YoungMinds Ambassador Cacherel Mercer unveils charity’s garden at RHS Chelsea Flower Show

Topics: Chelsea Flower Show, Cacherel Mercer

YoungMinds Ambassador and Love Island winner Cach Mercer today unveiled the charity’s first ever garden at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show alongside young people supported by the charity who have been working on the garden.

Designed in direct response to the youth mental health emergency, the YoungMinds Garden explores the many pressures young people face and the strength they can find in connection and community. One in five young people are estimated to struggle with their mental health, but these pressures are often not experienced equally, with Black and racially minoritised young people facing additional barriers to being heard and accessing support.

In the months leading up to Chelsea Flower Show, YoungMinds worked with garden designers Chase Gardens to run a creative outdoor skills programme. The project, supported by Bupa Foundation, gave a group of young people without experience of gardening and horticulture, the chance to try gardening for the first time. Through a series of paid sessions, they built their own community and developed skills and confidence.

Cach first met the group last week as they helped plant the garden for the show and he spent time talking to them about their experience on the programme.

It’s inspiring to be among this group of young people and hear how they’ve benefited from this opportunity. They’ve been able to try something which perhaps before signing up, they felt wasn’t for them and they’ve discovered a joy in learning this new skill and being together. They’ve connected with each other and have this sense of community which can only be a good thing when it comes to supporting mental health. There are a lot of pressures in the world right now and experiences like this one provided by YoungMinds show how important it is to create these spaces for young people.

It’s brilliant to have Cach with us as we open the YoungMinds Garden at Chelsea Flower Show. He’s talked openly about mental health and how community and connection can be a huge support for young people. The garden reflects the many pressures young people are facing, and inequality is one of these. So often Black and racially minoritised young people face additional barriers, including accessing mental health support, and we know this can be true in horticultural spaces too. The importance of community and providing the space and opportunity for young people to be together is at the heart of the garden. Through the programme, we’ve been able to give opportunities to young people who otherwise would not have the chance to be here at Chelsea Flower Show.

After Chelsea Flower Show the YoungMinds Garden will be relocated to Newham, East London where it will become a permanent space for young people and the wider community to be together, build connections and develop their gardening skills.

Find out more about the garden

The YoungMinds Garden shows how shared green spaces can support mental wellbeing and help young people build a sense of community and belonging. We’re proud to support not only the garden at Chelsea Flower Show, but its relocation to Newham in East London, where it will continue to be shaped by young people and provide a lasting space for the community to connect, learn and thrive through nature.

For further information and for interview requests please contact press@youngminds.org.uk or call 0203 861 2072.

The stat ‘one in five young people are estimated to struggle with their mental health’ is from NHS England.

About YoungMinds

YoungMinds is the UK’s leading charity fighting for young people’s mental health.

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For free advice and support for parents, call our helpline on 0808 802 5544.

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About Bupa Foundation

Bupa Foundation is a charity helping to create healthier communities.

Bupa Foundation are supporting the YoungMinds garden, Creative Outdoor Skills programme and relocation of the garden to Newham.

To support the creation and maintenance of urban community green spaces, Bupa Foundation Green Community Grants are open for applications from 1-30 June 2026.

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About Chase Gardens

Chase Gardens are a garden design and landscape company based in South London. Their work is shaped by their belief in gardening’s ability to support healing, connection and creating opportunities.

The YoungMinds Garden is Charlie Chase’s debut garden at Chelsea Flower Show and features in the All About Plants section. Charlie was inspired by his mum's love of gardening. Following her death, he turned to horticulture as a way to help him navigate his grief. Through his work he aims to engage and inspire the next generation of gardeners.