In a much-anticipated return to the RHS Chelsea Flower Show in May 2024, Robert Myers was awarded a gold medal for creating a captivating show garden for St. James’s Piccadilly, a historic church with a forward-looking vision rooted in social justice and community empowerment.
“the St James’s Piccadilly garden is one of the most ambitious designs at Chelsea this year and has revamped what a city park can look like, this place is incredible“
Angelica Bell, BBC
This gold-medal-winning restorative garden, entitled “Imagine the World to be Different,” was proudly sponsored by Project Giving Back and embraced the transformative power of urban green spaces, symbolising a message of hope and recovery. The show garden included a counselling hut, designed by artist Ivan Morison, referencing the counselling project in the St James’s church garden, which has offered a safe and private space for around 5,000 hours of free drop-in counselling every year.
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For several years, Robert has enjoyed working with the team at St. James’s on a transformational project to restore the grounds, providing a space for regeneration. His design for the St James’s Piccadilly Garden at RHS Chelsea explored ideas around gathering, refuge, and the importance of restorative green spaces in the city, celebrating the history, social impact, and environmental commitments of the church.
“Robert is officially a Chelsea great, and he created a garden that stopped people in their tracks all week”
Joe Swift, BBC
The RHS Chelsea garden has supported efforts to raise £20m for The Wren Project, a scheme to restore and rejuvenate the historic, Wren-designed church and grounds to amplify and increase St James’s extensive social outreach and environmental work. It will relocate to St James’s Piccadilly to create a welcoming and inclusive space for the congregation, local population and visitors, where nature has its proper place in the city, with contemplative green space in the heart of everyday life.
“It is incredible how Robert pulled off such a feat in just three weeks. The finished garden and the counselling hut are looking magnificent, well done, it’s looking wonderful”
Sophie Raworth, BBC
“the planting has a very particular quality to it, there’s lots of structural evergreens holding it together, but scattered through it is a series of self seeders. This garden has got amazing seasonality, it has a beautiful flow to it, its got a beautiful structure, its a beautiful space and very deserved of its gold medal”
Nick Bailey, BBC