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Chelsea Flower Show 2026: The entirely unofficial awards, according to Country LifeThe coveted Gold Medals are the preserve of the RHS's elite band of judges — but our team in SW3 had a different take on the best of RHS Chelsea 2026. Here are our highlights, our lowlights, and the things that made us smile.
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Mother Earth carved from a fallen tree, a dry-stone arch and plants sourced from fly-tipped garden waste: The story of the RHS Chelsea Garden of the YearThe Campaign to Protect Rural England Garden: ‘On the Edge’, designed by Sarah Eberle, has been named RHS Garden of the Year at the 2026 Chelsea Flower Show.
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See all the medallists from the 2026 RHS Chelsea Flower ShowThe judges have judged, the awards have been awarded — and these are the gardens that won the prizes at this year's Chelsea Flower Show.
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Country Life at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show: The highlights of the opening day at SW3Country Life is reporting live from RHS Chelsea Flower Show in London. Join us for all the goings on at the world's most famous horticultural event.
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Chelsea Flower Show 2026: The art of the hand and why it is so preciousCountry Life’s stand at this year’s Chelsea Flower Show demonstrates the power of the pen and the pencil.
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'Growing is in our DNA, what we're designed to do. It helps us make sense of things': Waiting for an allotment in BelfastIt may be years before Alexander Poots gets his own allotment, but maybe the waiting is part of the journey.
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What you'll see at RHS Chelsea 2026: Rustic royal cottages, curvaceous designs and a taste of the Australian outbackKathryn Bradley-Hole previews the 2026 RHS Chelsea Flower Show.
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'A rambling rose should be pruned in 2026 exactly the same as in 1926': These are the vintage gardening books worth digging outJohn Hoyland reveals why he loves to scour second-hand bookshops for old gardening books, and some of our writers recommend their favourites.
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How to make the most out of small spaces using bright colours, according to interior designersCombat the temperamental British weather and topsy-turvy news cycle with brightly-coloured walls — even in the smallest of spaces.
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The silent extinction crisis threatening vanilla, magnolias — and the world’s tiniest waterlilyThe world's main source of vanilla, smallest waterlily and many magnolia species could disappear entirely, according to scientists from the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, and others.
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The Duke of Wellington's hearing aid, at the cutting edge of technology 200 years agoJohn Goodall meets the 9th Duke of Wellington to hear the tale of his famous forbear's hearing problems.
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The best of British: How home-grown stone will be one of the stars on the Country Life stand at the Chelsea Flower ShowPresented by Artorius Faber
Country Life's stand at RHS Chelsea will celebrate the beauty of Artorius Faber’s home-grown stone.
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The art of the hand: George Saumarez Smith's design for Country Life at ChelseaPresented by Adam Architecture
George Saumarez Smith will demonstrate the power of pen and pencil when Country Life unveils his hand-drawn design for its stand at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show.
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Corinne Julius: Heritage craft is under serious threat because young people are discouraged from working with their handsIf we don't 'save our skills' we will lose them forever — and that would be a crying shame, says Corinne Julius.
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George Saumarez Smith: ‘My sketchbooks are full of measured drawings of buildings from all over the world’The architect talks to Lotte Brundle about the death of his brother, designing the Country Life stand for RHS Chelsea Flower Show, and his Consuming Passions.
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If you consider the collective power of the UK's gardens, the potential to make a meaningful difference for nature is extraordinaryAs spring awakens the world around us, Sheila Das, the Head of Gardens and Parks at the National Trust, tells us how small acts of kindness can make a huge difference.
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'A grotesque mixture of Frankenstein plants that no nursery has ever nurtured': What happened when an experienced gardening writer turned to AIStuck for ideas on how to plant a new flowerbed, Caroline Donald asked the chatbots for advice. The answers ranged from ignorant to hideous.
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Timeless, sustainable, and with understated style: Why go to Carrara when you can shop British stone?The time for pearly white surfaces is over, let’s make room for more interesting home-grown limestones in pinks, browns and greys, says Arabella Youens.
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'There is much to be said for decorating slowly and allowing layers to build up gradually': Country Life's Chelsea Flower Show stand designer opens the doors to his own Winchester homeThe architect George Saumarez Smith describes how he created a home by slow evolution, rather than revolution
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Queen Charlotte, Queen Victoria and the bluebells that erupt in a hidden pocket of wilderness at Kew GardensWhen Queen Victoria left an area of wilderness by the Thames at Kew to the nation, it was on condition that it be preserved in its natural beauty. After decades of abandonment, it is now being gently restored, writes Kendra Wilson.
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Slugs: The good, the bad, and the stomach-churningly disgustingWith anuses right next to their mouths and an ability to produce The garden designer and author Isabel Bannerman shares her feelings about slugs. Suffice to say that those feelings are not positive ones.
