Landscape designer and botanist Leon Kluge has won the ‘Best on Show’ and ‘Grand Gold’ awards at the Shenzhen International Flower Show for his African-Asian inspired garden.

• Leon Kluge won “Best on Show” and “Grand Gold” awards at the Shenzhen International Flower Show in China.
• The event features over 30 garden installations, focusing on sustainable innovation and themed around the iris flower.
• Kluge’s display blended Asian design with African plants, promoting South African flora in the Chinese market.

Team South Africa has once again done the country proud – this time at the prestigious Shenzhen International Flower Show in China, where award-winning gardener Leon Kluge took top honours, winning both “Best on Show” and a “Grand Gold” award.

The Shenzhen International Flower Show is one of Asia’s largest garden showcases, drawing around a million visitors. This year’s 10-day event features more than 30 large-scale garden installations.

The event invites international designers to do experimental farming and focus on sustainable innovation.

This year’s flower show is themed around the iris – a bloom often revered as the “rainbow goddess” of the plant kingdom for its spectrum of colours.

Kluge and his team presented a display that blended Asian design with African influence, reflected not only in the architectural elements but also in the plant selection.

“This is a garden that showcases many South African plants, which I hope to introduce to the Chinese market, alongside species commonly used in their gardens. It’s a strong combination that demonstrates how South African plants can be incorporated into their landscapes,” said Kluge.

SEE | SA’s oceans-inspired garden that won gold and top award at Chelsea Flower Show

The competition started on Friday and will conclude on 6 April.

In July last year, Kluge and his team won a gold medal for South Africa at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show in London for a garden inspired by the windswept slopes of the Cape mountains.

The team also won “Best Exhibit in the Pavilion” and “Best New Design” in 2024.

The latest win continues his winning streak for proudly South African exhibits on the global stage.

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