Garden inspiration at The RHS Chelsea Flower Show
Floral arrangement at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show
The RHS Chelsea Flower Show is just around the corner and whether you are hoping to visit in person, or to catch up with the TV coverage from the comfort of your sofa, this is a great event to give you garden inspiration for your latest landscaping projects.
Held annually in May at London’s Royal Hospital Chelsea, The RHS Chelsea Flower Show is one of the most prestigious garden events in the world, attracting many thousands of visitors over the 6 days that it is open.
Including a number of larger show gardens (to be exact, 16 are scheduled to be built in 2025) and smaller spaces (such as the balcony and container gardens) the event provides a dazzling array of inspiration for your own garden projects. The gardens are good examples of how to plan different zones in your outdoor space, the use of paving and other ground surfaces and how to use structures such as pergolas and garden shelters.
However, we do need to remember that these show gardens are just that. They are constructed in a very short time (generally only 3 weeks) and will only be completed for one week, before being demolished. The gardens are often akin to a piece of elaborate theatre, not designed to be permanent gardens. Happily it is now more common for the gardens to relocated to more permanent sites after The Chelsea Flower Show has finished, making the process more sustainable.
Do the gardens show a typical garden space you would want to transport to your own home? Probably not. Our gardens are often practical spaces, to be used by all the family and we may want to include areas of lawn and play spaces, which are rarely featured at The Chelsea Flower Show. However, the show gardens can be helpful in illustrating what is possible and giving us ideas which we can pick out and use in our own gardens in an adapted form.
Show garden at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show
So you’re going to The Chelsea Flower Show! What should you remember on the day?
Do try to arrive early to have the best view of the show gardens. The gates open at 8am and within the next hour the show gets steadily busier, so I would recommend arriving for the opening, if at all possible.
Do wear comfortable shoes. You are likely to be on your feet for much of the day and an uncomfortable heel (although it may be stylish) will quickly begin to annoy you.
Do prepare for all possible weathers. Days at The Chelsea Flower Show have been baking hot, freezing cold and also very wet (sometimes all on the same day!). So along with your sunglasses and SPF, remember to take a raincoat and a pair of gloves.
Do takes snacks and drinks. Whilst there are many food vendors at the show, the queues are often long and the prices high.
Do take photos of planting schemes and garden features which you like. These will be really useful when you are trying to decide exactly what you would like in your own garden and will be helpful in discussing your ideas with a potential garden designer.
Finally, don’t be tempted to buy large or expensive items for your garden on the day. The Chelsea Flower Show is a excellent place to try out suites of garden furniture and to look at stylish greenhouses. However, it is important to plan how these will look and fit into your garden space, rather than making an impulse purchase which you might come to regret.
We do hope that you enjoy The Chelsea Flower Show, whether you are visiting in person or watching from the comfort of your sofa. If you have been inspired to give your own outside space a makeover, we would love to chat with you about designing your garden.
Red, pink and orange flowers at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show