A shimmering return to form

Spring has been slow in coming this year, but when the gates opened, the nurserymen, gardeners and designers once again achieved the seemingly impossible task of creating horticultural magic in SW3, says Tiffany Daneff

- Tiffany Daneff

The Nurture Landscapes garden, Gold 

This was the stand-out garden at Chelsea and showed designer Sarah Price in complete command of her materials. A subtle richness glowed through her gentle, dusky colour palette that was inspired by the paintings of Cedric Morris (1889-1982) (Homing instincts', May 17) and included many of the plants that grew at Morris's Suffolk home at Benton End. Textured straw-bale walls were rendered in lime mortar, providing a perfect backdrop for roses and wisteria.

Samaritans' Listening garden, Silver gilt

Recycled concrete may not be on every gardener's wishlist, but Darren Hawkes, himself a volunteer for the Samaritans, managed to reuse a derelict concrete farmyard (which he had removed to make a garden for clients) into a moving and beautiful garden. The reshaped concrete was suspended from a rusted pergola under which were placed a fascinating collection of spiny, sharp and threatening species, such as Solanum pyracanthum, Corokia cotoneaster and Aralia chapaensis.

Horatio's garden, Gold and Best in Show