And Diarmuid Gavin set the tongues wagging again with his giant pyramid – the Westland Magical Garden won the award for most creative show garden and certainly looked the part on Press Day with Chelsea pensioners forming a guard of honour ringing each of the pyramid’s seven terraces.
Meanwhile TV gardener Joe Swift celebrated gold with his first show garden, the Homebase Teenage Cancer Trust garden.
Best Artisan Garden was Ishihara Kazuyuki’s gorgeously tranquil Satoyama Life and heading up the newly-created Fresh Garden category was Easigrass’ Green with… Most Creative Fresh garden was Humko Bled’s The Soft Machine.
Other awards
Plant of the Year
Foxglove Digitalis Illumination Pink (‘Tmdgfp001’), from Thompson & Morgan and shown in the Pulham Garden Crafts Bee Up Front Garden, is RHS Plant of the Year 2012.
Great Pavilion awards
H. W. Hyde’s stunning display of lilies won the Diamond Jubilee Award for the best exhibit in the Great Pavilion.
See more displays in the Great Pavilion
Product of the Year Award
The winner of RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2012 Product of the Year is the Harrod Slot & Lock framework building system by Harrod Horticultural.
See more 2012 Chelsea Products of the Year
RHS Environment awards
Sparsholt College was voted Best Exhibit in the new RHS Environment section of the Great Pavilion.
Floristry awards
RHS Young Chelsea Florist of the Year is Joseph Massie, of Springbank. and Linda Porrett created the Best Floral Arrangement (Session 1).