Gaia Sleeps Amid Sarah Eberle's Award-Winning Garden at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show

"Nestled amid plants native to the U.K., a giant figure of Gaia, or Mother Nature, sleeps in a verdant garden. With willow-branch locks shaped by artist Tom Hare and a crown of leaves, the figure's face and shoulders are made from a fallen mature tree carved by Tim Wood. A winding pathway leads beneath an arch that extends the character's torso, created in the tradition of dry stone walls and meticulously assembled by the family-run outfit Noble Stonework."

"For this year's exhibit, Eberle emphasized " edgelands, " or spaces between rural and urbanized areas like the borders of fields or even residential gardens. Think roadside berms or the seemingly unruly growth beside a canal. Often, these spots just look like a lot of weeds. Eberle sees not only the beauty, but the value, in these overlooked areas."

""These spaces connect millions of people to nature in everyday life, yet they're undervalued and under constant pressure," CPRE says in a statement. "This garden is an invitation to see them differently: not as 'leftover' land, but as living places that can recover and thrive with the right care.""

"The garden's design encourages people to consider using natural materials, cultivating local plants to help pollinators, and embracing "flaws" like old stumps or rocky areas that can be havens for wildlife. Eberle's choice of plants has a slightly wild aesthetic, with vines taking over the stone arch-redolent of the U.K.'s historic stone bridges-and a graceful yet somehow satisfyingly chaotic arrangement of plants we might associate with untamed overgrowth."

A giant Gaia figure made from willow branches and a carved fallen mature tree sleeps in a verdant garden built with a dry-stone-wall tradition. A winding pathway leads beneath an arch that extends the character’s torso, assembled by a family-run stonework team. The garden, titled “On the Edge,” won Garden of the Year at RHS Chelsea Flower Show. The project is a collaboration between a designer and CPRE, focusing on “edgelands,” the overlooked spaces between rural and urban areas. The planting uses a slightly wild aesthetic with vines and intentionally chaotic arrangements. The design encourages natural materials, local plants for pollinators, and acceptance of “flaws” such as stumps and rocky areas as wildlife havens.

Read at Colossal