Accsys is delighted to share that the Parkinson’s UK charity garden, “Parkinson’s UK – A Garden for Every Parkinson’s Journey,” featuring Accoya wood, has been awarded Silver at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2026.
Designed by award-winning garden designer and broadcaster Arit Anderson, and sponsored by grant-giving charity Project Giving Back, the garden highlights the restorative power of thoughtfully designed green spaces for people living with Parkinson’s.
Accoya wood played a key role in bringing the garden to life, having been donated to Parkinson’s UK through the ‘Accoya Gives Back’* charitable programme, which supports projects delivering positive social impact. It was used to create the sculptural arch, the hand-rill, and the garden benches, designed and manufactured by Millimetre.
The sculptural Accoya arch creates a secluded and reflective space within the garden. Gently lit at night, it extends the hours of enjoyment for visitors, including those living with insomnia, providing a calm, restful environment.
One of the most talked-about and popular features has been the innovative Accoya “hand-rill,” a flowing water feature that also functions as a tactile handrail, which guides visitors through the space. Its unique combination of movement, sound and touch has drawn strong interest from visitors, making it a standout element of the garden experience. The sound and movement of water also provide important sensory cues that can help people with Parkinson’s overcome “freezing,” a temporary inability to move.
Accoya’s durability, dimensional stability, and proven performance in wet environments, backed by a 50-year above-ground and 25-year in-ground or freshwater warranty, made it the ideal material for these features.
Laura Keily, Head of Marketing at Accsys, said: “It has been very inspiring to see the Parkinson’s UK garden come to life at RHS Chelsea Flower Show, with Accoya used in such a meaningful project. The Silver Award is a wonderful added acknowledgement of the work behind it. We’re also looking forward to seeing the garden begin its second life at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford, where it will continue to provide a lasting space for people living with Parkinson’s.”
* The Accoya Gives Back programme provides up to 10m³ of Accoya wood annually to projects that deliver positive social impact. The programme aligns with Accsys’ broader ESG goals and product accreditations, including FSC® (CO12330) sourcing, Cradle to Cradle Certified® and Declare label.
