subscriptions for UK delivery only.
