South Africa's Fynbos wins gold at UK flower competition as Kirstenbosch maintains strategic absence
Image: Supplied
For the sixth consecutive year, Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden did not exhibit at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show. The South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI), which manages the iconic garden, confirmed that its decision to step away from the world-renowned event was made in 2019 and remains in place.
According to Nontsikelelo Mpulo, Director of Marketing, Communication and Commercialisation at SANBI, the decision was based on a combination of practical and strategic considerations.
'The Chelsea Flower Show was a costly exercise for the organisation with no clear return on investment,' said Mpulo. 'Our displays featured indigenous flowers and materials that were often confiscated at the UK border and not permitted for use. Additionally, our sponsors withdrew their support.'
The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic further affected SANBI's financial stability, and revenue has yet to return to pre-pandemic levels. While a return to Chelsea has not been ruled out, Mpulo said the organisation is exploring local alternatives, including plans to establish a Biodiversity Expo in the Western Cape and Gauteng.
'It has been some time since Kirstenbosch participated in the show. The questions you pose have periodically come to the organisation, and our position remains the same,' she added.
Despite its absence from Chelsea, Kirstenbosch continues to be celebrated internationally. It has been named one of the top ten gardens in the world by The New York Times, received the 2024 TripAdvisor Travellers' Choice Best of the Best award, and was voted Best Botanical Garden in Africa by the World Luxury Travel Awards in 2023.
South Africa won big
Image: Supplied
Kirstenbosch also became the first South African botanical garden to receive Level IV accreditation from the ArbNet Arboretum Accreditation Programme and The Morton Arboretum in the USA — an honour currently shared by just 46 gardens worldwide.
While Kirstenbosch was not at Chelsea, South Africa was proudly represented by designer Leon Kluge and horticulturist Tristan Woudberg, whose spectacular fynbos exhibit won a gold medal at the 2025 show. The display captured the beauty and diversity of the Cape Floristic Region through two towering mountain slopes divided by a ravine, designed to evoke a secret Cape waterfall in springtime and constructed with over 25,000 stems of fynbos blooms.
Grootbos Private Nature Reserve was one of several sponsors supporting Kluge's display, alongside Hazendal Wine Estate, the Rupert Nature Foundation and Southern Sun. Michael Lutzeyer, owner of Grootbos, expressed his pride in the team's achievement.
Chelsea Flowers in Stanford will be open to the public in spring from 10-24 September 2025
Image: Supplied
'I am delighted and proud of Leon Kluge's fynbos display which received international recognition and a gold-award at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show, confirming what we at Grootbos have always known — the Cape Floristic Region is one of the most beautiful and unique regions of the world and fynbos itself is the star of the show.
"Grootbos was one of the proud sponsors of the exhibit which celebrates the beauty of fynbos — thank you and well done to the whole team who worked so hard. Grootbos Private Nature Reserve and the Grootbos Foundation have protected and conserved this landscape for 25 years and the RHS Chelsea Flower Show has confirmed that the world (and even the fox) believes this biodiversity hotspot is worth protecting.'
To ensure South Africans can also experience the magic of Chelsea, Grootbos and the Grootbos Foundation will sponsor a full-scale replica of the winning display in the village of Stanford. Titled Chelsea Flowers in Stanford, the exhibition will run from 10 to 24 September 2025 and coincide with the region's spring bloom.
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