Down’s Syndrome Scotland Garden Wins People’s Choice at RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2025: Rebecca Wallersteiner is dazzled by Nick Burton and Duncan Hall’s beautiful and playful Down’s Syndrome Scotland Garden, which has captured public hearts and won the coveted People’s Choice Award, alongside a Silver-Gilt Medal, at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2025 — with a little help from three young volunteers from Down’s Syndrome Scotland.
Kicking off the British summer, the RHS Chelsea Flower Show has thrown open its gates once again. It’s been an unusually warm spring, meaning many plants have already finished flowering, but the horticultural magicians have worked wonders to overcome this challenge.
One standout in this year’s Small Show Garden category is Nick Burton and Duncan Hall’s Down’s Syndrome Scotland Garden, sponsored by Project Giving Back. This joyful and imaginative space not only earned a much-coveted Silver-Gilt Medal from the RHS but has also won the People’s Choice Award, a reflection of the public’s admiration and emotional connection to the garden.
The design aims to shift perceptions of the lives of people with Down’s syndrome and was inspired by co-designer Duncan Hall’s nephew, Liam. “We hope the garden will help break down barriers and encourage society to understand and see the potential of people with Down’s syndrome, particularly in areas like employment and healthcare where inequalities and discrimination still exist,” say the designers.
Three adult members of Down’s Syndrome Scotland — Cher Collins, 32, from Edinburgh, and Euan Dunsmore and Finlay McConnell, both 22, from North Lanarkshire — travelled to Chelsea to help build and plant the final details of the garden. They spent two days working alongside the designers and their volunteer team, planting flowers they had grown from bulbs and assisting in the final touches before the garden’s unveiling. Among their tasks was planting Camassia leichtlinii ‘Caerulea’, whose delicate blue and cream star-shaped flowers were grown by the charity’s community in Scotland.
Cher Collins said, “I was so happy to be asked to join the team at Chelsea and to play a part in building our garden. I hope it will make others see that we have lots to offer and see beyond our disability. I am excited to hear what everyone thinks of our garden.”
The garden celebrates not only the challenges but the many qualities people with Down’s syndrome possess — their warmth, care, determination, and sense of fun. Down’s syndrome, caused by a third copy of chromosome 21, is referenced in subtle ways throughout the garden — in the bench slats, patterned tiles, and stripey socks bunting.
Visitors are transported to a semi-wooded glade filled with elements of surprise and delight. A crazy paving path winds through two contrasting planting areas, while a playful surprise water spray, hidden in a cauldron and surrounded by cheerful Siberian Iris and Primula florindae, provides a moment of mischief. At the end of the path stands a timber structure nestled between tall black birch trees. “This was designed to represent a comforting hug — a familiar and genuine gesture from people with Down’s syndrome,” reflects Hall.
Burton and Hall met in 2019 while working on a project in the Scottish Highlands and quickly bonded over a shared love of naturalistic gardens and the outdoors. Since then, they have collaborated on a number of projects and established a design practice together.
The garden remains on display at the Chelsea Flower Show until Saturday and will then find a permanent home at Palacerigg Country Park in North Lanarkshire, where the public can continue to visit and enjoy it year-round.
After Chelsea, this meaningful garden will be relocated to the grounds of Watch US Grow, a charity working in partnership with Down’s Syndrome Scotland, where people with Down’s syndrome can gain horticultural qualifications, confidence, and independence through gardening.
Don’t miss seeing this uplifting and important garden — now a public favourite and a winner in every sense.
The Oldie magazines. She also works for the NHS and is the Hippocratic Post's roving reporter.
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