Eden at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show

In 2009, the programmes took their message to the RHS Chelsea Flower Show with the silver medal award-winning Key Garden. Working with the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA), Homeless Link, and the Department for Communities and Local Government (CLG), the Eden Project collaborated with 200 homeless people to design, grow and man the garden.

Proud as we were to win a silver medal, the real benefit of the garden was the positive effect it had on its participants, who consistently reported a huge confidence boost, new skills, and renewed hope for their future.

In 2010, the Eden Project and its partners built on the success of the Key, with the largest show garden ever seen at Chelsea, and the first garden visitors encountered on entering from the Embankment gate. Funded by CLG, the HCA’s Places of Change programme and the London Employer Accord, the Places of Change Garden provided even more roles for the service users involved. The design team, led by Paul Stone, the Eden Project’s award-winning garden designer, consisted of design groups at several homeless charities and Roderick James Architects.

Developing new skills

Featuring five distinct zones, the Places of Change Garden encouraged those involved to develop new skills around planting, gardening, design, construction and carpentry during the site’s development. Throughout the week at Chelsea, they had the opportunity to gain experience of on-site hospitality and operating the garden’s multi-media facilities. The skills they acquired at Chelsea will provide the means for many of them to move on to further training and qualifications. In this way, the Places of Change Garden was as transformative as the programme itself in helping those involved to turn their lives around long-term.

Visit our 'virtual garden' and find out more about the plants, people and stories behind Chelsea's largest ever show garden.