Virtual Chelsea

#MyChelseaGarden winners

Discover the glorious winning gardens from #MyChelseaGarden in 2021

Throughout RHS Virtual Chelsea week, we revealed the winning gardens from 2021’s #MyChelseaGarden competition in conjunction with The One Show.

The competition judges, The One Show presenter Alex Jones, writer and broadcaster Monty Don, RHS Head of Shows Judging James Alexander-Sinclair, author and small gardens expert Isabelle Palmer, and head of The One Show Rob Unsworth, had a tough time choosing five winners across the categories front, back, alternative and community gardens, along with a judges’ choice award. They whittled down the entries and a category winner a day was announced on The One Show throughout the week of RHS Virtual Chelsea.

Keep reading to learn more about the winning entries and the special green spaces that have brought respite, joy and so much more to those who have nurtured them.

Front garden winner – Marylyn Coosner, London

Marylyn lives in London near a very busy road but she managed to build a front garden using a planting bed and pots on three Yorkstone terraces descending to her bay window. The garden is designed to be viewed from three angles: the street, the side entrance and from the window and she says the plants absorb most of the noise.
 

Marylyn said that her front garden provided a haven for her to sit in and to talk to neighbours passing on the pavement. In July 2020, she suffered a stroke. Her friends helped water her garden while she recovered. She had a rail installed to enable her to better access her garden and she said it felt as if she had regained a part of her life.

She said that looking onto her garden in the morning lifts her spirits, especially during her recovery when she couldn’t go outside. “During the past year, I don’t know how I would’ve coped without it,” she said.

Back garden winner – Anna Dodd, Dartmoor

Anna first discovered the benefits of gardening following the death of her daughter aged 19 in 2014. She described her garden as “a place to escape with my thoughts, pain, confusion and grief, a place to talk openly and honestly with God”. Working as a midwife and vaccinator with the NHS, she said the pandemic has been intense but has found relief and relaxation in her garden.
 

Anna said that although the spring is a wonderful time for new growth, dormant bulbs bursting into life, colours, warm sun and hope, the other seasons hold their own treasures. “As blooms and leaves die back there is a sense of the necessity of autumn and winter in order for spring to hold its beauty and hope,” she added. 

Anna’s garden, on the edge of Dartmoor, is bordered by a stone wall and is steep in parts, but she said she experiments to find out what works.  

Community garden winner – Bastion Allotments, Fountain Estate, Londonderry

Jeanette Warke, who entered Bastion Allotments, said this garden has made a huge difference over the past year by allowing members of the community and young people to develop their gardening skills. 

“Owing to the lockdown over many months, people were isolated in their own homes and young people were denied the opportunity to go to school and meet with their friends. This had a major impact on their mental health. We found by using social distancing and respecting government restrictions the community allotments became a respite for everyone,” said Jeanette.
 

They distributed the vegetables and flowers to older people in the community and held an outdoor cookery demonstration using the produce they had grown in the allotments. Young people participated in willow workshops creating two large sculptures called Harry the Hare and Helen the Heron. 

“The allotments, in many ways which we did not envisage before the Covid pandemic, have proved to be a life saver for many people, allowing them to meet in the fresh air in a safe environment,” said Jeanette. The allotments has 14 raised beds and is situated in the shadow of the historic Derry Walls, with a polytunnel which encourages young people to plant seeds and watch them mature. 

Alternative garden winner – Amanda Adamson, Edinburgh

Using pots and every space available, Amanda has built this urban garden that is known far and wide in her community. She has cultivated it during the past nine years, but when the pandemic hit, she found it was even more important for her to maintain the garden as it brought joy and delight to neighbours and passers-by.

It started as just a few pots and some well-established plants and planters, displayed on the steps and deck, but has evolved into a garden that reflects the changing seasons, with a Monkey puzzle tree that makes an appearance from time to time. She describes her urban garden as “a visual, tactile and olfactory experience.”
 

Looking after the pots during lockdown gave her focus as she worked throughout the pandemic and served as a sanctuary for her in the evenings and weekends as she ensured the plants were potted in the right soil and watered every day during summer.

Amanda said when she opens the door in the morning or comes home in the evening and sees her garden, she feels a great sense of pride.
 

The Judges’ Choice winner – Jade Murray, London

Jade entered her garden into the alternative garden category, but the judges were so impressed with her efforts during the pandemic that they decided to award her Judges’ Choice.

During the first lockdown, with three autistic children at home, Jade felt that she needed to bring nature indoors. She started cultivating her indoor garden in her living room, creating a living wall with her potted plants and plants hanging in baskets. As the indoor garden grew, she found that it had a calming effect on her children.
 

“My 10-year-old son really enjoys looking up at the hanging plants, as if he were in a jungle. Our indoor garden has a soothing, sensory effect for my autistic children.”
 
Jade has about 50 plants and found that they really helped her during the past year to stay grounded. She suffers from anxiety and having her plants helps her cope. Whenever she feels anxious, just tending to her plants really helps to ease her anxiety. She enjoys pruning, misting, repotting and propagating them.  

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