CPRE to mark centenary with debut at RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2026

The Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) will celebrate a hundred years of standing up for the countryside with a show garden at RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2026.

The garden has been created by award-winning designer Sarah Eberle and sponsored by grant-giving charity Project Giving Back.

For a hundred years, CPRE has championed the landscapes and communities of rural England. The Campaign to Protect Rural England Garden: ‘On the Edge’ celebrates the countryside as a living, shared space that shapes our wellbeing, our communities and our future, shining a light on the overlooked ‘edgelands’ of our towns and cities.

These fragile spaces connect people to nature in everyday life, yet they are undervalued and under constant threat. The garden showcases nature’s resilience and proves that, with the right care, overlooked landscapes can recover and thrive for future generations.

Set on land on the urban fringe cared for by a local community, the garden features a fallen mature tree carved into a guardian figure – Gaia or Mother Nature – that is still supporting life. Surrounded by generous, naturalistic planting, her hand touches water from a shallow pool while her willow hair flows to form the top of a dry-stone wall that snakes through the landscape.

After the show The Campaign to Protect Rural England Garden: ‘On the Edge’ will be relocated to a regenerated housing development in urban Sheffield, giving new life to a community space.

CPRE chief executive Roger Mortlock said: ‘We are so excited to bring a garden to Chelsea in our centenary year and are deeply grateful to Project Giving Back for this incredible opportunity.

‘Our countryside is under constant threat, with more green, wild and productive land lost to development every year. The countryside on the edge of our towns and cities is some of the

most contested land in the country but also the most meaningful for many people. Protecting these special, tranquil spaces means acting together, not alone.

‘By celebrating overlooked spaces on the edge of our towns and cities, we want our garden to be an injection of hope that helps people reimagine the countryside on their doorstep.’

Multi-award-winning landscape designer Sarah Eberle, who will be marking her 50th year in horticulture, said: ‘A country girl at heart, I’m looking forward to returning to RHS Chelsea to help CPRE highlight these vulnerable and beautiful spaces that are far too often under threat.’

Hattie Ghaui, CEO of Project Giving Back, said: “For those of us who live in cities and towns, ‘the countryside’ can seem like an unobtainable concept, something that other people enjoy. But none of us are very far from open space and it’s the edges of urban spaces that should be most accessible. We’re really excited to see how Sarah celebrates the centenary of the UK’s countryside charity and are proud to be supporting her return to RHS Chelsea in 2026.”

Notes to editors

The garden will be built by contractors The Outdoor Room, with planting from Kelways, Crocus and Hardy’s Cottage Garden Plants.

The Campaign to Protect Rural England shapes and promotes solutions for the sustainable use of land to protect and regenerate the countryside for future generations. We believe our finite land can be managed wisely to preserve landscapes and nature for all. For a century, we’ve worked with communities, industry and government to champion a beautiful and resilient countryside, loved by everyone, for the nation.

Find out more at www.cpre.org.uk.

Project Giving Back (PGB) is a unique grant-making charity that provides funding for gardens for good causes at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show. PGB was launched in May 2021 in response to the Covid-19 pandemic and its devastating effects on UK charitable fundraising – effects that have since been exacerbated by the cost of living crisis.

PGB will fund 11 gardens at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show in 2026 and intends to fund a total of 62 gardens inspired by a range of good causes from 2022 to 2026.

PGB aims to boost UK-based good causes by giving them an opportunity to raise awareness of their work at the high-profile RHS Chelsea Flower Show, as well as supporting the relocation of the gardens to permanent homes after the show where they can continue to benefit the charities and their communities.

Find out more at www.givingback.org.uk.

For more information or to request an interview please contact Emma Mason emma@emmamasonpr.co.uk

07762 117433 or Tom Stewart toms@cpre.org.uk