The story behind my Wild Kitchen Garden at Chelsea

Posted: April 8, 2026

Welcome to my Wild Kitchen Garden, at least what it used to look like.

The garden has become a little wilder since it debuted at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show and, returning home, took up residence at my home in Bakewell and then moving with me down to Kent in 2024. Because of the move I replanted the trees (birch, elderflower, crabapple) but my old tin bath with its wild roses, oregano, wild strawberries and lovage is still going strong (though this year there were also some interlopers in the form of some opium poppies which wouldn’t have worked at Chelsea at all!). I’ve included this post on my website because I get asked about the garden all the time and the story behind it.

I must admit that when I applied to exhibit at Chelsea I felt it was very much a wild card move on my part. I had a small show garden at RHS Tatton Flower Show in Cheshire the year before but getting accepted at Chelsea, especially when you are an oldster like me at age 66, was another thing entirely. My theme was strong though: every plant in the 3m by 4m garden was both wild and edible. They included some herbs such as fennel and mint and wildflowers including Queen Anne’s Lace, daisies and sweet rocket but also wild rusex, bloody dock and Iin a small pond in a pot) some watercress. The idea behind the garden was to create a container garden in which a young couple who were loved to cook and lived in a small terraced house with a small courtyard back garden could go out after work and “forage” for dinner ingredients.

All the tubs and tanks were recycled after what felt like upteen trips to reclamation yards and I think the old baths and tubs really struck a chord with visitors at Chelsea. Hundreds of people stopped to talk about their own experiences with some of the plants and I emerged with many versions of how to make elderflower “champagne”. Many people reminisced about their mother’s or grandparent’s gardens and the edible plants there and how they were used in the kitchen. I was thrilled to get a silver gilt medal but I was just as pleased to receive the People’s Choice Award which I attribute the fact that people could relate both to the plants and the theme.

I was inspired to create this garden by my walks in the Derbyshire countryside during the pandemic where I studied flowers and plants on verges and in hedgerows and fields. These plants, resilient and sustainable, are both attractive and useful. Plus, they can be delicious. The planting was informal and airy with soft colours and variety of textures. It’s a garden for people who love to cook but it is also an intriguing patch of wildness in the city. Even the then Queen, Elizabeth II, seemed to like it. I did hear her say the word “pretty” as she motored by in her “Maj mobile”.

Chelsea leaflet including the plant list