Arts & Culture
and dustmen still stand shoulder to shoulder admiring, learning about and being inspired by plants and gardens at Chelsea,” says Foy. “It’s a gardening extravaganza, a social
occasion and a world-class event. Te time of the year of the show, when sap is rising and gardeners are crawling out of hibernation, is an important time to buy plants and garden products. Manufacturers also use the RHS Chelsea Flower Show to promote their products and services as you get a bigger range here than in garden centres or DIY ‘sheds’, and the media coverage is enormous.” Add to that its central London location, the Chelsea Royal Hospital setting, where it has been held since 1913, and high standards of horticulture, it is easy to see why 161,000 people descend on the 11-acre site site every year. “Te show has never stopped changing,” says
Foy. “Once predominantly a flower show with a few gardens, it is now a gardening show with excellent plants and horticulture. Fashions have changed constantly and the show often sets those trends. “My favourite experience was at my first Chelsea [Flower Show] when I went into the Great Pavilion and was overwhelmed by the smell and sight of exhibits from the best nurseries, all of whom aim to reach the peak of perfection.” With around 500 exhibitors featuring at the show, including 150 exhibits from nurseries
and florists and 250 trade stands from all over the world, tickets have become hot property, selling out in record time in 2012. Te extensive media attention, which includes almost 11 hours of coverage on the BBC, has also seen the show reach new audiences. “Te age range has widened with more
younger people interested now than 15 to 20 years ago,” says Foy. “Te BBC and other television channels have had much to do with this. Gardening, which was once something that your parents or grandparents did, is now cool with younger people.” Back to this year’s show and it is promising to be the best and most contemporary yet. But that’s perhaps no surprise to those who have helped to plan it – sometimes up to seven years in advance! In addition to 15 stunning Show Gardens and 11 Fresh Gardens, demonstrating the best of contemporary garden design, there will also be a selection of summerhouses decorated by the likes of Hemmingway Design and Cath Kidston. Te Great Pavilion, which is roughly the same size as two football pitches, will also be home to an inspiring collection of plants, and an array of experts from RHS and beyond will be on hand to offer advice. As part of the centenary celebrations, visitors
will also be able to witness a spectacular concert, held in association with Opera Holland Park, and enjoy the photographic archives of the RHS Lindley Library. “Many exhibitors are celebrating the show’s special year with centenary-themed displays,” Foy adds. “Te M&G Centenary Garden will celebrate and capture the design trends and themes of RHS Chelsea Flower Shows past and present. Tis year’s Generation Gardens will highlight the changes to gardens and gardening over the last 100 years, and a special RHS Chelsea Flower Show Plant of the Centenary will be decided by a public vote.” Alongside this, exhibitors will also be
competing for the show’s prestigious Gold, Silver-Gilt, Silver and Bronze medal awards, which reward good design, top quality plants and perfectly staged displays and gardens. Watch out for the offerings of returning
award-winners Brewin Dolphin, the Daily Telegraph and Laurent-Perrier in particular. B&Q has also collaborated with Prince Harry’s charity, Sentebale, in what is promising to be another impressive display.
For more information on the 2013 RHS Chelsea Flower Show and its centenary celebrations visit
www.rhs.org.uk
Pictures by Andy Paradise and RHS Lindley Library 41
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