Grant Associates won Gold and the Design Excellence Award at the 2026 Greater Bay Area Flower Show in Shenzhen for Rainbow Garden : The Messenger’s Path, designed by Chelsea Flower Show Gold Medal winners Peter Chmiel and Chin Chen. The 170 sqm garden reflects rainbow mythology, portraying Iris, The Rainbow Goddess, traveling across the sky as a metaphor for connection, transformation, and harmony. It starts in a heavenly water realm along a rainbow-inspired walk, leading to an earthy area inspired by the British Arts and Crafts movement, with a boundary of rambling roses symbolizing beauty shaped by time and care. The pairing of iris and rose highlights the meeting of wild nature and cultivated art, core to British gardening. Vibrant colors and rainbow arches also serve ecological purposes, attracting pollinators and cleansing the environment.
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.
Rainbow Garden: The Messenger’s Path is on display at the Greater Bay Area Flower Show in Shenzhen from 27 March to 6 April 2026. The garden 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.
Images: Courtesy of Grant Associates