The Chelsea Flower Show is one of the most prestigious and iconic events in the world of horticulture and gardening. Held annually by the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), the show attracts visitors from all corners of the globe, including gardening enthusiasts, horticultural experts, celebrities, and members of the royal family.
The Chelsea Flower Show showcases the very best in garden design, plant cultivation, and floral artistry. It features stunning show gardens created by some of the most talented garden designers and landscapers from around the world.
What to expect?
The annual event is set to return from 21-25 May 2024 and attendees can expect to see a vast array of show-stopping gardens from RHS Chelsea veterans and new designers alike.
Award-winning garden designer Ann-Marie Powell returns to RHS Chelsea with a judged garden for the first time since 2011. Her ‘The Octavia Hill Garden by Blue Diamond’ with The National Trust is a plant-filled wildlife garden that aims to increase urban biodiversity and encourages nature connection through its design as an open-air sitting room.
For smaller spaces, visitors can take inspiration from the balcony and container gardens with designs based around no-waste gardening, water conservation, and the UK’s shingle beaches. Stepping into the Great Pavilion, attendees can see a wealth of colourful and vibrant floral displays by the UK’s best growers and nurseries.
The growing trend for edible food forests is also represented at RHS Chelsea with many of the gardens using the planting scheme. The result is a low-maintenance garden where all the plants are edible and work together to protect and support each other through soil improvement and shelter from strong wind and other weather extremes.
Diversity showcases at the flower show
RHS Chelsea Flower Show always hosts a spectacular range of designs, themes, and plants and this year is no exception with a broad array of horticultural ideas being showcased across the show.
Burma Skincare Initiative Spirit of Partnership Garden by Helen Olneytells the story of an extraordinary skincare partnership. Its experts support Burmese healthcare workers treating adults and children with terrible skin conditions and include a full planting scheme that will grow happily in the UK. Burma (Myanmar) has one of the world's poorest healthcare systems. By engaging people with this story, the Burma Skincare Initiative hopes people will want to support, fund and work with them.
Other showcases included are Panathlon Joy Garden by Penelope Walker, National Autistic Society Garden by Sophie Parmenter and Dido Milne, Size of Wales Garden by Daniel Bristow, Terrence Higgins Trust Bridge to 2030 Garden by Matthew Childs and the Pulp Friction - Growing Skills Garden by Will Dutch & Tin-Tin Azure-Marxen.
Additionally, this year, the RHS has commissioned a new feature garden, the RHS ‘No Adults Allowed’ Garden. This is a garden designed by children, for children (with assistance from the designer Harry Holding).
A joyful journey through a fantastical landscape, it enables children to explore the magic of lush woodland, bountiful meadows and a wetland with heightened colour and oversized bog plants. The garden has been designed by pupils from Sulivan Primary School in Fulham, close to the RHS Chelsea Flower Show ground. Almost half of the children at the school are eligible for free school meals.
