Chinese-inspired garden clinches top prize at Chelsea Flower Show

Chmiel and Chin traveled to Guangzhou in 2019 on a study tour, to gain insights and ideas for how to shape their project. This included visiting popular attraction Huacheng Square, also known as Flower City, and Baiyun Mountain.

"We started to learn about not just the history of Guangzhou in the last 2,000 years, but particularly in the last 20 years, and how it's changed. So that started to plant some ideas in our head," Chmiel said.

Chen, a senior associate at Grant Associates, added: "The government wanted to show that Guangzhou is not just a big city, but bring us to the natural environments and the mountains."

The Guangzhou Garden is split into three zones, inspired by the city's environmental plan. These are the heart, representing social green space for people within the central business district, the lungs, representing protected green spaces to the north of Guangzhou, and the protected aquatic areas to the south, which are the kidneys.

Both designers were pleased to be able to put Guangzhou on the map and highlight it as a leading green city.

Chmiel said that during the show, many people enquired about Guangzhou, some of them having not previously heard of the city, and found out about its green infrastructure.

The garden was set to be delivered in 2020 before the pandemic led to the cancellation of last year's show, but the pair were able to adapt the showcase with more mature plants and trees, in keeping with their message of sustainability.