RHS CHELSEA FLOWER SHOW gold medal winner 2013
RHS Chelsea Flower Show Gold Medal - The Hebridean Weavers' Garden
A significant milestone for Olive Tree Garden Design, and one I am enormously proud of.
Held every May in London by the Royal Horticultural Society, the RHS Chelsea Flower Show is the most prestigious horticultural and garden design event in the world. In 2013, I was honoured to receive a Gold Medal in the Artisan Garden category for The Hebridean Weavers' Garden, in association with the Motor Neurone Disease Association.
Set in the 1950s, the award-winning garden design centred around a traditional Scottish crofter's blackhouse, and featured heritage vegetables and period dye plants alongside authentic traditional landscaping.
Every element was researched and authentic, brought to life through collaboration with skilled tradesmen including Scottish dry stone wallers and thatchers, and specialist nurseries. Even the finer details were carefully sourced: a particular lichen sent down from a white witch in the Highlands, and a genuine dye pot unearthed from a grandfather's shed.
To fully experience the landscape and atmosphere first-hand, I travelled to the Hebrides, hearing stories of daily life from local communities and selecting the tweed directly from the Harris Tweed mills. The essence of that remarkable place is what I set out to capture, recognised with RHS Gold Medal success.
