Shopping at the Chelsea Flower Show

Just before Christmas, Clare Matterson, director general of the RHS, wrote to ask if I would be RHS Hampton Court’s Iconic Horticultural Hero for 2023, which was both shocking and flattering in equal measure! Because of that, I was able to design a garden for the Hampton Court Palace Garden Festival.

Iris ‘Benton Olive’ in Sarah Price's garden

A former AIB banker-turned-gardener says he feels “like a five-year-old getting presents” after winning a major award as well as a prestigious gold medal at the Chelsea Flower Show in London.

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Marty Baldwin

Where can you find the most spectacular bunch of tulips, cheerful dahlia stems, or jaw dropping array of fragrant roses? The city offers an unparalleled selection of flower markets to get your floral fix. From the historic Columbia Road, where horticultural gems line the much-loved East London street, to the vibrant and colourful Sunday flower fare on offer at West London favourite Chiswick Flower Market, we’ve curated the best spots in the city to flock to for your next dazzling bouquet.

In late May, many of us look forward to seeing social media posts about the Chelsea Flower Show. The timing of this event is a reminder that there are many perennials that benefit from a late spring cutback, commonly known as the “Chelsea chop.” Many perennials that bloom in midsummer, late summer, or fall can be pinched or cut back early in the season to increase flower production, limit plant size, extend or delay bloom time, create novel flower combinations, and minimize flopping or lodging. While the chop is generally timed to coincide with the famous flower show, it’s more important to time the trimming for a point when a significant amount of vegetative growth has occurred. For the Mid-Atlantic region, this can be any time from midspring to early summer.

Chelsea is always inspirational but there are some years when the excitement ramps up a notch, and this is one of those years. There are so many superb show gardens to steal ideas from, so many important messages to absorb, that it has been difficult to narrow it down. The plantsmanship is breathtaking, the designs imaginative and the themes thought-provoking, many of the gardens demonstrating how we can garden more sustainably in this era of climate change. From Cleve West’s atmospheric ruined house to Chris Beardshaw’s immaculately planted woodland glade, there is so much at the show to learn from. Here is my pick of the crop.

The Royal Horticultural Society of London challenged everyone this year who could make a pocket-sized realistic garden, and people didn’t disappoint! Here are the best Small Balcony Garden Ideas from Chelsea Flower Show!

Now in its 101st year the RHS Chelsea Flower Show is the flagship gardening show in the gardening calendar. This years show is set to be another fantastic celebration for the RHS with fantastic weather on the lead up to the show and the build up, ensuring all the plants and blooms are in top condition. Last years show was focused on the celebration of

I found the big show gardens a big disappointment. It’s telling that I took very few photographs of them, while I took plenty of my favourite small gardens. I did photograph a few for their curiosity value rather than their inspiring ideas. The Azorean Garden reflects the fact that volcan

Plants that Pleased at Chelsea I’ve been trawling through my many images of Chelsea and. Some are just for admiring – others I may well emulate. Orange was definitely the colour du jour with geums, verbascums and erysimums popping up in many of the gardens.