The RHS Chelsea Flower Show The Greatest Flower Show On Earth

A Quick Guide to the 2103 RHS Chelsea Flower Show from the GardenAdvice Team

Next week sees the start of the RHS Chelsea Flower show on 21st May until the 25th May. Without doubt this annual event created by the Royal Horticultural Society is the best known and most spectacular event in the gardening season and over recent years has also become a key social event in the London calendar.

Its a full day’s visit and its best if possible to visit over two days to be able to take in all the different sections that go together to make the show. The Key section of the show is a number of different types of gardens created within the show. This year as well as the show gardens included is Artisan gardens for Artisan garden designers where they must make artistic use of materials. Fresh gardens where Gardens designers have been asked to think outside the box as the brief for these gardens. Generation gardens designed and created to demonstrate different ways to use a modest-sized front garden plot.  In many cases the show gardens are the result of a year planning and preparation by the gardens designers and creators in a quest to be awarded an RHS medal which is a recognition of a designers and gardens skill in a number of different disciplines such as garden design, plantsmanship and the craft of creating a garden.

Although the show gardens are alone worth the price of the ticket,  greater rewards await the shows visitor by taking the time to delve deeper into the show and its participants.  Lots of new and innovative products are launched at the RHS Chelsea Flower show often by small businesses risking a year or mores marketing budget on this one big chance to impress the public.  But without doubt the the real gems of the show are the smaller specialist nurseries many of which have been coming to the show for years since Victorian times. Often the skill they display in the plants they have grown and the displays they have created is astounding. Among this years must visit nurseries are

Hillier Nurseries Ltd  Specialises in: Trees, shrubs, climbers & herbaceous plants. Hillier are specialist plantsmen, helping gardeners to achieve the best in their gardens, in other words avoiding the risk of failure. Through years of experience, expertise and knowledge Hillier can guide the gardener in his or her choice of plants to overcome the risk of the weather, of climate change or simply misguided decision. Most importantly, Risk is the title of Hillier’s creative Chelsea exhibit, which makes use of adventurous colour and texture combinations; Hillier is well-known for its use of these at Chelsea. Sculpture, water and surfaces will work to emphasise the theme of risk, but underline how it can lead to success when you know how to employ it.

Kevock Garden Plants  Specialises in: Alpine, bog & woodland plant. Kevock Garden Plants are showing alpine, bog and woodland plants with an exceptionally large range of material. On the rocky areas there are celmisias, cascading saxifrages and zaluskianskyas, while on the lower slopes there are the vivid blues of Meconopsis surrounded by lush ferns, punctuated by Dactylorhiza and Arisaema. Numerous Primula, many of them very rare, indicate the damper areas, along with Trollius and miniature Aruncus. Kevock hope to leave show visitors feeling that they have experienced a glimpse of the mountains and their treasures.

Kelways  Specialises in: Peonies & irises. Kelways are the only regular exhibitor of peonies, tree peonies and irises at RHS shows and have some of the most spectacular displays

If you are visiting the show then some planning its a good idea.

Getting to the show – the best way to get to the show is by tube ( the Underground ) to Chelsea Embankment

Leaving the show – Again leaving by tube unless you plan to do a lot of shopping then pre book a taxi and arrange a price the day before.

The weather – Its the British summer its going to rain at the show at least for one day so plan for rain and remember it can and will get muddy so wear sensible shoes.

Where to stay – London has a number of place to stay within easy reach of the show. However we always recommend our own visitors and clients when staying in London to use the Holiday Inn Group hotels. They are reasonably priced, always clean and are staffed with friendly helpful staff. Here are some links to our recommended hotels within easy reach of the RHS Chelsea flower show

HI London Kensington Forum

HI London Bloomsbury

HI London Regents Park

HI London Brent Cross

HI London Mayfair

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