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Foreign & Colonial Investments' Garden

Foreign & Colonial Investments’ Garden at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2010, was awarded a prestigious Silver Gilt medal by the show’s judges. Inspired by the 18th century satirical novel Candide by French author Voltaire, the Mediterranean-style Foreign & Colonial Investments’ Garden has been designed to represent the ill-fated travels of Candide as he journeys around the world, across oceans and rapids, in search of his lost love Cunégonde.

Receiving his medal, Hoblyn said: “I’ve really enjoyed creating this garden for Foreign & Colonial Investment Trust. It’s the largest and most ambitious design I’ve done for Chelsea so far. I’m very proud of the garden and thrilled to be awarded a Silver Gilt Medal for it. I’d like to thank Homebase for supplying all the wonderful plants and accessories and Foreign & Colonial for their overall sponsorship.”

Simon Fraser, Chairman of Foreign & Colonial Investment Trust, said of the medal win: "We are delighted that our garden has received a Silver Gilt medal, building on the Silver medal Tom received last year for his ‘Waves of Change’ design. This has been our most ambitious garden to date and it has been a pleasure to watch it take shape over the last few months.”

The garden drew some of the show’s biggest crowds on Press Day with a series of performances. First the model whose body was used to cast the copper statues of Cunégonde that line the garden’s lushly planted walls brought the statues to life with a thrilling dance performance. Later, punk poet John Cooper Clarke entertained the Press Day audience with some of his own work before reading from the closing moments of Candide, the book that inspired Hoblyn to create the garden. Then came an electrifying live set under the midday sun from string quartet Escala.

Through our website you can get the latest news on the development of the 2010 garden as well as all the details from last year’s garden with Tom’s blog, his latest article, his top gardening tips e-newsletter, and much more.

Below are photos of this years garden as well as our Silver and Gold medal gardens at the Chelsea Flower Show in 2009 and 2008.