South Africa are world champions once more with the Cape Floral Kingdom shining at the prestigious Chelsea Flower Show.

The South African display at this year’s RHS Chelsea flower show has not only won a Gold medal, but also the “Best exhibit in the Great Pavilion” as well as “The Best New Design” award.

The Chelsea Flower Show opened in London on 21 May, and draws inspirational garden designs from around the world. Hosted by the Royal Horticultural Society, it is internationally acclaimed and attracts thousands of visitors annually.

South Africa has consistently featured in the top garden designs through the years, winning numerous Gold medals. In fact, South African fynbos displays have won 37 gold medals since 1976 when it participated for the first time.

This year, South Africa’s garden featured The Cape Floral Kingdom, which we as South Africans need to celebrate and conserve.

Led by designer Leon Kluge and artist Tristan Woudberg, they wowed the judges with their design which has been described as a ”fynbos explosion”, securing a record-breaking 38th Gold medal.

Kluge was overjoyed at the announcement and shared a fantastic video showcasing the Cape Floral Kingdom design.

Boost for Western Cape Flower producers

Ahead of the shows opening, the Western Cape Department of Agriculture highlighted the partnership between the provincial government and Cape Flora SA (CFSA) to supply the flowers to the designers.

CFSA Board Member and Managing Director of De Fynne Nursery near Paarl, Jacky Goliath flew the flag high for both upcoming and commercial cut flower producers, as she represented South Africa at the Chelsea Flower Show.

The Department says Fynbos cut flowers are one of the Western Cape’s income-generating export products.

Cape flora accounts for 90% of South Africa’s cut flower exports and provides income to many communities in rural areas.

In 2023, fresh-cut flowers performed better than dried flowers on the global export markets and were valued at R85 billion compared to R10 billion for dried flowers.

According to the manager of Cape Flora, Karien Bezuidenhout, the growth of the export market has triggered modernisation and innovation within the industry.

“This has led to higher product quality which has benefited sales in domestic and international markets. The growing demand for high-quality fynbos products in international markets is welcomed, providing livelihoods for stakeholders and communities within the South African fynbos industry.”

Western Cape MEC of Agriculture Dr Ivan Meyer lauded South Africa’s participation at the show.

“Our participation in the event will showcase the unique fynbos of the Western Cape, and with the potential increase in the export of fynbos cut-flowers, more jobs will be created and both commercial and new farmers will benefit.”

In an interview with The Gardener Magazine, before the awards were handed out, designer Leon Kluge further explained the inspiration behind using indigenous cape flora, especially flowers in the Protea family: