M&G Garden at RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2021

The M&G Garden has an extensive and successful history at the Chelsea Flower Show, as the title benefactor for 11 years. This year, at the September 2021 show, M&G is sure to be another extraordinary Show Garden.

This garden designed by Harris Bugg Studio and constructed by Crocus, the motivation behind The M&G Garden is making nature and wildlife available in urban spaces. Due to the exhibition of this garden at Chelsea flower show 2020, before it was canceled, Harris Bugg Studio has nipped the final design to better align with the different time of year and lighting occasions.

“The garden is imagined as a peaceful oasis, pocket park-like in its design, providing respite from a hectic, urban world, and bringing new life and purpose to a long-neglected corner of a city. It is for people and wildlife to share; to come together and enjoy all the benefits of being in nature.”

Design Features of The M&G Garden 2021

The goal of The M&G Garden is to show how nature, flora, fauna and greenery can, if cleverly designed, come to life in city areas and gives city residents the chance to gain the mental and physical health benefits of green therapy and time outdoors.

Garden creators Charlotte Harris and Hugo Bugg of Harris Bugg Studio want to motivate other creators, inventors and communities to feel empowered in creating health-boosting, supportable green spaces in town and cities.

To make the garden flexible for a city space, The M&G Garden will feature plants that are tolerant to an urban climate, like silver-leaved sea buckthorn which stands strong against powerful winds. For a pop of the unexpected, more delicate plants and flowers less frequently seen in a city setting will bring beauty and wonder, including autumn olive and tubular flowers.

Design features

plants that are tolerant to a city climate
silver-leaved sea buckthorn
tubular flowers
autumn olive
naturalistic pool
100 meters of metal sculpture

There will also be an element of water in garden in the form of a naturalistic pool. It will serve the practical purpose of preventing floods and aiding run-off but will be beautiful, too, framed by violet-blue Iris sibirica.

The main organizational feature, and one that brings the perfect juxtaposition of city vs. natural, will be over 100 meters of metal sculpture. It will weave its way through the space. With different finishes in different parts of the garden, including bronze-copper, matte and gloss, the metal will complement the planting as well as giving a nod to the city's industrial past.

What happened to the Chelsea Flower Show 2020?

Hugo described the moment he heard that Chelsea Flower Show 2020 was canceled saying, “We had mixed feelings and anxiety.” The original garden was designed to make the most of summer light.

“We had always imagined a very dappled-light, shaded garden with lots of lovely fresh foliage coming up. Actually now we'll be towards the end of the summer where the shade will be darker and we'll be into a different season.”

The planter confesses that some plants from the original design won't make the cut for the new September garden, including milano celenum decipiens. “That was a really tough plant that we gave to Crocus to try and get to flower for us. They look fantastic [now] but they're not going to make it.”

Though, Hugo Bugg does say that other plants have been given the time to grow and will now be the “stars of the show.”

M&G Garden History at Chelsea Flower Show

The M&G Garden, a FTSE-100 listed savings and investments business, have been the title sponsor of RHS Chelsea Flower Show for 11 years. They have also sponsored the RHS Greening Great Britain scheme for 3 years and are in their 2nd year as founding donor to the National Community Land Trust Network’s Cohesive Communities program.

M&G 2018, designed by Sarah Price and built by Crocus, won a Gold Medal in the Show Garden category. Garden had a Mediterranean theme which showed off a terracotta color scheme and reclaimed French roof tiles. Planting highlights were 2 twisted pomegranate trees.

M&G 2019, designed by Andy Sturgeon and built by Crocus, won two medals: Gold in the Show Garden category as well as Best Show Garden overall. Motivated by nature’s power to restore, it was a woodland garden which featured stone platforms, fountains and delicate flowers.

Project Giving Back launches at Chelsea Flower show

A unique association has been declared today that will provide funding for gardens motivated by UK charities and not-for-profit associations at the Chelsea Flower Show in 2022, 2023 and 2024. Project Giving Back is the vision of two private individuals who want to offer a significant springboard to a wide range of charitable causes whose work has suffered during the worldwide corona virus pandemic.

Project Giving Back will team established and emerging designers, landscapers and nurseries with a range of UK charitable organizations to help raise awareness of the diverse and varied way they support people, plants and the planet.

Chelsea Flower Show, which receptions 168,000 visitors each year and reaches millions more through the RHS website, BBC programming and wider media coverage, offers an unrivalled platform to share their stories.

RHS Manager says: “We have seen many charities over the years create inspirational gardens at RHS Chelsea, sharing incredibly important messages, and after a very difficult year financially and emotionally for so many, this project hopes to give many more the amazing opportunity to create their own. I can’t wait to see what gardens will be created as part of this fantastic project over the next three years.”

Arne Maynard said: “Designing and building a garden at the Chelsea Flower Show is incredibly challenging and rewarding and for many designers, myself included, it can kick start their career. I am looking forward to helping shine a light on a diverse range of charitable projects. I am fortunate to have built a successful career doing the job I love. It’s now time to give back and this seems a wonderfully unique and rewarding way of doing just that.”