'Stately, spacious and much more enjoyable': The RHS garden show that outdoes Chelsea

Has Chelsea outlived its purpose? The fact that the RHS has arranged to have more shows out in the country this year may indicate that the greatest flower show in the world is no longer the greatest pleasure to visit. I loved the old RHS shows at Vincent Square, where there was a chance to talk to nursery owners and buy plants. At Chelsea, it’s very hard to get near a stand, let alone talk to the person running it and the nurseries say they don’t make enough in sales to make it worth the effort and cost of showing.

At RHS Badminton in Gloucestershire, even in the hottest week on record, the main flower tent felt shady and there was room to inspect everything, to talk to exhibitors and to wheel plants back to the car. Badminton is a beautiful place, where parkland stretches for miles and a lake lies in front of the astonishing house built for the Dukes of Beaufort by a roll call of famous architects. William Kent, James Gibbs, Charles Bridgeman and Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown, as well as Thomas Wright, the astronomer, were all involved in the making of one of England’s most dazzling estates. Several Beaufort duchesses, including the present Duchess Georgia, have been gardeners, starting with the 17th-century pre-Linnaean botanist Mary, who wrote: ‘When I get into storys of plants, I know not how to get out.’

For visitors who are as plant obsessed as the first duchess, this was the perfect outing. The park is scattered with trees, offering shade for picnickers, with plenty of tables and chairs near a bandstand playing jazz. It all felt very leisurely and summery and not at all crowded. I spoke to one group of five straw-hatted elderly sisters who had been there from 10am until 6pm — I doubt that a trip to Chelsea could offer such a wonderful day-long experience.

There were fewer show gardens at Badminton than at Chelsea. Obviously popular was The Archers garden, designed by Jo Thompson with a tractor and a jolly collection of cottage flowers, but most of the designs were more naturalistic. The RHS is on a laudable mission to encourage young designers and those with small plots, so there was a new award for Young Designer of the Year, which was won by Sophie Leo from Bristol. Called ‘Where grief grows quiet’, it was made in memory of her late mother.

Another memorial, but much larger, garden was the stand-out exhibit at the show for me. This was the enormous plot — the largest RHS show garden ever made — designed by Tom Stuart-Smith for Sir Hans Rausing, to celebrate his late wife, Julia. Shallow yew domes, like upturned saucers, punctuated beds for shade and sun. A meadow of drought-resistant plants stretched round the garden and at the centre was a great cast-iron bowl of water with a quiet, mesmerising fountain. It offered a masterclass in restrained modern planting and an inspiration for the kind of choices all of us might adopt in the difficult conditions that now look like becoming the norm.

The most remarkable thing about this design was the speed with which it was assembled. Crocus installed the hard landscape and trees in May and planting was accomplished in eight broiling days before the show by a team of six to eight skilled gardeners headed by Jonny Bruce of the Field Nursery. Stuart-Smith, with a slipped disc, took to pruning trees on a ladder. Most Chelsea show designers have at least a year to prepare.

In the tent, there were some terrific stands. Hoyland nurseries, usually associated with Agapanthus, also showed South African Watsonias and Dieramas, as well as a giant tulbaghia. Daisy Roots, which regularly shows at Chelsea, had a lovely array of drought-resistant plants. Alchemy Ferns, Gold medallists at Chelsea, had a beautiful display and, elsewhere, there were elegant begonias and fuchsias, as well as a strong showing of Pelargoniums.

Badminton has a historic connection with zonals, because the first duchess introduced them in the 17th century. Cath Kidston’s Perfume Pavilion, where visitors could rub different scented leaves and then buy beauty products made from geraniums, as well as plants from Fibrex Nurseries, was a real hit. Apparently, there were traffic jams getting to RHS Badminton on a few days, but perhaps I was lucky going on Saturday.

RHS Sandringham in Norfolk, last week, was an expansion of the regular summer flower show held there every year. At time of writing, I look forward to seeing how it compared with other shows. If RHS Badminton is anything to go by, however, the signs seem to be that the future is stately, spacious and much more enjoyable than grand old Chelsea.

'Diary of a Keen Gardener' by Mary Keen is out now.

This feature originally appeared in the July 29, 2026, print edition of Country Life. Click here for more information on how to subscribe.