Teapot Trust Elsewhere Garden awarded Gold at RHS Chelsea Flower Show

Designed by Semple Begg and generously funded by Project Giving Back, the garden will be relocated to Royal Hospital for Children , Glasgow, following the show.

The Teapot Trust provides art therapy for children with chronic illnesses and the garden represents a place where a child’s imagination blooms in response to art therapy taking them ‘elsewhere’ away from their illness, helping them express and ultimately overcome their fears.

Teapot Trust Chief Executive, Sarah Randall said: “Winning gold is a fantastic acknowledgement of the brilliance of Sempe Begg’s design in conveying the freedom gifted by art therapy.

“The most important point is that we’ve never lost sight of the reason we created the Elsewhere Garden – to reach more children so that their lives can be transformed through the healing power of art therapy. For us, that’s gold.

We are so grateful to Project Giving Back’s funding that has enabled this to happen, helping us reach more children and their families who will benefit from art therapy.’

The garden was designed for Teapot Trust by Scottish-Swiss design team Semple Begg. The garden which must be at least 80% plants with designers encouraged to showcase unusual and interesting plant combinations includes a signature ‘Dolly Mixture’ stream of Candelabra primulas and a Chelsea first appearance for a pair of Picea abies ‘Inversa’.

Susan Begg and Nicola Semple (top) say: “We are thrilled to have won Gold! The Teapot Trust Elsewhere Garden tells the story of the transformative power of art therapy, creativity and imagination.

“The one thing we couldn’t have imagined is what a fantastic experience it would be. Our thanks to the whole team and to all who have supported the project. Most of all to Project Giving Back – who made it all possible.”

Following Chelsea, Teapot Trust’s winning Elsewhere Garden will be permanently relocated to the Royal Hospital for Children in Glasgow to create an inclusive safe space to help overcome barriers to accessing healthcare. It will be used for outdoor art therapy and all patients and visitors will be welcome.