Monumental sculpture earns Waterford men historic Chelsea Flower Show victory
The garden which won the Gold medal and coveted the Garden of the Year award at the Chelsea Flower Show features an incredible 70-foot wooden sculpture which was worked on by two Waterford men.
King Charles, David Beckham and more have been pictured admiring the monumental piece over the weekend, with Waterford clearly leaving its mark on the world’s most renowned flower and gardening show.
The sculpture was worked on by John Hayes, born and bred in Ballybricken and now residing in Fenor, and Christopher Dee, originally from Stradbally and now living in Dungarvan.
The piece formed part of Sarah Eberle’s show garden, one of the world’s most celebrated gardeners who holds the record as the most decorated designer in the history of Chelsea.
The centrepiece of her garden was the 70-foot wooden sculpture of Mother Nature or Gaia.
The massive sculpture features a guardian figure whose hand touches water from a shallow pool. Her flowing hair was woven from willows, and connects into a dry-stone wall that runs through the surrounding garden.
The construction of the sculpture was led by Welsh chainsaw carver and wood sculptor, Christopher Wood, who was closely aided by Heather Compton and Waterford’s John and Christopher.
All show gardens at Chelsea require a plan for repurposing, and the wooden sculpture worked on by the Waterford men will now be moved 160 miles north of Chelsea to its new permanent home in Sheffield.
Speaking to the Waterford News & Star after the historic victory, Waterford’s John Hayes said he was blown away by the response to the sculpture.
"To be working with such talented people was just unbelievable. It can't just be one person, it all happens because of the amazing team that was put together" John said.
“I was super proud that Chris Dee was out there with me. We're just two lads from Waterford and now we're going over to take part in Chelsea, its brilliant.
"It couldn’t have been done with just one person, it’s because of the amazing team that was put together. For any project to work on that level that’s what you need"
"As a Waterford person, my goal is that there’s a young man or woman out there who sees a guy from Waterford in Chelsea to show it is possible. Believe in your ideas, work hard at it, and you can get the opportunity to do these things."
In recent weeks, the Waterford News & Star reported on John’s plans to develop a massively ambitious Tourist Attraction of Scale for Waterford.
John says he hopes his accomplishments in Chelsea will now lead to creating something special for his home county of Waterford.
“This was all part of trying to develop a world attraction for Waterford. The response from the crowd in Chelsea proves to me that the ideas we want to do here in Waterford will work. We just need the backing. Together we can deliver major projects for the southeast and I hope this shows that.
“We have the best county in Ireland and some of the most talented people in the world here, so if we can get them together to deliver something special for us it would be amazing. I have no doubt that the people of Waterford could deliver a world attraction that would put us on the map."
