What not to miss at the Chelsea Flower Show
Native plants, rewilding designs, sustainability features and a melting ice sculpture are among the highlights this year, says HANNAH STEPHENSON
The horticultural showstopper of the year, RHS Chelsea Flower Show, is almost here – returning to its usual May slot, after last year’s event in September. This year the show gardens are going wild for native plants, naturalistic designs, sustainability, mental health themes, climate change warnings and diversity messages.
Featuring 39 show gardens including 13 show gardens, 12 sanctuary gardens, nine balcony and container gardens and a new category All About Plants, plus four installations to celebrate the Platinum Jubilee, there will be so much to see. Here are some of the highlights you won’t want to miss.
1.Giant
melting ice cube
A huge 3m high and wide, 15-tonne ice cube will melt slowly over the five days of the show as a representation of climate change, in The Plantman’s Ice Garden sanctuary garden. Representing a clock ticking for the Arctic, the ice cube will reveal a Doomsday Clock as it melts. Surrounded by verdant Siberian woodland plants, it’s designed by John Warland.
2.Wellbeing
wonder
Check out the swim spa, outdoor gym and yoga area in Kate Gould’s Out Of The Shadows sanctuary garden – a lush, tropical-looking creation featuring palm trees, bamboo, false pepper trees and ferns and a subtle muted palette of whites, blues and pinks.
Then there’s The Mind Garden, Chelsea gold medal winner Andy Sturgeon’s garden for the mental health charity Mind, designed to encourage people to sit, share and listen. At its highest point, it features a seating area, creating a sanctuary for conversation.
3.Zen space
A wooden water wheel takes centre stage in designer Yoshihiro Tamura’s Circle Of Life sanctuary garden, a city respite in which the wheel symbolises nature’s circle of life and flows to a human landscape with fluctuating heights and curves.
4.Jubilee tribute
A floral sculptural portrait of the Queen will be among the tributes in celebration of her Platinum Jubilee, created by renowned florist Simon Lycett. This special silhouette of the monarch will be made in the official Platinum Jubilee shade of purple.
5.Textile treats
Ever dyed you own clothes? A Textile Garden for Fashion Revolution from designer Lottie Delamain solely features plants which can be used to make or dye our clothes, in the new All About Plants category in the Great Pavilion. It aims to re-establish the connection between plants and textiles and challenge the impact of the fast fashion industry.
Meanwhile, think wallpaper design and you have a garden setting in the Morris & Co show garden, designed by Ruth Willmott and inspired by William Morris’s iconic textile designs. At its centre is an intricate hand-crafted metal pavilion with posts and screens layered with two contrasting colours, like Morris’ prints.
6.Bee bonanza
An eye-catching silhouette of a bee wing, which forms the centrepiece of the BBC Studios Our Green Planet & RHS Bee Garden, is likely to create a buzz this year. Designer and TV gardener Joe Swift has created this one.
■ Chelsea Flower Show takes place at the Royal Hospital, Chelsea, from May 24-28. For details visit rhs.org.uk