CORNWALL’S craftsmanship and creative spirit will take centre stage at next year’s RHS Chelsea Flower Show, as celebrated Fowey-based landscape designer Darren Hawkes unveils a powerful new garden that tackles one of the UK’s most urgent – and least understood – women’s health issues.

His 2026 showpiece, the Lady Garden Foundation’s “Silent No More” Garden, sets out to spark national conversations about the five gynaecological cancers, using art created by makers from Devon and Cornwall to break long-standing silence and stigma.

At the heart of Hawkes’ design are five striking sculptures, each representing one of the five cancers: cervical, ovarian, womb, vaginal and vulval. To bring these symbols to life, Darren has turned to two exceptional local artisans – Devon ceramist Hannah Hartwell and internationally renowned Cornish-born wood-turner Antony Bryant.

Their work will form the emotional backbone of the garden, guiding visitors along a winding path where each sculpture appears like a discovery.

Currently, awareness around these cancers remains alarmingly low. A 2025 Lady Garden Foundation survey of more than 15,600 university students found that 78 per cent could not identify the symptoms – and only 21.4 per cent even knew there were five gynaecological cancers.

For Darren these figures underscored the need for a garden that does more than simply look beautiful.

“The five sculptures will be an artistic focal point,” he said. “I hope they compel visitors to pause, look more closely and engage on a deeper, more emotional level. So many people are unaware that there are five gynaecological cancers, and by including five sculptures, we’re stirring curiosity and sparking these vital conversations.”

His collaboration with Hannah and Antony became central to shaping that message. Together they explored the textures and forms inspired by cancer cell division, ultimately developing sculptural designs reminiscent of smooth, pebble-like shapes marked with telling imperfections. Hannah’s maquettes will be cast in bronze, alabaster, stoneware and wood, while Antony’s contribution will be crafted from Cornish macrocarpa, a nod to the region’s natural landscape and materials.

The Lady Garden Foundation, which was started open in 2014, hopes this artistic approach will help break through barriers that have prevented women – especially younger women – from seeking timely advice or screening. Their findings reveal that lack of awareness can delay life-saving diagnoses, and they are determined to change that trajectory.

To build on the momentum of the Chelsea garden, the charity will expand its national educational programme in 2026, increasing work at Freshers’ Fairs from 29 to 50 universities, colleges and training hubs, supported by an additional cohort of 25 new student ambassadors. Their aim is to create an educational ecosystem where every young person in the UK can access essential gynaecological health information.

After RHS Chelsea, the garden will be relocated to a community location on the island of Jersey to become a permanent legacy for the Lady Garden Foundation. Additional plants from the garden will also be donated to the Royal Marsden Hospital in Sutton, in recognition of the link between the Royal Marsden Hospitals and the Lady Garden Foundation.