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On Tuesday 26 March 2024, Rosie Atkins received an RHS Elizabeth Medal of Honour (EMH), in recognition of her contribution to horticulture. Rosie talks about her career and what receiving the EMH means to her.
March 26, 2024
Some of my earliest memories are of swinging on the garden gate, talking to passers-by, outside our flat in Richmond. Our neighbour, Vernon Ward, was famous for painting flowers which adorned every box of chocolates in the 50s. He would toss still fresh flowers out of his window when his work was done and I would gather them up and give them to my mother. My gardening horizons widened when my father – a young lawyer before joining the Navy at the start of the war, decided to become a hotelier when hostilities ended.
We moved to The Manor Hotel in Godalming, which came with a gardener called Adam, who was more fun than keeping an eye on my baby sister. From there we moved to Georgian coaching inn in Kent which had two, two-acre, walled gardens, run by the wonderful Jim Waterhouse. I became his shadow, or as he liked to say, his ‘goffer’. We had a very special friendship even though my father demoted Jim to the flower garden in order to take on a younger vegetable gardener. I was fascinated by these two experienced gardeners who had such different ideas of how to get the best results. I soon realised gardening wasn’t an exact science, confirmed by listening to BBC Gardeners Question Time.
I had wanted to pursue my love of painting and went to art college after leaving school, but unfortunately my talent didn’t match my enthusiasm, and my indomitable Scottish mother enrolled me on a secretarial course. While I had no ambition to be a secretary, it did lead to my first job in the now-defunct News of the World. It was my job to send out readers’ offers but when the grapefruit knives were returned because they were bent I realised I needed to move on. In 1968, I landed a job in the foreign department of the Sunday Times, under the editorship of the brave and inspirational Harry Evans. My immediate boss had recently taken over from Ian Fleming, of James Bond fame, who had left to concentrate on writing books. It was a time of global turbulence; Russia and their allies had invaded Czechoslovakia, Arab and Israeli troops were fighting and there were protests in most major cities against the war in Vietnam. They were exciting times, and I had immense admiration for the brave war reporters and photographers who never gave up on a story.
From the foreign desk to join a small team of sleuths on Atticus, the Sunday Times diary (or gossip) column and I got to meet some of the good, and not so good, such as the notorious soviet spy Anthony Blunt, curator of the Royal pictures. I found I had a natural aptitude for asking questions born from an insatiable curiosity.
The idea came after my husband and I returned from a year travelling around the world with our two children in the late 80s. I realised how insular our gardening media had become and I was keen to attract readers who were interested in how people gardened abroad as well as wanting to read about distinctive gardens here in the UK. I already knew most of the leading gardening photographers, like Andrew Lawson, and they were as enthusiastic about documenting gardens abroad. In 1990, I was commissioned by a German publisher to produce a dummy gardening magazine which at that time was deemed to be too expensive a proposition to take forward. The following year, a colleague from the Sunday Times asked me to pitch for a new gardening magazine and luckily I had one to hand!
I managed to track down the artist Frederick Hunderwasser and he agreed to show me, and a photographer, around the surreal extraordinary landscape he had created in New Zealand. He was a recluse and very rarely gave interviews.
It was a very proud moment to be voted ‘Editors’ Editor’ by The British Society of Magazine Editors in 1996 and for the Gardens Illustrated garden, designed by Arne Maynard and Piet Oudolf to win Best in Show at RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2000 was beyond our wildest dreams.
I became a freelance garden writer when our children were at school and in order to extend my plant knowledge I volunteered as a gardener at the Chelsea Physic Garden under the expert eye of head gardener, (the late) Fiona Crumley.
Editing Gardens Illustrated was always a challenge and it was only when I saw an advertisement for Curator of Chelsea Physic Garden that I contemplated leaving. Despite never having run a charity or being botanically trained, my chances of following in the footsteps of horticultural giants like Phillip Miller were slim to say the least. To my amazement the Trustees decided to take a chance and we gave up our London house to take up residence in London’s oldest botanic garden. As it turned out I was the last curator to live in this historic oasis, dedicated to the study of useful plants which was founded in 1673.
Journalism was male dominated when I started my working life but garden writing had some pretty good female role models, like Anne Scott-James. Gardens illustrated was pretty much an all-female team and as soon as we launched Anna Pavord and Penelope Hobhouse were asked to be Associate Editors. This brought great rewards when Anna and Penny critiqued every issue, in the hope that if we kept polishing our work it would glow.
I went to my first Chelsea Flower show when I was a teenager, at a time when you had to be proposed and seconded to be an RHS member. While I was Curator of CPG I trained as a RHS show judge. Then I was appointed a member of the Nominations Appointments and Governance Committee and the RHS Woody Plant committee. In 2010 was elected to RHS Council where I chaired the Bursaries and Awards Committee
I loved being on the RHS Woody Plant Committee learning from serious plantsmen like Roy Lancaster and Michael Hickson. I became deputy chair to Raymond Evison of clematis fame, who was succeeded by the brilliant Mark Flanagan, Keeper of the Savill gardens. Mark died unexpectedly in 2015 and I became committee’s first female chairman.
For over 12 years I served on the board of Great Dixter Charitable Trust. I also help found and chair the London Gardens Network along with Fiona Crumley and Mark Lane, then the Queen’s gardener. I’ve also served on the board of Thrive, the Professional Gardeners Trust and Metropolitan Public Gardens Association, of which I am now a Vice President, and as a fellow of the Linnean Society I was on their council.
The RHS has changed dramatically since it was founded in 1804. The society has seen a huge programme of recent expansion with the purchase and development of RHS Bridgewater and the innovations at RHS Wisley. With a new Director General (Clare Matterson) and President (Keith Weed), the charity has become even more collaborative – with RHS scientists working with members to find horticultural solutions to mitigate climate change. They are also working with Government and others to promote horticulture as a profession that attracts well-paid young people from across the spectrum of society. The Chelsea Flower Show is very much the icing on the horticultural cake, but I believe PGB’s recent involvement, thanks to the generosity of our Founders, has made the show more relevant to a wider audience while also giving a platform for charities to promote their good causes.
Arne Maynard called to see if I would be interested in getting involved in a project to support charities hit hard by the pandemic as well as benefiting the RHS who in 2021, had to close the Chelsea Flower Show for the first time in history. Our initial goal was to support 40 different charities over three years and their gardens were to be relocated or repurposed around the UK.
Arne, along with fellow RHS Vice President, Mark Fane and Alex Denman who had been a RHS shows manager, met up with our Founders to set up a charity - but first we had to find a CEO. Interviews took place and we were in no doubt Harriet Ghaui was the one to lead us forward – and we were right on target.
PGB is proof philanthropy can have wide-reaching benefits and the blueprint Hattie and the team have created could be picked up by other farsighted, generous individuals who feel the need to give back to society in such a meaningful way.
I am impressed by how we have managed to keep the charity small and agile which means we can help more people than we ever thought possible. Since our Founders generously agreed to extend the project for another two years we can now expect to fund 60 gardens for good causes at the show which will become a lasting legacy for generations to come.
Unfortunately, my husband fell ill just after our 50th wedding anniversary in autumn 2023 and my priority is to see him restored to health. We have four grandchildren who give us huge pleasure, and I often think I'd like to create one more garden but I’m not sure if the family share my ambition.
Being awarded the EMH came as a huge surprise - I received the letter at a moment when I was really thinking of nothing other than visiting my husband in hospital each day, so it gave me a tremendous boost. The EMH commemorates our late Queen, who was a regular visitor to Chelsea Flower Show. In 2000 she came onto the Gardens Illustrated garden to meet the designers, Piet and Arne who had not only received a gold medal but also won Best in Show. To my horror, the mobile phone I’d been lent by my publisher started ringing in my pocket. Under the disapproving gaze of members of RHS Council, I fumbled to turn the phone off and the Queen calmly said, ‘You had better answer that, it might be someone important.’ Never again will I be able to answer the phone and say, ‘I can’t talk now, I’m with the Queen’.
