WHEN it comes to sowing the seeds of faith, the Salvation Army has once again branched out into virgin territory. Now the Army has been rewarded with an untainted piece of silver in the shape of a shiny Silver Medal, other Churches and religions must be asking themselves why they have themselves never dug in at the Chelsea Flower Show.

And far from falling on stony ground, the garden, “From Darkness to Light”, was arguably the prize bloom of the highlight of the horticulturist calendar, the six-deep crowds around it throughout the show making it nigh-on impossible to get a close look without some most un-Christian elbowing and foot-treading of rival viewers.

Soon I was being given a guided tour around this fragrant, sparkling and spirited garden by the designer Julian Dowle, who was here at the show for the 25th and final time. One reason why no Church has done this before must be cost and if it had not been for sponsors Buildbase, the Salvation Army would not have been at Chelsea either. But there they were, complete with the bandstand on which Sir James Galway was among the musicians to play, looking as much a fixture of the show as the Chelsea Pensioners themselves.

Dowle, a practising Roman Catholic, says: “I did not know a lot about the Salvation Army beyond what everyone knows, that they rattle collection boxes in pubs and wear funny hats. I have learnt there is so much more. That is why there are here, to blow their own trumpet, if you will excuse the expression, to show the Salvation Army in the modern age.” He was inspired to use his annuals and perennials to illustrate the universal religious themes of transience and eternity.

Helped by a team that included Koji Ninomeya, a Buddhist from Japan, and Bev McConnell, direct from her celebrated Ayrlies garden in Auckland, New Zealand, it took him a month to embed the 150 different species, plus water feature and sculpture.

A new rose, named Salvation, bred especially for the Army by Harkness Roses, attracted even the attention of the Queen, who, on her tour of the garden, commented on how pleasant it was that the Salvation new rose was scented.

The garden worked on two levels. It could be enjoyed as simply a garden. But for those looking for deeper meanings, religious symbolism was everywhere, in the cut of the leaves and the colours of the flowers.

In the “dark” part were plants such as Physocarpus diabolo, Sambucus “Black Lace”, Heuchera “Plum Pudding” and velvety red roses called “Humanity”. There were black lilies called Hot Chocolate and a carnivorous plant that catches and eats flies.

On the “light” side were Rosa “Princess of Wales”, Sambucus nigra Madonna, Delphinium “Galahad” and Verbascum “Gainsborough”. All that was missing was the apple, perhaps because that would have been just too obvious.

At the centre of the garden was Nurture, an abstract sculpture of a woman about to give birth intended to draw the visitor out of the “darkness of the womb” to a bridge over bubbled water delivered by three glass jets symbolising the three persons of the Holy Trinity.

Dowle elaborates: “Apart from being a Church, the Salvation Army is an enormously influential charity that helps addicts, the homeless, people with learning difficulties, people in difficult situations. They are often the people on hand in a crisis. This garden illustrates what they believe, that Christ came to draw us from darkness into light.”

He continues: “The Army people frowned when I said I wanted a bandstand in the garden. They said that was the image they wanted to get away from. My argument was that they need to bring that with them and give it a modern interpretation.” It was the first time the Royal Horticultural Society had allowed live music in a garden at the show.

The dark side, complete with black lawn of Ophiopogon nigrescens, was not meant to represent Hell. This was a flower show after all. The whole point about the dark side of life is how attractive and compelling it can be, Dowle says: “I wanted it to be a beautiful garden. It is about passion, uncontrolled passion. We are in a dark world where passion rules. Some of us quite enjoy it.”

It was by chance that Dowle, who last night awarded the People’s Award at Chelsea, discovered from Ninomeya that the prickly hedge he had already planted between the places of darkness and light was, in Buddhist symbolism, a protection against evil spirits.

The show might now be over, but the work for the Salvationists goes on. Just a few hundred yards from where the middle classes this week attended the show, with its lavish displays of blooms and luxury garden goods and conservatories, is the World’s End estate, where the Army has a church.

“It highlights the contrast between the people who attend the show and people whom the Army serves there,” said a spokeswoman Sarah Miller. Captain Dean Pallant, head of external relations, said: “For us the theme of the garden, from darkness to light, sums up our entire Christian ethos, giving us the opportunity to reach a large audience with our key messages of hope and transformation.”

This was truly a place where hope bloomed, a floral manifestation of much that the Army stands for, of faith and charity.