Green medal to be awarded at Chelsea flower show
A green medal for sustainability is to be introduced at this month’s Chelsea flower show, rewarding gardens with the lowest carbon impact.
Nature-friendly gardening is becoming more important and could provide a boost to biodiversity if everyone were to tend their flower beds in a more sustainable way.
To promote this, the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) is adding to its gold, silver-gilt, silver and bronze medals a green award for the Chelsea show.
Chelsea has also introduced a carbon audit of its show gardens in an effort to reduce emissions. Design changes implemented as a result of the gardens going through the audit process are estimated to have reduced the carbon impact of the installations by 28%. All designers who have gone through the carbon audit are eligible for consideration for the green award.
The audit found that the most carbon-intensive part of creating a show garden is the building materials, so many horticulturists have redesigned their projects to remove materials such as concrete, and are also using recycled objects.
Naomi Slade and Ed Barsley designed the Flood Resilient Garden, and are using reclaimed wood for their decking, as well as reclaimed rocks and pebbles for pathways, while the Freedom from Torture Garden by John Warland and Emma O’Connell is making most of its structures from willow. In the Stroke Association’s Garden for Recovery, by Miria Harris, the walls will be built with hempcrete blocks using lime instead of cement.
Sarah Poll, the head of shows development at the RHS, said: “We have introduced this award in order to recognise and celebrate the fantastic ways designers and contractors are embracing the need to reduce their impact on the environment.”
The RHS’s annual flower show will be held in the grounds of the Royal Hospital Chelsea from 21 to 25 May.