The Elizabeth Medal of Honour was established in 2023, with the gracious assent of His Majesty King Charles III in perpetual remembrance of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II’s glorious reign. The Medal enables the RHS Council to confer conspicuous honour on those of any nationality that have significantly impacted the advancement of the science, art or practice of horticulture for the benefit of all generations and the environment. In recognition of the duration of Queen Elizabeth’s reign, only 70 medals will be held at any one time.
Grant-making charity Project Giving Back (PGB) will fund a further cohort of gardens for UK charities at RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2025, all of which will be permanently relocated after the show to continue to benefit the good causes that have inspired them.
Project Giving Back supports gardens for good causes at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show, and while the deadline (Friday 4th October 2024) for the 2026 Show Garden funding applications has now passed, we’re pleased to announce that we will be extending the deadline for the 2026 All About Plants funding category to Monday 4th November 2024.
Project Giving Back supports gardens for good causes at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show, and we are excited to announce that we are open to applications for funding for all categories listed on our website for 2026.
The annual Gardens for Good Causes Exhibition will be on display at the Garden Museum in London from 13 - 29 September
Since Project Giving Back (PGB) started funding gardens for good causes at RHS Chelsea Flower Show in 2022, our unique grant-making charity has had a significant impact - not only on the world-famous flower show and the charities who have used the opportunity to raise funds and awareness, but also on the communities where the gardens find permanent homes after the show has closed. All 60 gardens PGB will fund between 2022 and 2026 will have a life after RHS Chelsea in permanent locations around the UK.
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It is 30 years since Mark Fane built his first garden at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show and this year will be the last. As Crocus bows out of the show, Mark reflects on their incredible legacy of designer partnerships that have delighted show visitors and viewers and inspired a new generation of designers, landscapers and nursery folk.
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For the last 20+ years I’ve been celebrating IWD in the corporate world … a world where we’ve used the day to celebrate the progress and achievements being made. And that’s been important because, let’s face it, there are still today material discrepancies in the number of women in senior and leadership roles, and in gender pay. Corporates now recognise the issue and, in most cases, are working hard to address the imbalances. However, targets of 40% of women on Boards and an 8% gender pay gap shows there is still a long way to go, and it’s a nut that hasn’t been cracked.
We are delighted to be supporting all six of the All About Plants gardens at RHS Chelsea this May. These small gardens use the power of plants to highlight the work of some amazing charitable causes and showcase new designers and specialist growers and nurseries.
Project Giving Back exists to amplify the work of charitable causes in the UK. We fulfil our purpose by funding gardens for good causes at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show. The gardens are first a catalyst for engagement at the world-renowned Royal Horticultural Society Chelsea Flower Show, before being relocated or repurposed to permanent sites across the UK creating an ongoing legacy and benefit to the causes and their communities.
Trees, water and a heartwarming dose of joy were the main topics of conversation at the RHS Gardens for the Future press conference this week.
Project Giving Back (PGB) will support 15 gardens for good causes at RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2024, including seven show gardens and two sanctuary gardens that have been announced by the RHS today.
We are now accepting expressions of interest from charities and designers interested in applying to create a fully funded show garden at RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2025. This follows our recent announcement that Project Giving Back is extending its programme of funding for gardens for good causes until 2026. Here we explain in more detail the stages and timeline for the application process.
Project Giving Back (PGB) intends to continue its support of gardens for good causes at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show in 2025 and 2026. Expressions of interest for 2025 funding can be submitted via the Project Giving Back website from Friday 22 September to Friday 3 November 2023. All gardens supported by PGB are repurposed in permanent locations around the UK after the show as ongoing legacies for the causes that inspired them.
We are excited to be back at the Garden Museum in September with a two week exhibition celebrating the 15 gardens supported by PGB at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2023. All our 2023 gardens for good causes are being relocated to permanent homes throughout the UK.
My first visit to the RHS Chelsea Flower Show site during the build always blows my mind. With 25 show gardens this year, the compact site feels full of activity, machinery and a LOT of people in high vis.
