Blue Diamond win Silver Gilt at RHS Hampton Court

We are delighted to announce that the "Blue Diamond Beautiful Abandonment" show garden was awarded a Silver Gilt by the judges at RHS Hampton Court Garden Festival on Monday this week.

This is a fantastic accolade for all involved in this show garden and again a huge thank you to everyone who was involved in this project.

RHS Shows provide a rich source of horticultural delight. The floral displays are the most stunning you’re likely to see anywhere in the world and the gardens are created by the very best designers at the top of their game.
Receiving an RHS Silver Gilt for a garden at an RHS Show is one of the ultimate accolades.

But how are the results decided? Below is a handy Q&A explaining how the judging process works for the gardens…
 

Who are the judges?

The RHS team of judges are highly experienced experts from across the horticultural industry. They are trained by the RHS in how to judge using the RHS criteria but are independent of the RHS.

Together, the judging panel holds a massive and diverse amount of knowledge and skill from the horticultural, gardening and design world.

They have a panel of judges consisting of three assessing judges and four regular judges. They also have a ‘moderator’ who keeps watch and ensures consistency is applied throughout the process.
 

How are gardens judged?

Gardens are marked against a set of key criteria (see below) but importantly, they are also marked against the designer’s written brief.

What is a garden brief?

Designers submit a brief well in advance of the show and this includes the following points:

• Description of the garden
• Purpose of the garden
• Function of the garden
• Key plants and features  

So what are the criteria?

As well as meeting the brief, there’s a number of other criteria for which the judges give the following marks: Excellent (four points), Very Good (three points), Good (two points), Poor (one point), and Unsatisfactory (zero)

• Ambition – how original is the design? Is there theatre, flair, atmosphere and impact?
• Overall impression – does the garden work as a whole? How fine is the finish and attention to detail?
• Design – does the garden work for its supposed purpose? 
• Construction – how good is the quality of the build?
• Planting – think colour, impact, composition, health but also – would these plants live and survive together?