Chelsea gold is 29th for garden champions

News imageBurncoose Nurseries A rusty metal gate sits at the centre of a dense, carefully styled garden display, surrounded by layers of rich greenery and bright bursts of colour.
Burncoose Nurseries
Burncoose Nurseries' winning display

A nursery has scooped top honours at one of the UK's biggest flower shows, and its message is all about neighbours looking out for each other.

Burncoose Nurseries, based in Cornwall, has won a gold medal at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2026 for its display Over the Garden Hedge. The win marks the team's 29th gold at Chelsea in their 42nd year at the event.

The garden, designed by Louisa Lazarowicz and Eve Swanson, takes inspiration from a traditional Cornish hedge, with on one side, a lush, rainforest-style setting. On the other, drought-friendly coastal planting.

Owner Charles Williams said the team had "worked tirelessly, and this is hard earned and well deserved".

News imageA tight cluster of bright, delicate flowers fills the frame, with soft white, deep red and lilac-purple petals surrounding dark, textured centres.
The gold medal winning display from Little Cornish Glasshouse

Williams said: "We wanted to demonstrate gardens are a wonderful place to create microclimates and spaces that support diversity, both from an ecological and sociological perspective; think of the hedge, not as a barrier, but as a point of connection."

Burncoose teamed up with Guernsey charity Grow, which supports adults with learning disabilities to gain skills and confidence through hands-on work.

Stella Exley, from Hare Spring Cottage Plants near Kingsbridge, won a gold medal for her garden featuring a bank of Devon wildflowers, a knitted cream tea and her own Morris Minor, called Rose.

News imageStella Exley wearing a green jacket and a green and white long skirt stands in front of a Morris Minor with plants surrounding it at the Chelsea Flower Show.
Stella Exley's garden design includes her own Morris Minor

Other winners from the South West and Channel Islands include gold medals for:

  • Raymond Evison Clematis in Guernsey
  • Surreal Succulents in Cornwall
  • Eric Young Orchid Foundation in Jersey
  • Kelnan Plants in Cornwall
  • Little Cornish Glasshouse

Silver gilts were given to:

  • Gardeners Delight Nursery in Barnstaple
  • Kernock Park Plants in Cornwall
  • Eden Project garden
  • Strete Gate Camellias in Devon
News imageBright pink flowers with yellow centres fill a large black planter in the foreground, creating a bold, eye-catching splash of colour.
The display from Kernock Park Plants in Cornwall

Follow BBC Cornwall on X, Facebook and Instagram. Follow BBC Devon on X, Facebook and Instagram. Send your story ideas to spotlight@bbc.co.uk.