With 20 RHS medals to her name and as one of only three women to win 'Best in Show' as a solo designer in Chelsea's century-long history, Sarah now shares the story behind the garden and why Park Hill provides the perfect setting for this powerful tribute to nature's resilience.

The residents of Park Hill in Sheffield are the new proud keepers of the double award-winning garden which took the 2026 Chelsea Flower Show by storm, winning the ‘Best in Show 2026’ and ‘Garden of the Year’ awards for solo designer Sarah Eberle this May.

The concept of the design is fitting for its new and permanent home at Park Hill – with its inspiration born from celebrating the often overlooked countryside at the edge of towns and cities, reminiscent of a brutalist building once left in disrepair.

Sarah’s vision has been translated into a piece aimed to ‘transport’ viewers into the countryside with its abundance of wildflowers and show-stopping goddess of nature figure, Gaia. The carved figure measuring between 25-30 metres was made by Chris Wood, a chainsaw artist Sarah has worked with many times before and says she trusts implicitly. She added that Gaia was the perfect representation as a symbol of our need to protect nature, with there no better final stop for the garden than Park Hill with its positioning ideal for the scale and orientation, with residents able to ‘look down’ on Gaia.

The garden, which took 18-24 months to masterplan, was aligned with the work of CPRE - the Campaign to Protect Rural England, which is celebrating its centenary this year. It is carved out of fallen mature trees with intricate willow-work hairflowing from Gaia’s carved head to form the top of a dry stone wall. Sarah says that many Chelsea visitors were left visibly emotional after seeing it, with the scale and creative detail creating an enormous reaction.

Praise for the garden at this year’s Chelsea show came not only from visitors and judges, but from King Charles who spent time with Sarah at the show – admiring her creativity and hearing about the piece’s move to Park Hill. This latest award means Sarah is now the Royal Horticultural Society’s most decorated gardener having amassed 14 RHS Chelsea Gold Medals, with an additional six awarded across all RHS shows over her illustrious career. In addition to her 20-medal tally, Sarah remains one of only three women to have won Best in Show at Chelsea as a solo designer in its 100-year history.

Speaking of her winning design Sarah says: “This garden’s mission is very personal to me with it celebrating the often-overlooked beauty and importance of everyday spaces, where people and nature coexist.

“It challenges conventional thinking about the countryside and invites you to recognise the biodiversity that exists all around us. It speaks to nature’s resilience, transforming neglect into abundance, and symbolises hope on the margins. It evoked a wonderful reaction at the show, and it was an honour to show King Charles around.’

Now the garden is installed permanently at Park Hill – encouraging wanderers to walk the winding pathway under Gaia’s arched torso through to a central, partially enclosed space, with stone seating and rustic water trough, for gathering or quiet contemplation.

The move to Sheffield also continues the legacy of Ethel Haythornthwaite, pioneer of the British countryside movement, activist and poet and one of CPRE’s earliest campaigners, who was instrumental in creating the Sheffield Green Belt.

In a full circle moment, Sarah recalls training in landscape design in the early 1970’s, with Park Hill one of her most memorable site studies: “It’s a fitting tribute that the garden which was inspired by protecting the urban fringe will thrive here for generations to come, she adds. “As a live and evolving garden I have had to subtly adapt it to suit its new location in the North, as at Chelsea it is a little neater than the original concept in her head.”

And the regional significance continues with fifth-generation stonewallers from Holmfirth, West Yorkshire – Lydia and Cuthbert Noble chosen as part of the team to assist Sarah in bringing her innovation to life. By using stone sourced from Longcliffe Quarry, Matlock, Derbyshire, the award-winning siblings crafted the body of Gaia which forms the centrepiece of the design.

Sarah’s work is now installed at Park Hill for residents and visitors to enjoy.