London Square’s Chelsea Pensioners Garden was awarded a gold medal at the Chelsea Flower Show.
The garden was designed by rising star, Dave Green, who was presented with the top accolade by BBC presenter, Nicki Chapman, yesterday (20/5) morning.
The award comes after more than a year of planning to deliver the show garden, sponsored by real estate developer, London Square, pledging its support as the inaugural corporate patron for the important work and heritage of the Royal Hospital Chelsea, home to the Chelsea Pensioners. The Royal Hospital Chelsea provides the backdrop to the RHS Chelsea Flower Show, with the show taking place in the grounds of the Grade I and Grade II listed landmark. After the show, the garden will be relocated as a permanent feature within the grounds of the Royal Hospital Chelsea.
The Queen toured the garden yesterday, along with David Beckham, an ambassador for The King’s Foundation. The show garden was specially designed for the Chelsea Pensioners at this year’s RHS Chelsea Flower Show, with a bespoke oak world map table made by The King’s Foundation’s Snowdon School of Furniture in workshops at Highgrove as its centrepiece. Other royal visitors included the Duke of Edinburgh, Princess Beatrice, and Lord Snowdon.
The Queen was given a tour by designer Dave Green, who has worked closely with the Chelsea Pensioners to create a garden shaped by their stories and past experiences while aiming to reflect the 330-year-old heritage of the Royal Hospital as “a home for soldiers broken by age and war.”
The garden will be a private yet accessible space to be enjoyed by different generations, the Pensioners, their families, friends and non-resident veterans, fostering a spirit of participation and keeping active in later years.
The design focuses on the contrasting roles of the Pensioners – the ceremonial with their everyday lives. The Chelsea Pensioners helped develop the ‘linked hands’ layout of the circular entrance and exit path, which evokes an important gesture of new friendships and connectedness.
The planting in the garden includes trees and plants selected for climate resilience, with the path and the paving made from reclaimed stone and selected to reflect materials used in the historic setting of the Royal Hospital. Throughout the garden, low-carbon materials have been selected, with a cement-free build and products that are highly sustainable.
The woodland space comprises trees and a sheltered, accessible central space with seating and cushions made by prisoners’ rehabilitation charity, Fine Cell Work, from recycled ceremonial scarlet Pensioners’ uniforms.
The garden’s designer, Dave Green, said: “With several veteran relatives, I have first-hand experience of the sacrifice the armed forces personnel and their families make for the benefit of the country. It has been a privilege and a joy to be able to work with London Square, the staff at the Royal Hospital, the Chelsea Pensioners, The King’s Foundation and all the partners on creating a garden that is accessible, sustainable and with a social space to help improve the well-being of the Chelsea Pensioners and their visitors.”
David Richmond, chief executive officer of Royal Hospital Chelsea, said: “We are delighted that a garden that our residents, the Chelsea Pensioners have helped design, is on show at the Chelsea Flower Show, thanks to the support of London Square. Many of the Chelsea Pensioners have a passion for gardening and enjoy the beautiful green spaces across our site. The relocation of this garden will mean that it will continue to inspire and be enjoyed, for many years to come.”
London Square’s chief executive officer, Adam Lawrence, said: “We are thrilled that the garden has won a gold medal. We are really proud to have worked with Dave Green, the Royal Hospital Chelsea and the Chelsea Pensioners. We will be supporting the vital work of the Royal Hospital over the coming years. Throughout our developments, we believe that attractive, communal green spaces provide an important place for residents of all ages to come together. We are thrilled to work with the Chelsea Pensioners on a garden specially designed for them which will live on as a permanent feature.”
This is the third garden sponsored by London Square to win gold at RHS Chelsea Flower Show, with A Corner of a London Square, a gold medal-winning garden in 2014 by designer Jo Thompson and another gold medal-winning garden by designer James Smith in 2023 with the London Square Community Garden.
