You may also like:<\/strong><\/p> Since 2023<\/a>, the RHS has made it a condition of all show garden applications<\/a> that each garden will have a future life, either rebuilt in its entirety or repurposed, with all of the elements being reused. For the RHS, explains head of shows development Sarah Poll, the new rule is \u201cmostly driven environmentally. We don\u2019t mind if it goes to different places, as long as it\u2019s not going to landfill\u201d. For Project Giving Back, says CEO Hattie Ghaui, \u201crelocation extends the benefit for the charity sponsor of being at Chelsea for five days. From a pragmatic investment point of view, it\u2019s about making the money we\u2019re investing go further\u201d.<\/p> Challenging moves<\/strong><\/p> Designers who already have experience of relocating their show gardens know that it can be both costly and challenging. Hugo Bugg,<\/a> whose first Chelsea garden for the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) in 2014 was relocated to Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens, says having a sponsor that is financially committed to relocating makes a big difference. \u201cRBC were fantastic as relocation was part of their brief from the start,\u201d he says. \u201cThey had a specific team responsible for finding the site, which had to be a community or charity site that would be ready to receive the garden straight away. The cost of transporting The challenge for the designer, he says, is to \u201cbuild a magical masterpiece at Chelsea that can be moved and live a really long, healthy life afterwards\u201d. This means detailing the garden so that it can be easily dismantled and moved, but the structures must also be robust enough to last for many years, not just two weeks. <\/p> Hugo points out that single-use materials such as poured concrete, which would get damaged on breakdown, should be avoided. The cement-free terrazzo paths in Harris Bugg Studio\u2019s 2023 show<\/a> garden were constructed from 2m x 1.5m slabs that were lifted and transported after the show for use in the Sheffield Horatio\u2019s Garden. Designers also need to find more weatherproof alternatives to materials such as plywood, chipboard and untreated mild steel.<\/p> Climbing costs<\/strong><\/p> The cost of relocation varies according to the complexity of the show garden, as well as transport, storage and the time taken to reinstall it. Designer Darryl Moore <\/a>reckons the relocation cost can be up to 50 per cent of the cost of the show garden. \u201cAt the relocation site it might take more time to build it, and some of the work may need to be done more thoroughly to enable it to last permanently.\u201d<\/p> Gardens at Chelsea Flower Show<\/strong><\/p> PGB is monitoring the relocation costs of all its gardens and in 2023 it allocated between 10 and 20 per cent of the total sponsorship amount for relocation. \u201cIf it\u2019s a simple relocation, the amount we ring-fence can be enough,\u201d says Hattie Ghaui. \u201cWhere it gets more complex, the designer\/sponsor team have to think of ways to get in additional financial support if needed.\u201d<\/p> Keeping time <\/strong><\/p> Chris Beardshaw<\/a>\u2019s 2016 garden for Morgan Stanley was a great example of designing for the real world and for the show. \u201cOur focus was to produce a design for a woodland space for Great Ormond Street Hospital [GOSH] rooftop. We only had to subtly manipulate the design for Chelsea \u2013 the position of the trees within the show garden was entirely governed by the supporting posts and pillars of the GOSH roof that would hold the weight of the trees. In terms of plants, we had a separate palette being grown in parallel to the Chelsea plants, to extend the season of interest at GOSH.\u201d Chris describes the process as a logistical dance made more complex by the fact that all the construction materials had to be craned over the hospital buildings, and the only way in for the team and their hand tools was through a series of underground passageways. <\/p> The relocation of Cityscapes\u2019 2022<\/strong><\/p> St Mungo\u2019s Putting Down Roots<\/a> Garden started straight after the show, with all the plants and materials being stored at the site of its new home, by Southwark Crown Court in London. In the past, it was typical for relocated gardens to be broken up and stored in various facilities for a period of time before being reinstalled at their final site. But sending them to storage, says co-designer Darryl Moore, entails double transport and environmental costs. The rebuild should have taken a month or two, but ended up taking five, as judges in the nearby court would only allow a one-hour window each day to do noisy work \u2013 an unexpected restriction. <\/p> The RHS does not put a time limit on relocations \u2013 Phillip Johnson\u2019s 2013 Australian Garden for Trailfinders found a new home in Dandenong Ranges Botanic Garden, Victoria, ten years after his Best in Show win \u2013 but PGB-sponsored gardens are encouraged to complete within two years. The sponsors are flexible with gardens that are part of bigger development projects, however, such as the Harris Bugg Studio\u2019s Best in Show 2023 <\/a>garden for Horatio\u2019s Garden. \u201cWe knew the Sheffield site wouldn\u2019t be ready straight away,\u201d says Hugo Bugg, \u201cso we had a huge plant sale after the show, while the trees and structures went to a holding nursery in Cheshire. The sale allowed us to buy twice as many 9cm plants than we had in 2-litre and 5-litres sizes at Chelsea.\u201d<\/p> The afterlife<\/strong><\/p> If a sponsor has nowhere to receive a complete garden, the best sustainable alternative is to redistribute the elements. London-based design collective Wayward has supplied more than 500 schools and community spaces with Chelsea plants, and there are nurseries and landscape companies with space to store hard landscaping materials for reuse in future shows.<\/p> Taina Suonio<\/a>\u2019s 2022 Connected sanctuary garden for Exante was relocated in six weeks to University College London Hospital, where its tree-trunk shelter provides a seating area for patients and hospital staff. For designers like her, seeing their garden given a permanent home in a community space is \u201cthe best thing about making a Chelsea garden\u201d. For Andy Sturgeon<\/a>, the way his reinterpretation of his 2022 garden for MIND has been taken on by the workers and volunteers at the MIND centre in Barrow-in-Furness is a particular joy. \u201cWhat is brilliant about it is the way they have involved so many community groups to use it and maintain it. 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