That lucky spade did it again for Roger Platts as his Windows Through Time garden was awarded top honours in RHS Chelsea’s Main Avenue. Roger, who is never happier than when he is digging the Chelsea soil, celebrated his fifth Chelsea gold with what he says is a garden that ‘turned out even better than he had hoped’.

Roger, from Edenbridge, was tasked with capturing garden trends over the last 100 years. He achieved this through a sublime planting scheme and by avoiding the temptation to over-complicate his garden with too many elements.

With recycled stone and brick he created mellow walls and a rockery that looked like they had been on the site for decades and added a triumph-of-a-summerhouse topped with a thatch as gold as his medal.

While most designers were panicking about the lateness of plants because of the cool weather, Roger utilised his skills as a plantsman to take advantage of situation and incorporated specimens that would normally be past their best by late May.

A tangle of purple wisteria over the ‘derelict house’ and a giant white rhododendron cheekily poking up from behind a wall added realistic touches to the meticulous design. The advantage of growing your own plants for Chelsea put Roger’s garden above the rest.

More than 2,000 plants were grown at his nursery and everything looked so natural it belied the expertise and effort that had gone in to the M&G Investments-sponsored garden.

“I am so pleased that I got my lucky spade mended,” he said knowing it had some become something of a mascot. And so were the visitors who were writing down the names of his plants to create their own little bit of Chelsea.

“I love it when people take home ideas from my garden,” said Roger who clearly delights in not only winning but sharing his love of gardening with the rest of the world - including the Queen who stopped by to congratulate the King of Chelsea design.

East Malling Research Centre (ERM) also grabbed gold in its own centenary year with their innovative and thought-provoking The Fruit of the Tree stand.

Ross Newham, of EMR, said: “Our 100 years of scientific excellence has transformed fruit production in the smallest garden to farms across the world.

“Fruit trees no longer need so much space due to developments in rootstock. This is so important because we need to be able to feed nine billion people by 2050. In real terms that means producing as much food as we did in the 500 years from 1500 to 2000 in the 50 years from 2000 to 2050.

“We have one EMR’s old Discovery apple trees, complete with roots, on display to show much space the older trees used to take up. We are hoping that visitors will want to know more and come along to our open day on September 14 if they want to find out more."

Professor of Planting Design Nigel Dunnett, from Selling, near Faversham, struck gold with his second main show garden. His ‘skyline greening’ for the Royal Bank of Canada’s Blue Water Roof Garden ticked all the boxes for the judges.

Nigel, who focuses on the integration of ecology and horticulture to achieve low-input and dynamic landscapes, created an urban rooftop which integrates recreational space. Innovative biodiversity and habitat features including an area to attract bees and birdlife plus a central wetland which captures rainwater all demonstrated a view to future gardening.

It was third time lucky for Paul Harris of Brookfield Plants, Ashford. In 2011 and 2012 he achieved silver-gilt but this year the hostas expert upped his game and displayed 100 varieties to mark the Chelsea centenary.

Every one of the plants was in perfect form with colours varying from almost-gold to hues of blue and green with red stems. The judges were bowled over by the quality and variety of his plants on display in the Great Pavilion.

Hostas, which do well in shady conditions, were popular with visitors this year and queues were forming to buy Paul’s plants.

He said: “Hostas grow in places where a lot of other plants will not tolerate the conditions. They survive well in a north-facing garden. They also suit the sort of weather we have been having!”

Another important view of the future drew the crowds to the Stop the Spread garden of Cranbrook's Jo Thompson. The garden was tackling a topical subject - warning the public that our native trees are at growing risk of disease from pests brought in from abroad.

Tom Stogden’s two-part sculpture in a sunken area of the garden created a striking focal point with healthy woodland trees viewed from one side and dead trees from the other. A tiny oak sapling in a dark pool was subtle yet shocking reminder of the vulnerability of our native trees.

Jo sprinkled her magic across the garden with soft planting in understated lemons, whites and greens to create a calming scene despite the unhappy theme.

It was probably one of the most difficult challenges for a garden designer and Jo took up the challenge for the Food and Environment Research Agency.

Jo said: “This garden has a really important message. Dead trees are not what you expect at Chelsea but it was the only way to demonstrate the seriousness of the issue. We wanted to stop people in their tracks and that was definitely happening.”

Willerby Landscapes of Edenbridge were involved in two gold medals. Robert Myers’ The Brewer Dolphin Garden and Balston and Marie-Louise Agius’s East Village Garden were both testament to the construction skills of the firm.

Robert Myers’ desire for the cleanest of lines were exacting but the specification was carried through to earn top honours. In the Olympic Village-inspired East Village, the balcony structure took months of dedicated work with the wooden slats being individually hand-sanded to echo the curving landscape.

Downderry Lavender, of Hadlow, near Tonbridge, exhibited at Hampton Court rather than Chelsea last year and only just about made it to Chelsea this year - let thinking about wining a gold medal. Dr Simon Charlesworth said it was touch and go whether he would be able to put on a decent display.

He said: “Up until four weeks ago, I really did not know whether the lavender would be in bloom. It was a real worry until we got a little bit of sunshine to help us on our way.”

His spiral of lavender in colours ranging from pink and white to deepest mauve attracted visitors like bees and its picture perfect simplicity belied the work behind the scenes. It did not fool the judges who knew it was pure gold.

There are congratulations, too, in the Floral Artistry section where Sevenoaks Flower Club collected gold and Crowborough Flower Club won silver.