Sarah Eberle wins top prize at Chelsea Flower Show

Featuring a giant, slumbering woman carved out of a fallen tree, Sarah Eberle’s hauntingly beautiful Chelsea Flower Show garden has won the top prize. Eberle, now the Royal Horticultural Society’s most decorated gardener, is a rarity; she’s one of only three women to have won Best in Show at Chelsea as solo designers in its 100-year history. Sarah Eberle is one of only three women to have won Best in Show at Chelsea. Photograph: Hannah Stephenson/PA Her garden, designed for the Campaign to Protect Rural England, was described as “mesmerising” by the judging panel. The space, which is dominated by the giant statue of Mother Nature, features still pools and soft fronds of grass and wildflowers. It was designed to represent the often overlooked countryside at the edge of towns and cities, which CPRE describes as vital green spaces that connect people to nature. Eberle, 71, said: “I am thrilled to bits to receive Garden of the Year. This garden’s mission is very personal to me. I am a country girl through and through so I embody the same message and beliefs that the Campaign to Protect Rural England and this garden holds.” The judges commented on the moving atmosphere the dreamy planting in the garden created. Chris Bailes, chair of the judging panel, said: “Sarah’s garden combines elements of myth and remarkable theatre. The planting speaks to an exceptionally rare sense of atmosphere, created through a clear connection to the urban and the countryside. …