Award-winning garden relocated to landmark estate

3 hours ago

Simon ThakeBBC Yorkshire

"On the Edge"  features a huge wooden figure of Greek Earth goddess Gaia and scooped the top award at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2026.

Simon Thake The face of a large wooden sculpture lies on the grass in-front of a huge colourful block of flats. — "On the Edge"  features a huge wooden figure of Greek Earth goddess Gaia and scooped the top award at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2026.

An award-winning RHS Chelsea Flower Show garden has been moved to a new permanent home at the Grade II listed Park Hill Flats in Sheffield.

The Campaign to Protect Rural England garden "On the Edge", designed by Sarah Eberle MBE, features a huge wooden figure of Greek Earth goddess Gaia and scooped the event's top award.

The garden is now in the process of being reassembled in the grounds of the brutalist flats, built in 1961 and later regenerated by property developers Urban Splash.

Reflecting on Gaia's new home, Eberle said, "She's surrounded by hedges, trees, wildflowers, so this actually feels right. I have this sense of her coming home actually."

"The theme of the garden is all about the fringe lands and towns and cities and how they're very vulnerable to development and fly-tipping.

"So what Gaia represents is the protection of nature."

Eberle, who has an unprecedented 20 gold medals at RHS shows, first came to Park Hill as a student in the early 1970s.

"I did landscape architecture at what is now Greenwich University but we came here on a field visit because this was iconic architecture, quite brutalist and modernist, and as soon as I was here I realised that I had been here before and the scale and the atmosphere here I think is absolutely perfect for for Gaia to be her permanent home."

Sculptor Chris Wood carved Gaia from sequoia trees from "all around the country"

Simon Thake A beaded man in a baseball cap and orange jacket stands next to the head of a wooden sculpture. — Sculptor Chris Wood carved Gaia from sequoia trees from "all around the country"

Sculptor Chris Wood, based in Newport, carved Gaia using "20-odd chainsaws" of different sizes.

"Most of the head came from an arboretum in Abergavenny, some came from Oxford, Cheltenham, all over," he said.

He said the reaction to the final sculpture from the public was "amazing".

"People literally walked up to her and burst into tears, the feeling of peace and love, just hit people," he said.

Wood admitted the process of "putting Gaia back together" has not been easy.

"The head and legs come off so that's OK put I'm in the process of reassembling 200 pieces that make up the head dress.

"They're all numbered and need to be at the right angle. It's fiddly".

Sarah Eberle MBE is  the most decorated garden designer at Chelsea having won 20 gold RHS awards.

Simon Thake A woman with short grey hair stands in the sunshine, hands in her pockets. Behind her a large wooden sculpture rests on the grass. — Sarah Eberle MBE is  the most decorated garden designer at Chelsea having won 20 gold RHS awards.

While a construction team continues the reassembly process, including a dry stone wall that was a feature at Chelsea, the new garden has been welcomed by residents.

Johann Nagel has lived at Park Hill for seven years and is a member of the garden group.

"We are so excited. It's like the arrival of a new member of the family."

Nagel said Gaia would "certainly be looked after".

"She'll be oiled four times a year as directed by the sculptor but at the same time once she's in place, wildlife becomes part of it and that's the idea ."

Asthma + Lung UK's Breathing Space Garden has also been recreated in South Yorkshire at BreathingSpace, a specialist site that cares for NHS patients with respiratory conditions

Simon Thake A plush garden with immaculate green grass surrounded by neat shrubs and tall trees — Asthma + Lung UK's Breathing Space Garden has also been recreated in South Yorkshire at BreathingSpace, a specialist site that cares for NHS patients with respiratory conditions

In Rotherham reassembly work of another RHS garden has been completed.

Asthma + Lung UK's Breathing Space Garden also completed the journey to South Yorkshire following its silver medal performance at the 2026 Chelsea show.

The garden's new home at Rotherham's BreathingSpace has seen volunteers from partner organisations and the local community helping with the relocation.

The garden features pine trees, accessible paths and graded steps as well as a sheltered area for breath-supporting therapies such as yoga and tai chi.

Bob Kirton, Managing Director for The Rotherham NHS Foundation Trust said

"It's a great story for us to have two gardens in South Yorkshire. It definitely still has the essence of Chelsea and is in a much bigger space but it really does look fine in the Rotherham sunshine."

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