{"id":6394,"date":"2026-05-19T12:38:00","date_gmt":"2026-05-19T19:38:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/?p=6394"},"modified":"2026-05-19T12:38:00","modified_gmt":"2026-05-19T19:38:00","slug":"gaia-sleeps-amid-sarah-eberles-award-winning-garden-at-the-rhs-chelsea-flower-show","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/?p=6394","title":{"rendered":"Gaia Sleeps Amid Sarah Eberle\u2019s Award-Winning Garden at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Gaia<\/p>\n

Nestled amid plants native to the U.K., a giant figure of Gaia<\/a>, or Mother Nature, sleeps in a verdant garden. With willow-branch locks shaped by artist Tom Hare<\/a> and a crown of leaves, the figure\u2019s face and shoulders are made from a fallen mature tree carved by Tim Wood<\/a>. A winding pathway leads beneath an arch that extends the character\u2019s torso, created in the tradition of dry stone walls<\/a> and meticulously assembled by the family-run outfit Noble Stonework.<\/p>\n

You\u2019ll find Gaia in a garden titled \u201cOn the Edge\u201d at this year\u2019s RHS Chelsea Flower Show, which has taken the top prize of Garden of the Year. The project is a collaboration between designer Sarah Eberle and Campaign to Protect Rural England<\/a> (CPRE), which champions the countryside and the sustainable practices necessary to protect and preserve its ecosystems.<\/p>\n

\"a
Photo by Neil Hepworth\/RHS<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

For this year\u2019s exhibit, Eberle emphasized \u201cedgelands,<\/a>\u201d or spaces between rural and urbanized areas like the borders of fields or even residential gardens. Think roadside berms or the seemingly unruly growth beside a canal. Often, these spots just look like a lot of weeds. Eberle sees not only the beauty, but the value, in these overlooked areas.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese spaces connect millions of people to nature in everyday life, yet they\u2019re undervalued and under constant pressure,\u201d CPRE says in a statement. \u201cThis garden is an invitation to see them differently: not as \u2018leftover\u2019 land, but as living places that can recover and thrive with the right care.\u201d Eberle\u2019s choice of plants has a slightly wild aesthetic, with vines taking over the stone arch\u2014redolent of the U.K.\u2019s historic stone bridges\u2014and a graceful yet somehow satisfyingly chaotic arrangement of plants we might associate with untamed overgrowth.<\/p>\n

The garden\u2019s design encourages people to consider using natural materials, cultivating local plants to help pollinators, and embracing \u201cflaws\u201d like old stumps or rocky areas that can be havens for wildlife. Amid nature\u2019s innate rhythms, Gaia is a gentle protector who snoozes calmly with everything in balance. Eberele describes the effect: \u201cA sense of abundance, a landscape under repair, the beauty in the ordinary. It\u2019s about how it makes you feel\u2014it\u2019s almost a homecoming, an embrace, a hug.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Chelsea Flower Show is the flagship event of the Royal Horticultural Society, and it has been held on the grounds of the Royal Hospital since 1913, with the exception of a few skipped seasons during the two World Wars and in 2020. It\u2019s not just limited to British gardeners, however: exhibitors from around the globe conceive of some of the most creative gardens imaginable. Tickets are available on the RHS website<\/a>, and the show continues through May 23 in London.<\/p>\n

\"a
Photo \u00a9 Mark Spencer<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"the
Photo \u00a9 Mark Spencer<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"a
Photo \u00a9 Mark Spencer<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member<\/a> today and support independent arts publishing for as little as $7 per month. The article Gaia Sleeps Amid Sarah Eberle\u2019s Award-Winning Garden at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show<\/a> appeared first on Colossal<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Nestled amid plants native to the U.K., a giant figure of Gaia, or Mother Nature, sleeps in a verdant garden. With willow-branch locks shaped by artist Tom Hare and a…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":[],"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6394","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-rss"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6394","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6394"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6394\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6394"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6394"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6394"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}