The Chelsea Flower Show has introduced a green medal for sustainability and will this year reward gardens with the lowest carbon footprint.
For the first time, the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) will award a green medal for sustainability alongside the usual gold, silver gilt, silver and bronze medals.
Like the bronze model, the green prize will not be physical and will be announced along with the rest of the prizes.
This is the first time the prestigious garden show has commissioned a carbon audit of planned gardens.
All the gardens of the Spectacle and Sanctuary categories that have passed through carbon audit are eligible for the green award.
Visitors view roses at the David Austin stand at the Chelsea Flower Show on May 24, 2023 in London, England.
In fact, all gardens in the Spectacle and Sanctuary categories this year have been audited in a bid to reduce their carbon footprint and environmental impact.
The design changes implemented as a result of the gardens going through the new audit process had a significant impact on reducing carbon emissions in the two categories by 28 per cent.
Nicholsons, the company commissioned by the RHS to carry out the audit alongside RHS sustainability director Malcolm Anderson, reviewed the garden’s design and construction plans in terms of a wide range of sustainability criteria.
They then worked with designers and contractors to make feasible changes to their plans to reduce the gardens’ environmental footprint.
Malcolm Anderson, Director of Sustainability at RHS, said: ‘As the UK’s leading gardening charity, we have been making positive changes across the organization and at our shows to make our practices more sustainable.
Special guests King Charles, who was made patron of the Royal Horticultural Society on Saturday, and Queen Camilla will make an appearance at The Chelsea Flower Show on Monday.
‘This is just one example of the progress we are making this year as we continue to make changes to reduce our environmental impact.
‘Last year we added sustainability criteria to the selection phase to ensure, wherever possible, that designers have thought about the environmental impact of their gardens at the design phase.
“The introduction of the audit this year helps us go a step further, allowing us to better understand the carbon footprint of gardens at the show and challenge designers and landscapers to consider ways they could reduce their impact even further.” .
Gardeners achieved the greatest reduction in carbon emissions by adjusting the building materials they used, as well as construction methods.
For example, Matthew Childs, who is designing the Terrence Higgins Trust Bridge to 2030 Garden, greatly reduced his carbon emissions by removing the block walls in his original design and replacing them with reclaimed wood.
Special guests King Charles, who was named patron of the Royal Horticultural Society on Saturday, and Queen Camilla will make an appearance alongside the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester in the grounds of the Royal Hospital Chelsea in London.
The royal family will be welcomed by the President of the Royal Horticultural Society, Keith Weed, before touring the gardens and taking in the stunning floral displays.
The King’s attendance is another positive step for the monarch, who has gradually returned to his public duties amid his cancer treatment.