Project Giving Back offers a form of creative philanthropy in which good causes receive a gift of opportunity rather than direct funding. Wide ranging benefits include opportunities for extensive press and social media coverage, hosting exclusive events for potential donors and direct engagement with thousands of show visitors. We asked our 2022 garden teams to tell us how their experience at RHS Chelsea 2022 has impacted their charity so far.
Every International Women’s Day, thousands of “Happy IWD” messages are sent and received. Don’t get me wrong, I’m at the front of the queue when it comes to wanting to celebrate the achievements of women, past, present and future, but when it comes to international anything day/week/month, ‘happy’ is not often what I feel. While I applaud organisations for using it as a vehicle for highlighting change still needed, every year, there’s a part of me that feels frustrated because the very existence of a day is evidence that equality is still being strived for.
Speaking at the PGB 2023 Exhibitor Workshop, Katie Tait, Director of Communications at Maggie’s and PGB Mentor, chats to some of our 2022 cohort about the challenges of running successful PR campaigns in the crowded Chelsea media space.
House Nine Design and Project Giving Back helped raise over £15,000 to help those fleeing domestic abuse through the charity Furnishing Futures.
We are delighted to reveal further good causes we will support next year with the announcement of the All About Plants and Sanctuary Gardens at RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2023.
Following a hugely successful inaugural year in 2022, we will support more gardens for good causes in 2023. They will be presented at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show, before being repurposed and relocated to their permanent homes across the UK. These include seven Show Gardens announced by the RHS. All gardens we support are inspired by UK charities and will live on after the show as a lasting legacy for their individual good causes - as teaching gardens, community spaces and other beneficial green spaces.
The Garden Museum will host a special exhibition, from 30 September - 6 October 2022, to celebrate the twelve gardens for good causes supported by Project Giving Back that were presented at RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2022.
To help applicants plan a submission for 2024 funding, we are sharing more information about the questions that will be asked in our expression of interest form.
From 1 - 23 September 2022, we will be inviting expressions of interest for garden funding at RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2024.
RHS Chelsea 2022 was a vintage year and Project Giving Back is proud to have played its part. Hattie Ghaui, CEO of Project Giving Back, reflects on the charity's first RHS Chelsea Flower Show, celebrates some of the incredible success stories, and looks ahead to the next milestone in the charity's Chelsea journey.
Hattie Ghaui has been appointed CEO of Project Giving Back, which is now a registered charity.
Once our charities and garden designers have had their design accepted by the RHS, then it’s all systems go. There is a huge amount of organisation involved in creating a show garden at RHS Chelsea Flower Show. As former RHS Chelsea Flower Show Manager and RHS Head of Shows Development, our advisory panel member Alexandra Denman is perfectly placed to provide insight into the many things that go into bringing together a successful show garden.
It is thanks to the generosity of our Founders that Project Giving Back exists to give good causes the opportunity to have a presence at RHS Chelsea Flower Show. Here our Project Director, Hattie Ghaui, explains more about how our gardens are funded.
When Project Giving Back was first conceived at the beginning of last year, Rosie Atkins was an obvious choice to be invited to get involved. Rosie began her career in journalism at the Sunday Times and 30 years ago launched Gardens Illustrated magazine. After ten years as editor, she left to become Curator of Chelsea Physic Garden. She has chaired various RHS committees and served on the boards of several charities. Here Rosie tells us what made her want to be part of Project Giving Back and why she thinks gardening and good causes are such a good fit.
We are thrilled to announce the good causes and designers behind four new All About Plants gardens, supported by Project Giving Back at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2022.
Project Giving Back will support 12 gardens for good causes at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show in May 2022. Today we can reveal seven of those gardens, with more to be announced later in January. All gardens supported by Project Giving Back will be unveiled to show visitors and viewers before being relocated to their permanent homes across the UK in summer 2022.
For the first time in the show’s 108-year history, the RHS Chelsea Flower Show was held in autumn this year. The sun shone all week and the whole experience was one of relaxed, late summer contentment. We popped along to discover more about how the greatest flower show on Earth offers an unparalleled platform for good causes to tell the world about their work.
We're so pleased to be able to announce a new and unique organisation that will provide funding for gardens inspired by UK charities and not-for-profit organisations at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show in 2022, 2023 and 2024.
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