Chinese-inspired garden clinches top prize at Chelsea Flower Show

For landscape architects Peter Chmiel and Chen Chin-Jung, their design, The Guangzhou Garden, carried an environmental message about biodiversity and the future of landscape cities when it was on display at this year's Chelsea Flower Show in London.

Awarded a gold medal and Best Show Garden at the prestigious competition, it was the first time the pair, representing Bath-based landscape architecture business Grant Associates, had applied their craft to designing a show garden.

The Guangzhou Garden: Guangzhou China takes its inspiration from Guangzhou, a port city northwest of Hong Kong on China's Pearl River.

Chmiel, a director at Grant Associates, said the flower show was a great platform to showcase what Guangzhou has to offer.

"Guangzhou as a city has done some great work in terms of environmental strategy, particularly in air quality, in the last few years and I think it's really important to look at every platform that you can to encourage other cities to follow this example," Chmiel said.

The Guangzhou Garden has one of the largest volumes of water ever to feature in a Chelsea show garden, as well as numerous plant species and aquatic designs on display.

Grant Associates said the Chinese-inspired garden pays homage to Guangzhou's philosophy, which gives equal consideration to the needs of people and wildlife, through sustainable city planning strategies, reconnecting people and nature in a mutually beneficial relationship.

The award-winning design was created on behalf of China-based culture project consultancy Creativersal and the Administration of Forestry and Gardening of Guangzhou Municipality.