World Vision garden at Chelsea Flower Show wins Silver Gilt medal

John Warland, the award-winning designer of the World Vision garden at this year’s Chelsea Flower Show, has been awarded the Silver Gilt medal in London this morning.

Warland’s garden, drawing inspiration from his visits to Cambodia, uses translucent orange rods to symbolically recreate the beautiful rice paddies of South East Asian country where many children are surviving on just two bowls of rice a day. 

“Of course it's an honour to receive the award but for me it's all about raising awareness of pertinent issues affecting children in Cambodia," Warland said.

“While the country is one of breathtaking beauty, it is also affected by heart-breaking poverty and food insecurity. Our garden raises awareness to the fact that, many of Cambodia’s children still survive on just two bowls of rice a day and the work World Vision is striving to alleviate this."  

Horticulturalists from around the world are displaying their designs at the Royal Hospital in Chelsea with close to 165,000 people expected to visit the show over the course of the week.