Discover the RHS Chelsea Flower Show

It’s a big date in the diary for those green-fingered amongst us and there’ll be gardening enthusiasts and designers from all over the UK converging on site to celebrate all things to do with gardens, flowers and plants as well as new scientific discoveries around climate change and mental wellbeing.

The floral displays alone are incredible, but if you only have a limited amount of time, we’ve got you covered so you can see the very best of what’s on show and what to do while you’re there.

Gardens to look around

Centre for Mental Health’s The Balance Garden

Designer: Wild City Studio: Designers Jon Davies & Steve Williams

Built by: Stewart Landscape Construction Ltd

By using crushed site waste as aggregate, this garden has a multitude of wildflowers and grasses that use stressful environments to thrive and grow. The whole area also has some large concrete pieces – these are all reclaimed from waste salvage that have been laid to create a central area which overlooks a pool. Walk around on the suspended steel walkways and access the different wild planting areas.

A reclaimed shipping container is the eye-catching centrepiece to this garden where it houses a ‘mushroom den’. The whole garden celebrates unloved plants like wildflowers and weeds as part of urban ecology.

Hamptons Mediterranean Garden

Designer: Filippo Dester

Built by: Garden Club London

This stunning garden is inspired by the living spaces in the Mediterranean, and we think it’s the perfect place to wander around to find a bit of tranquillity in the flower show. The main focus of the whole garden is the outdoor kitchen and it really adds to the whole space. Get ideas of how to add alfresco dining to your own outdoor living space with this amazing garden.

The plants involved in this garden design include a lot of scented shrubs and perennials that can survive the heat often found in sunnier climes. Filippo Dester has done a fantastic job of creating a space that reflects our ever-changing climate. He also thinks of water use and how we need to be more conscious about it and encourage biodiversity. The whole garden promotes wellbeing and how humans and nature can connect and inhabit the same space.

The Boodles British Craft Garden

Designer: Thomas Holbyn

Built by: The Landscaping Consultants

British craft makers unite in this garden as they come together to showcase their skills in this fabulous garden space. The arbour is created by Cox London, which is the main focus of the garden, and the floating pool has been produced by the famous water sculptor Bamber Wallis where it looks like raindrops are dancing all over the surface. It’s a truly stunning garden that we think everyone who visits it will love.

You might look at this garden and wonder where you’ve seen it before – well it’s inspired by Pre-Raphaelite paintings that depict woodlands, so you’ve probably looked at a picture in an art gallery that looks very similar. This garden uses perfection in every detail, the plants are simple, yet effective with their incredible form for falling or standing perfectly. Thomas Holbyn is using the plants as a theme around Mother Nature and how she performs miracles throughout the natural world. With The Landscaping Consultants’ very own Jake Catling making the rustic paths that have that wonderful, refined look, and interior designer Rachel Chudley casting her eye over the whole thing with various furnishings, it brings the whole garden together beautifully.

The Folio Society’s Reading Room Garden

Designer: Katherine Holland

Built by: Phil Sutton Landscapes Ltd

A personal favourite of ours, this is an ideal sanctuary for those who want to use their garden to curl up with a good book. We love that this garden uses the space to show how books can transport us between worlds.

Take a moment to appreciate the green oasis outside the balcony doors, and listen to the water feature bubbling away quietly for that perfect mix of white noise and ASMR, allowing you to forget you’re near the city.

The back wall is designed to be lit up from behind, casting some amazing shadows during the dusk and sunset and we love that the cut-out looks like bookends.

Reading is celebrated in this garden, as an escape from the real world and to improve the reader’s wellbeing.

Houseplant Studios

Take a tour of the Ranelagh Gardens to get all the houseplant inspiration you could ever need. With advice on what plants to buy, where to put them and how to look after them, this is your one stop shop for all things houseplants.

We think you’ll love finding more unusual pieces to put in your home, perfect if you don’t have a garden or balcony where you can get inspiration from the main show.

Discovery Zone in the Great Pavilion

Gardens, plants and flowers are not just pretty things to look at, they are living things that evolve and grow and are important to the ecosystem they live in. The Discovery Zone promotes the latest discoveries in all things horticultural science. There are many displays, including interactive ones where you can see the benefits of gardening, including how it can help combat climate change and improve your mental wellbeing.

No matter what you visit at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show this May, we know you’ll love seeing the different designs of gardens, all the beautiful floral displays that are dotted around and it will smell simply amazing.