Grant Associates wins Gold and Design Excellence at Shenzhen Flower Show

Grant Associates has been awarded Gold and the Design Excellence Award for narrative and design at the 2026 Greater Bay Area Flower Show in Shenzhen for its Master Garden entitled Rainbow Garden : The Messenger’s Path.

Designed by Chelsea Flower Show Gold Medal winners Peter Chmiel and Chin Chen, the garden brings together a richly layered planting design with a strong narrative concept centred on journey and transition. 

Set within the International Masters Garden area of the show, the 170 sqm garden personifies rainbow mythology where Iris, The Rainbow Goddess and messenger between heaven and earth, travels across the skies on her radiant arc – a poetic metaphor for connection, transformation, and harmony.

The journey begins in a heavenly water realm, along a rainbow-inspired dreamy walk, to an earthy realm - inspired by the British Arts and Crafts garden movement. A crafted boundary framing the garden with rambling roses symbolizes beauty shaped by time, care and craftsmanship. The pairing of iris and rose is intentional: one emerges from water and earth, the other is patiently trained and woven into structure. Together they represent the meeting of wild nature and cultivated art, a core principle of British garden tradition.

Vibrant hues and elegant rainbow arches are enriched by both cultural meaning and ecological value. Plants absorb nutrients and cleanse water, soil and air. Nectar rich flowers attract bees, butterflies, and birds.

The Greater Bay Area Flower Show is one of Asia’s most high-profile international horticultural events, bringing together leading designers and gardens from across the region and beyond. This year’s show features more than 30 gardens across 4 flagship zones - International Master Gardens, Bay Area Gardens, Floral Market and City Garden. Last year’s show attracted 1.8m visitors over the week, nearly 20% of the 20 million population of Shenzen.

The Design Excellence Award recognises the strength of the garden’s narrative — where storytelling, planting and spatial composition are fully integrated.

Peter Chmiel, Director of Grant Associates comments:

“This is a garden designed to be experienced in motion — as a sequence of moments shaped by colour, texture and light. Walking the rainbow one experiences a transition between colours, realms, cultures and ideas, where the legacy of art and craft is re-expressed through a living landscape. It’s incredibly rewarding to our design recognised with these top awards.”

Chin Chen, Associate Director of Grant Associates says:

“We wanted the narrative to be felt as much as understood. The planting and spatial layout work together to create a journey that is both immersive and intuitive.”

Rainbow Garden : The Messenger’s Path was constructed by local contractors Shenzhen Binhai City Environmental Construction Engineering Co Ltd 深圳市滨海之都环境建设工程有限公司 with Shenzhen YiXiang Curating and Design Co., Ltd. as the client.

Click here to view a video of the garden.

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Editors notes

Grant Associates is a pioneering international landscape architecture practice, whose work reconnects people with nature in insightful, delightful and distinctive ways whilst addressing the global challenges of urbanisation, the climate crisis and biodiversity extinction. Grant Associates’ design process is underpinned by a knowledge of human behaviour, nature and ecological science combined with innovative design technology. The practice combines original thinking, creative collaboration and regenerative design to breathe new life into our cities and landscapes.