The judges at the esteemed Royal Horticultural Society’s Chelsea Flower Show have this morning awarded a Gold medal to Ireland’s Master Gardener, Billy Alexander for his impressive fern collection. In a triumph for Irish horticulture, this marks the third consecutive Gold medal that Billy has received for his exhibits at the prestigious event. ‘Wilde Kells Bay Gardens’, sponsored by Wilde Aparthotels is Alexander’s most ambitious display yet, in terms of scale at 120 metres and complexity of design with over 100 species of ferns featured throughout. The Chelsea Flower Show takes place from today Tuesday 20th – Saturday 24th May 2025.
Speaking about the announcement, Billy Alexander, Owner Kells Bay Gardens said, “I am quite honestly speechless, and over the moon to have received another gold medal this morning. The announcement today is the culmination of 24 months of planning, cultivating and working with my incredible team and partners to get to this moment. It takes a huge amount of work to protect the plants, get them looking their best and to transport them safely all the way from Cahersiveen to Chelsea but it is worth every minute. I’m delighted to be able to share my passion with others and want to extend my gratitude to the RHS and its judges for this acknowledgement”.
Wilde Kells Bay Gardens
The 2025 exhibit builds upon Alexander’s previous showcases and highlights the unique beauty and diversity of ferns from around the world. As one of the oldest family of plant species in the world, ferns thrive in the naturally temperate microclimate of Kells Bay Gardens, situated on the Ring of Kerry with breathtaking views of the Iveragh Peninsula. Complementing the exhibit, sphagnum moss and rocks from Kells Bay are situated in a woodland and bog garden around a dark, still water pool. The towering display wowed judges, with rare and exotic fern species from New Zealand, Australia, Juan Fernandez Islands, Vietnam, Chile, Japan (to name a few) featured throughout.
A groundswell of support
Last year, the Royal Horticultural Society further recognised Billy’s talent and contribution to the sector with the Lawrence Medal, which is the highest honour awarded to an exhibitor for their display. It is awarded annually for the best exhibit shown to the RHS Society during a given year. Alexander had considerable success at the 2023 RHS Chelsea Flower show, securing both a Gold medal and the coveted “Best Exhibit in the Great Pavilion” award. He also received Gold medals in 2021 for his displays at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show and Hampton Court Garden Festival respectively.
Boasting one of the largest private fern collections in Europe, Billy has specimens that hail from the Pacific Islands, Indonesia, Vietnam and New Zealand and he regularly travels to exotic locations to meet with other plant experts and to seek out new specimen to add to the collection at Kells Bay. Outside of horticultural shows, ferns from Alexander’s collection are held in high esteem and can even be found in royal grounds – including King Charles’ private place of residence Highgrove House in Gloucestershire, UK.
For more information visit www.kellsbay.ie, or follow @kellsbaygardens on Facebook and Instagram.
