For five days in May, the gaze of the world’s media, gardening enthusiasts from around the globe and those who just like to celebrity spot, will be on the RHS Chelsea Flower Show in London.
Taking place from Tuesday 22nd May and running through to Saturday 26th, the grounds of the Royal Hospital in Chelsea, will be transformed into the spectacular gardens and floral displays that make up the world’s most famous flower show.
Renowned as the “catwalk of the gardening world”, the show’s spectacular Great Pavilion will be filled with displays of perfect plants and flowers by some of the best growers from the UK and around the world. In addition, the RHS Chelsea Flower Show boasts displays of floral design from some of the UK’s best florists, including the finals of the prestigious RHS Florist of the Year and Young Florist of the Year competitions.
This year’s sixteen Show Gardens will be created by some of the finest contemporary designers, including 2011 Best Show Garden winner Cleve West for Brewin Dolphin, Andy Sturgeon designing for show sponsor M&G Investments, and Joe Swift for Homebase. For the first time the RHS Chelsea Flower Show is embracing QR code technology: each show garden will have a QR code for visitors to access further information on the exhibit. Elsewhere in the showground there will also be an innovative QR code garden and visitors will be encouraged to use this technology to vote for their favourite Artisan Retreat.
New for 2012 is Fresh, a category which challenges designers to come up with cutting-edge gardens that are experimental and less conventional in design than traditional Chelsea Flower Show gardens. Designers in this category will be under fewer constraints than in other garden categories, which means Fresh is sure to become an unmissable part of the show this year. A dramatic feature by Tony Heywood and Alison Combie will launch the category.
Also new for 2012 is RHS Environment, which replaces Continuous Learning and supports the RHS commitment to improving the environment through gardening. The RHS Environment exhibits will offer perspectives on the science of urban greening, highlighting how we can make the most of our green spaces – no matter how small – and help counter the effects of our changing climate. Themes will include community, water management and harnessing the power of plants to help reduce energy usage and heating costs.
To find out more about the show and to see the best of the ac tion as it happens, log on to www.rhs.org.uk/chelsea