The Octavia Hill Garden has won the first Children’s Choice Award at this year’s RHS Chelsea Flower Show.

Designed by Ann-Marie Powell and built by The Landscaping Consultants, the garden has been chosen by primary school children for the inaugural award which launched this year.

“To say that I’m thrilled by this award would be a huge understatement,” says Powell, who made her Main Avenue debut this year. “It’s been a mountain for the team to climb but the result, and the reaction of show visitors, has made every moment worthwhile.”

The Octavia Hill Garden ©National Trust Images, James Dobson

Sponsored by the National Trust and Blue Diamond, the space celebrates the legacy of one of the founders of the National Trust, Octavia Hill, with a variety of ‘outdoor sitting rooms’, an idea which she advocated.

“I hope we can get more people talking and thinking about Octavia off the back of the garden. But I also hope we’ve shown what can be done – let’s aspire to fantastic urban spaces that bring colour and joy to our lives, and boost the biodiversity around us. It is possible,” says Powell.

The Octavia Hill Garden, which has also been awarded a Silver-Gilt medal, welcome Dame Judi Dench and a seven-year-old primary school pupil yesterday to place a seedling from the Sycamore Gap tree, which has been propagated by the National Trust’s Plant Conservation Centre.