The Old Gate awarded Gold Medal and Best Courtyard Garden in show at Chelsea

The combined talent, passion and effort of AW Gardening Services and Conway Landscapes was, many are saying, justly rewarded at the Chelsea Flower Show today when their garden ‘The Old Gate’ was the only courtyard garden to be awarded a gold medal. To make it a double celebration the garden was also
judged ‘Best Courtyard Garden’.

The team returning for their second visit to Chelsea, told a very different story with ‘The Old Gate’; sadly war has changed everyone’s lives and growing food to boost the ‘Dig for Victory’ campaign is vital. There’s no time left for a flower garden that now seems so unnecessary and frivolous. And so without the regular loving care the garden once received, wild flowers and grasses have crept in amongst the once cherished herbaceous perennials, creating a disheveled but still beautiful mix of man made and mother nature.

The garden uses reclaimed materials and heritage varieties of fruit and vegetables together with older varieties of traditional garden and wild flowers. Some of the vegetable seed dates back to 1750.

Adam Woolcott and Jonathan Smith, designers of AW Gardening Services commented: “Being awarded a gold medal today was beyond our wildest dreams. And then to be awarded best courtyard garden hasn’t really registered yet. Chelsea is everything and more than we had ever dared hope for and we are elated.”

Cormac Conway of Conway Landscapes, responsible for the hard landscaping commented: “Building the garden is a wonderful experience, but to see and hear people’s reaction to our garden is amazing and very emotional. This really is an experience we will all treasure forever.”

About AW Gardening Services
Founded in 1987, AW Gardening Services is an award-winning gardening company based in Bishop’s Stortford, Hertfordshire. In 2006 the company exhibited at the Chelsea Flower Show for the first time and was awarded a Gold Medal and the BBC Best Small Garden in Show. Specializing in garden design, soft landscaping and general garden
maintenance they have clients of all sizes from large property developers to individuals, catering for a variety of garden sizes and styles.

About Conway Landscapes
Conway Landscapes is an award winning landscaping company, specialize in working along side designers to create bespoke lifestyle areas, in domestic gardens. Based in Bishops Stortford, Hertfordshire they have received many local commissions. Conway Landscapes has made several appearances at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show; in 2002 they were awarded a Silver Medal and more recently, a Gold Medal in 2006.