Leeds City Council’s gold medal-winning HESCO Garden 2010 has made more history at the world-famous RHS Chelsea Flower Show.
After the show garden gave the council’s Parks and Countryside Service their first-ever top award for excellence on Tuesday, event organisers the Royal Horticultural Society have confirmed the success is the first of its kind ever by a local authority at Chelsea.
After scouring their record books, the organisers informed the team at Chelsea that their exceptional achievement is the first gold medal won for an outdoor show garden by any local authority entry in the history of the event which dates back to 1862.
The stunning elite show garden entry The HESCO Garden 2010, produced by the council’s Parks and Countryside staff with engineering design and support from sponsors HESCO Bastion Limited, wowed the judges and visitors alike to earn the highest-ranking level of award at the prestigious event in London.
The gold medal is a first for Leeds at Chelsea after earning two successive Silver Gilt Flora awards in the last two years and either silver or bronze category awards with their five other previous show gardens dating back to their first appearance at Chelsea in 1997.
Acting Head of Leeds City Council’s Parks and Countryside Service Sean Flesher said:
“This is turning into an amazing week for the team and the city of Leeds as a whole. As soon as we heard we had won gold we had a sneaking suspicion we were the first council to do it here with a large show garden, and we are really grateful to the RHS for taking the time to check for us as it really means a lot for us to be the first.
“The whole project came together fantastically well, with our staff combining superbly with the engineering talents of our sponsor HESCO Bastion to create a garden which is really special and is proving hugely popular. The whole week so far has been absolutely brilliant.”
The HESCO Garden 2010 is the largest and most ambitious garden design entered by Leeds at Chelsea, modelled on a section of the Leeds-Liverpool Canal complete with a canal and full-sized lock gates as the centrepiece which the organisers the RHS have also confirmed is the first time such a water feature has ever appeared at Chelsea.
The theme of garden is to celebrate the green linkages which connect the city centre to the countryside in and around Leeds, as well as the importance of protecting the local environment and raising awareness of the proven health benefits green spaces provide.
The symbolic use of the canal and lock gates is a reflection of the industrial past of the city, when the Leeds-Liverpool waterway was used as a key transport route. The lock gates are also flanked by three distinct sections – woodland, wetland and a floral meadow – which can all be found in green spaces in Leeds.
Maintaining the Yorkshire flavour the garden has been produced using locally-sourced materials from the region, with all the plants and flowers being grown in Leeds and HESCO products providing the structural framework for the garden.
The HESCO Garden 2010 is on display all week in the elite show garden category alongside gardens designed by some of the biggest names in the horticulture industry.
The event, held annually in the grounds of the Royal Hospital in London, attracts over 150,000 visitors from all over the globe as well as receiving extensive coverage from the world’s media.
On Monday’s press day, The HESCO Garden 2010 was visited by a host of celebrities including Dame Helen Mirren, Piers Morgan, Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen, Nick Knowles, Jayne Torvill, Christopher Biggins, Lesley Joseph, Linda Barker, Sarah Greene, Moira Stewart and Jennie Bond.
In addition to raising the profile of the city, entering a show garden at Chelsea also allows the council’s Parks and Countryside staff to pit their wits against the finest garden designers in the world, learning new skills and techniques which are then used every day to improve green spaces all over Leeds.
Sponsors and project partners HESCO Bastion, a Leeds-based company who are world-leading manufacturers of products used in civil engineering, said: ”HESCO would like to congratulate the Leeds City Council team for their historic achievement with The HESCO Garden 2010. It has been a pleasure to work with the team to provide the engineering framework for a garden which spectacularly marries engineering and landscape design.
“Leeds has a long-held reputation for engineering excellence dating back to the industrial revolution; this year’s garden focuses on these engineering developments of the past, and the present, all of which contribute to the vibrancy of Leeds. HESCO is proud that our products carry on Leeds’ engineering tradition for innovation and design. Well done Leeds!”
Young people in Leeds have also played their part in The HESCO Garden 2010, as pupils from local primary schools have taken part in a special education project and competition to help them learn about the value and importance of protecting green spaces.
The HESCO Garden 2010 is also a contender to win the coveted RHS People’s Choice Award for best garden at Chelsea. To vote go to http://apps.rhs.org.uk/peopleschoice/



