An award-winning RHS Chelsea Flower Show garden which was permanently relocated to the Grade II listed Park Hill Flats in Sheffield has opened to the public.
The Campaign to Protect Rural England garden “On the Edge”, designed by Sarah Eberle MBE, won a gold medal and Garden of the Year this year’s event.
Its centrepiece, a huge wooden figure of Greek Earth goddess Gaia, has been reassembled in the grounds of the brutalist flats, with plants to be added later this year.
Eberle said she felt the sculpture represented “the heart and soul” of the location and hoped she would give “some comfort to people here, like she has to us”.
Sculptor Chris Wood carved Gaia from sequoia trees sourced from across the country, using chainsaws to achieve the finished piece.
He said it was “wonderful” to see the sculpture permanently displayed, adding: “She really fits the space, it’s like she was meant to be here.”
The wooden figure and stone body was carefully reconstructed on site and the surrounding gardens were landscaped to create walkways through the park.
