The Savills Garden, designed by ‘King of Chelsea’ Mark Gregory of Landform Consultants, has been awarded Silver Gilt at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2023.

The ‘plot to plate’ Savills Garden showcases sustainable design and growing solutions that speak to the firm’s commitment to promoting sustainable development.

Gregory, as RHS Landscape Ambassador, has placed environmental considerations at the heart of his design. Set within the grounds of an imagined country hotel, the Savills Garden reveals an intimate walled seasonal potager with an ‘edimental’ planting theme – combining ornamental and edible plants – along with the show’s first ever working outdoor kitchen.

Richard Rees, MD at Savills, commented: “We’d like to thank Mark and his team for their unwavering commitment, passion and enthusiasm. The garden has many learnings for us all around sustainable design and food security, and brilliantly showcases the versatility that nature can offer in our lived environment. It also underscores Savills’ commitment to promoting sustainable development through a collaborative approach.”

Gregory said of his award: “Who said an old dog can’t learn new tricks? I’ve spent almost three and a half years of my life at this show ground, but the learning curve for this garden has been off the charts. From the very beginning, we made a commitment to do things differently; to push boundaries, to innovate, to strive to create a beautiful, elegant garden, as sustainably as possible.

“We imposed certain restrictions upon ourselves – no plastic, no cement or concrete, zero waste to landfill, salvage or recycle materials, source locally, reduce haulage – and it is this pledge that led us to work with so many pioneering, passionate people. Together we’ve all had one goal, to make magic happen, and I think we did it.”

Another first for Chelsea, saw Green Michelin starred chef Sam Buckley from WTLGI (Where The Light Gets In, Stockport) adopt a Chef in Residence role on the garden on Monday 22 May.

Throughout the show, he forages daily for ingredients from the surrounding living larder, preparing delicious three course lunches for eight Chelsea Penisoners to enjoy in the adjoining dining area, cementing the relationship between grower, guests and chef.

Following the show, in keeping with that commitment, Savills will work with the national charity Shaw Trust to relocate the garden to a children’s home in Nottinghamshire. Additionally, Savills will work with existing charity partner Rethink Food, an organisation focused on educating school children on food security, to share learnings from the garden. A variety of produce from the garden will also be relocated to the Chelsea Pensioner’s allotment.