Europe for Visitors Blog

ABOVE: Yorkshire's Rhubarb Crumble and Custard Garden. INSET: The Queen visits the garden. 

Welcome to Yorkshire's Rhubarb Crumble and Custard Garden has been voted the public's favorite garden at the 2010 RHS Chelsea Flower Show in London. The award follows the Royal Horticultural Society's silver medal for the garden earlier in the week and a visit by the Queen.

The garden, described as "a quirky take on the classic dish of rhubarb crumble and custard," features a large bowl of rhubarb (see top photo) with a traditional dry stone wall representing the crumble topping and yellow sedum plants depicting "a good serving of custard flowing through the garden." The York stone patio has a handcrafted oak chair, shaped like a spoon, by Yorkshire Dales craftsman Peter Cummings.

Welcome to Yorkshire reports that "the garden is made even more celebratory" by the fact that Yorkshire Forced Rhubarb was awarded Protected Designation of Origin status by the European Commission's Protected Food Name Scheme (which also covers Parma ham and Champagne) earlier this year.

The Rhubarb Crumble and Custard Garden will be on display again at the Great Yorkshire Show (July 13-15) before taking up permanent residence at RHS Harlow Carr, Harrogate.

For more information about Yorkshire, which attracts 209 million visits each year, see Welcome to Yorkshire's Web site at www.yorkshire.com. 

To request a free Yorkshire Gardens guide, visit www.yorkshire.com/gardens.

BELOW: Welcome to Yorkshire CEO Gary Verity is flanked by Simon Hall and Kate Dundas of Gillespies, the urban and landscape design firm that created the garden.