African Soil, Global Gold: SA's Fynbos Triumphs at Chelsea

Team South Africa has once again proven that the African continent holds natural wealth the world cannot ignore. Award-winning landscape designer Leon Kluge and his team secured gold at the 2026 Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) Chelsea Flower Show in London, with a display that celebrates the resilience of our indigenous fynbos ecosystem.

The exhibit, titled Life After Fire, showcased the extraordinary diversity of South African flowers that emerge after Cape wildfires. Built from approximately 20 000 Protea-cut flower stems and thousands of burned Protea branches, the display recreated a post-fire landscape featuring bulbs and orchids from all regions of the country.

African Resilience, Rooted in the Soil

There is a deeper symbolism here that cannot be overlooked. The fynbos biome, like the African people themselves, has always survived destruction. Fire ravages the land, and from the ashes, life returns stronger. Kluge acknowledged the difficulties his team faced, given the extreme weather conditions that nearly prevented their participation.

It was a lot of hard work putting this stand together, a rollercoaster to be honest, because we had so many floods in South Africa, lots of rain, snow on the farms where we needed to harvest all of these flowers, and at some point we didn't know whether we're actually going to get to Chelsea.

Despite the massive destruction in the Cape over the past year, the team persevered. Kluge emphasized the importance of maintaining our flora for a healthy ecosystem, calling the display a celebration of our flowers in South Africa and our fire-driven ecosystem, which is so special.

Bringing Our Heritage Home

While the Western world continues to marvel at African botanical wealth on their own stages, the real victory lies in bringing this experience home. Photographer Sven Musica confirmed the display will be rebuilt in Stanford, Western Cape, in September, giving South Africans a two-week opportunity to experience their own natural heritage firsthand.

This year marked South Africa's 50th appearance at the prestigious show, and the exhibit also earned the best title in the Great Pavilion. The aim was clear: put on an outstanding show of South African plants while educating visitors about the unique fynbos landscape ecosystem and its impressive regeneration after fire.

This achievement follows last year's gold win, inspired by the meeting of the Atlantic and Indian oceans and all the flora in between. Our indigenous plants continue to dominate on the world stage, a reminder that Africa's natural wealth is not for the West to claim or validate. It is ours to protect, celebrate, and share on our own terms.