Accessible garden wins top prize at Chelsea Flower Show

A wheelchair accessible garden for people with spinal injuries has won best in show at this year’s Chelsea Flower Show.

The winning garden – Horatio’s Garden, was designed to be a sanctuary for those that may otherwise find gardens inaccessible and to help people with spinal injuries heal. The layout is designed to be immersive, calming and restorative, with plants arranged in a way that will provide a respite from hospitals. Plants in the garden include irises and hydrangeas.

Created by the Horatio’s Garden charity, the garden is one of several projects that have taken place at NHS spinal injury centres across the UK. This year, there were several gardens with a recovery theme showing at Chelsea. Also winning Gold was Myeloma UK’s garden, which aims to raise money and awareness for incurable but treatable blood cancer.

Speaking about receiving the top prize, Horatio’s Garden designers, Charlotte Harris and Hugo Bugg, told reporters: “It’s unbelievable and still sinking in. It’s a really special garden for us because of the nature of the charity.

“Horatio’s is a charity about gardens and how they help on journeys of healing and so it feels absolutely right that it should win best in show. We are delighted for the charity and we hope it helps to raise the profile of the incredible work they do and are delighted it will live on to form the heart of Horatio’s Garden Sheffield after the show.”

Marie-Louise Agius, the Royal Horticultural Society Chair of Show Garden Judges, said: “The standard of show gardens this year was extremely high. What particularly stood out about Horatio\s Garden was how the design had been driven by the end user, to be experienced by spinal injury patients from a bed or wheelchair. The garden is uplifting, beautiful and considered and for someone who has a life altering injury, it will provide them with a wonderful sanctuary. The brief and the garden was delivered at an exceptional level.”

Once Chelsea Flower show ends on 27^th May,  Horatio’s Garden will be relocated for patients at the Princess Royal Spinal Injuries Centre in Sheffield.