Aylesbury head gardener’s delight as Horatio’s Garden wins Best in Show at Chelsea Flower Show

The head gardener of Stoke Mandeville Hospital’s Horatio’s Garden has spoken of her delight after the charity garden she helped plant at RHS Chelsea Flower Show won both a gold medal and the coveted Best in Show award.

Amy Moffett, head gardener at Horatio’s Garden Stoke Mandeville, was one of the team who helped bring the charity’s show garden to life at the show in preparation for its opening this week.

Amy leads the team to care for people and plants at the beautiful Horatio’s Garden Stoke Mandeville. Based at the National Spinal Injuries Centre Stoke Mandeville Hospital, the garden aims to nurture wellbeing after spinal injury, offering horticultural therapy and arts programmes for patients.

Last week, Amy joined the charity’s build team, led by Ryan Alexander Associates in Chelsea, to help create the charity’s prestigious show garden at the world’s leading flower show, supported by Project Giving Back.

Designed for Horatio’s Garden, the UK-based charity that nurtures wellbeing after spinal injury in vibrant sanctuaries in NHS spinal centres, Horatio’s Garden Chelsea is an adaptive garden that puts the priorities of all those with different mobility needs at its heart.

After Chelsea, it will travel to the Princess Royal Spinal Injuries Centre Sheffield next year, where it will be eight times the size of the Chelsea show garden and become the eighth and latest of the charity’s gardens at NHS spinal centres.

Amy Moffett said: "It’s been amazing to be part of this hugely special event. Seeing the garden come together at the end of the build week was just fantastic. There’s such a buzz around the showground and so much creativity.

"The Horatio’s Garden show garden looks absolutely stunning and really brings together all the qualities of a Horatio’s Garden. So much thought has gone into the various elements that make Horatio’s Garden so special for so many people. I'm over the moon that it has won Best in Show.”

Speaking about the gold medal, the garden’s designers Charlotte Harris and Hugo Bugg, from Harris Bugg Studio, said: “We are so delighted to win a gold medal for this garden. From the very start, the charity’s mission really spoke to us. Connecting people with nature is at the heart of everything we do at Harris Bugg Studio and this garden reflects all the stories and needs of the people we spent months listening to before even picking up a pencil to design.

"This garden is a story of people coming together to make something very special. From the inspiring individuals that make up the transformative community that is Horatio’s Garden to all the dedicated and talented people that worked with us to create the garden - from the contractors to the skilled British craftspeople to the horticulturalists and planting team - the spirit of all of those people made this gold medal a reality.”

There’s now a chance to vote for Horatio’s Garden Chelsea in the BBC/RHS People’s Choice Award vote. Voting opens at 7pm tonight, Wednesday, May 24.