I’ve been coming to Chelsea Flower Show for two decades; and this year, there seems to be even more stands than usual and more to see. It is surely the best year since Covid struck us all down.
What’s really surprised me is how international this most British of institutions is. I’ve spoken to readers of Country Life from as far afield as the west coast of America and Melbourne, Australia. Perhaps I should not be surprised — after all, Chelsea is the best event on the global horticultural calendar.
Why, you might ask? Because it has something for everyone, from the Royal gaze — HM King Charles visited on Monday with The Queen, David Beckham and Alan Titchmarsh in town — to simple allotment style (the balcony gardens, hidden away in the woods, are a treasure trove of small space inspiration).
Put simply, if I was a plant, I’d want to be seen at Chelsea.
So, without further ado, here are six of things that have caught my eye:
The Japanese Tea Garden
I know, I know, this is a very boring one to start with because it’s at the top of everyone’s lists, but it really is head and shoulders above everything else.
Whatever angle you look at it from, it is utterly mesmerising and extraordinarily beautiful. Kazuyuki Ishihara's attention to detail is second to none and there is a simplicity in its perfection.
Garden designer Kazuyuki Ishihara with his show garden Cha No Niwa – Japanese Tea Garden at the press day of the 112th RHS Chelsea Flower Show
Claverton Cloches
A stand a few down from Country Life’s selling greenhouses in miniature form. There’s joy in their size; they are the gardener’s dollhouse.
Norfield Nursery
This seller, situated inside the Great Pavilion, sells just acers — also known as maples. The smaller, more compact, shrub-like varieties are known as Japanese maples.
They are delicate things, but their delicacy belies a dramatic, secret talent. Come Autumn, their flush of youthful leaves turn the most spectacular and vibrant colours. When it comes to colour, they are the most generous of trees.
Woodpecker Joinery
I bought a cedar waterbutt from this company that also sells quality cedar and Victorian greenhouses.
Imagine the scent of cedar every time you go to water your plants, bringing interest to an otherwise mundane job. Your plants will thank you for taking a renewed interest in their wellbeing!
The Woodpecker Greenhouses team at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show have been keeping things immaculate throughout the week.
David Austin Roses
Every year, David Austin is the star of the Great Pavilion, and right now is no exception. Their stand is circular in shape and framed by a walkway covered in garden arches groaning in a myriad fragrant rose species. It is almost obscene in its beauty. Who doesn’t love a rambling rector?
David Austin's Roses stand is always a highlight in the Great Pavilion.
Alan and Raymond
Last, but not least, I have to mention the thrill I got when Chef Raymond Blanc dragged Alan Titchmarsh onto our stand to look at a picture of his garden — which we used on the front cover of an October 2024 issue.
To celebrate Country Life's return to the Chelsea Flower Show, we're offering up to 40% off subscriptions to Country Life Magazine. It's our best offer ever; available until June 30, 2025.
-
‘Each one is different depending on what mood I’m in, how I'm feeling and how my energy is’ — meet the carver behind Westminster Hall's angel statuesBespoke woodcarver William Barsley makes unique scale replicas of the angels that gaze over Westminster Hall, the oldest part of the palace of Westminster.
-
This house in glorious technicolour is the perfect antidote for the grey days of a British winter — so why don't more of us live in brightly coloured homes?It's not often that you see a home sporting the colour palette that you'd get if you hired a four-year old as your interior designer. But why not? The Blue House in Bethnal Green asks this and many more questions.
-
When it comes to making the perfect garden tool, the past has all the answersMary Keen visits Garden & Wood, the mecca for dedicated gardeners who prefer using tools made in the 1940s
-
'A dream of Nirvana... almost too good to be true': The sweet peas of Easton Walled Gardens, and how you can replicate their success at homeUrsula Cholmeley, who has spent 25 years restoring Easton Walled Gardens, recommends sowing sweet peas now for stronger plants that will better withstand the weather.
-
How to choose the perfect rose this bare root seasonLooks can be deceiving: bare root roses are hardier and more sustainable than potted ones, says Tabi Jackson Gee, who moved to a cottage in Wiltshire and went about finding the perfect plant. You just need patience.
-
Exclusive: The King's remarkable resurrection of the gardens and parkland at SandringhamThe King took over the running of the 21,000-acre Sandringham estate in 2017 — and in the last three years has transformed it beyond recognition.
-
The trees that are as fine to eat as they are to look atMark Diacono doesn't grow many trees for the sake of the bounty they provide — but these are the notable exceptions.
-
Bothered by brambles and snagged by sow thistles, but what is the point of all this thorny microaggression?Nature’s spiky deterrents — thorns, spines and prickles — may be quick to catch us out, but they can also prove to be a useful ally.
-
The Tuscan gardens where the English and Italian traditions come together, and Yorkshire rhubarb grows happily beside spectacular citrusNick Dakin-Elliot, who gardens in Tuscany, is still moved by the Italian hilltop gardens that command some of the most beautiful views in the world.
-
'My family wore wool at a time when everyone else had cast it off in favour of manmade fabrics': The knitwear pioneer who is one of David Beckham's countryside championsJulie Harding speaks to Rachel Carvell-Spedding the founder of British knitwear brand Navygrey, and one of David Beckham's countryside champions.
