People’s Choice Best Show Garden Award at RHS Hampton Court
The Way of St James
We are delighted to have been presented with the Best Participation Award at the International Flower Expo 2021 in Shanghai, for our rhododendron and azalea flower border entitled Elegance of Colour.
We are delighted to announce that our show garden, The Way of Saint James, has been awarded a silver medal, and the People’s Choice Best Show Garden at RHS Hampton Court Palace Garden Festival 2024.
The garden was designed for the Galicia Tourism Board (Axencia Turismo de Galicia) and the Spanish Institute of Tourism (Turespaña) and draws inspiration from the pilgrims’ journey to Santiago de Compostela where St James’ shrine can be found. We captured the essence of this spiritual journey through Galicia's ancient forests with boulders, trees and woodland planting to recreate the cool shade and ambiance of the route. You can read more about the design of the garden here.
Designer Nilufer Danis commented, “We design to evoke feelings and create an emotional connection with our audience, so it is particularly rewarding to overhear comments and conversations from show visitors as they experience the garden. Many mentioned the freshness and tranquillity in the space, how calm the garden made them feel, and the scented climbers that evoked happy memories of warm holidays.”
The garden also attracted admiration from fellow industry professionals. Horticulturists from RHS Wisley commented that they loved the layers and combinations of plants, subtle, muted colours and naturalistic setting. Positive comments from our professional designer peers about the layout and ambience in the space were also delightful to receive. Feedback like this means the world to us after all our hard work.
Construction was by Acacia Gardens, and the beautiful water feature and pond were installed by Riverdale Natural Water Features. Planting was a real team effort, and we’d like to say a special thank you to many garden designer friends for coming to help with this.
The garden has attracted much media coverage, including an interview with Nilufer on BBC London, and coverage in The English Garden, House Beautiful, and on Euronews. Visitors to the garden on press day included bushcraft authority Ray Mears, BBC journalist Frank Gardner, TV and Radio presenter Nicki Chapman, and comedian Milton Jones.
Following the show, the garden will begin a new life at a UK care home, Westgate Healthcare, where it will continue to provide a tranquil sanctuary for the residents to enjoy.
