All images: RHS / Neil Hepworth
Those lucky enough to visit this year’s RHS Chelsea Flower Show in London discovered the award-winning Garden of the Year by Sarah Eberle. The enchanting display, titled On the Edge, featured a giant figure of Gaia, or Mother Nature, sleeping among the tall grass and wildflowers. The stunning sculpture was a collaborative effort, created by artists Tom Hare and Tim Wood.
Hare crafted the figure’s flowing hair from more than 600 willow branches, while Wood carved the face, leafy crown, and tattooed shoulders from a fallen mature tree. At the torso, a winding path passes through an archway built in the tradition of dry stone walls by the sibling-run team at Noble Stonework, merging the tranquil figure with the lush landscape.
Eberle is one of only three women to have won best in show at Chelsea as solo designers in its 100-year history. Her remarkable garden was designed for the Campaign to Protect Rural England and represents the often overlooked countryside at the edge of towns and cities in the UK. Eberle revealed, “This garden’s mission is very personal to me. I am a country girl through and through so I embody the same message and beliefs that the Campaign to Protect Rural England and this garden holds.”
The award-winning garden invites people to see “edgelands” as thriving environments worth caring for. Eberle embraced a deliberately wild aesthetic, with climbing vines and layered greenery creating a lush, untamed atmosphere. The design also highlights the value of native plants that support pollinators and overlooked features like tree stumps or rocky patches that can become shelters for wildlife. At the heart of it all, Gaia rests peacefully as a sleeping guardian of the beautiful garden.
Check out some images of the On the Edge garden below and follow Eberle on Instagram for more incredible garden designs.
Gardener Sarah Eberle’s On the Edge garden at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show was recently named Garden of the Year.
The enchanting display featured a giant sculpture of Gaia sleeping among tall grass and wildflowers, created by artists Tom Hare and Tim Wood.
Find out more about Eberle’ design process and her collaboration with the artists.
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