From Chelsea to Sheffield: ‘On the Edge’ garden to take root at Park Hill

A garden created to celebrate England’s overlooked countryside will soon begin a second life in the heart of Sheffield.

Designed by award-winning landscape designer Sarah Eberle, the garden shines a light on the fragile but vital countryside found on the fringes of towns and cities, places that connect people to nature in everyday life yet are often undervalued or under threat. For CPRE, the garden is about more than beauty. It is about helping people recognise the value of the countryside that surrounds them.

Roger Mortlock, Chief Executive of CPRE, said:

‘We want people to feel pride in their countryside, and through this garden, to love the countryside that’s right on their doorstep. We’re especially excited that the garden will be relocated to Sheffield. In many ways, Sheffield is the birthplace of CPRE, where some of our earliest calls for a Green Belt began. That work was led by the remarkable Ethel Haythornthwaite, and I hope she would be proud to see this garden celebrating the relationship between the city and the countryside that surrounds it.’

A second life at Park Hill

Following the RHS Chelsea Flower Show in May, the garden will be carefully dismantled and reimagined at Park Hill, one of Sheffield’s most recognisable and historically significant housing developments.

Originally built in the 1960s Park Hill has been transformed in recent years by a joint venture partnership of Urban Splash and Places for People with the pair working together to create hundreds of new homes, student accommodation, amenities and green spaces.

Speaking on behalf of the joint venture, Sian Stanhope said:

‘We’re genuinely thrilled to be partnering with CPRE and the wider team on this project. It will provide Park Hill residents with a beautiful new space to enjoy, enhancing and building on the landscaped areas we’ve already created.’

Once rebuilt, the garden will become a lasting green space for residents and visitors, a place for gathering, reflection and connection with nature.

The garden features a striking land art centrepiece: a guardian figure of Mother Nature, or Gaia, partly carved from fallen mature trees by champion chainsaw artist Chris Wood. Willow hair, created by west Wales-based sculptor Tom Hare, flows from the figure to form the top of a dry-stone wall that snakes through generous, naturalistic planting. A winding path leads under Gaia’s arched torso to a sheltered central space with stone seating and a water trough, designed for community gathering or quiet contemplation.

That dry-stone wall is being built by siblings Lydia and Cuthbert Noble of Noble Stonework, fifth-generation stone wallers from Holmfirth in West Yorkshire. Their work will be among the elements that make the journey from Chelsea to Sheffield, stone by stone, helping ensure the garden’s materials and craftsmanship continue to serve a lasting purpose.

For the people creating the garden, its second life is an essential part of its story.

Lydia Noble said: ‘It’s always really nice when gardens get relocated. It means they’re going to be there for lots of other people to see and enjoy. And particularly for us with it going to Sheffield, I was born in Sheffield, so it’s a nice touch.’

Heather Crompton, who is helping carve the central Gaia sculpture with artist Chris Wood, grew up in Sheffield and remembers the powerful presence of Park Hill in the city’s story: ‘It’s really nice to do something that’s going to end up somewhere I have some sense of belonging to,’ she said. ‘People I know will be able to visit it, and that feels really special.’

Sian Stanhope said ‘Park Hill carries such rich history and heritage, so it’s especially meaningful to know that Ethel Haythornthwaite had connections to this place and that, combined with the Yorkshire craftsmanship involved in creating the garden, makes this a truly special moment for both the estate and Park Hill residents.’

From show garden to shared space

The relocation of On the Edge to Park Hill reflects the garden’s core message: that the countryside on the edges of towns and cities matters, and that with care, overlooked spaces can become places of connection, belonging and renewal.

On the Edge will be on display at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show from 19 to 23 May 2026, before relocating to Sheffield during the summer.

Find out more at cpre.org.uk/rhs-chelsea-2026.