NEWS EXTRA


Hydrangea Kanmara Champagne adds a touch of pink to the display


Chelsea by numbers


• 8,000 plants and 13 trees will be on show on Hillier’s garden


• Grown by just three people


• In 550sq m of polytunnels, 1,500sq m of glasshouses, and 300sq m of outdoor growing space, and two cold stores


• The garden will also comprise: 112 bags of cement, 800 concrete blocks, 60 tons of hardcore, 15 tonnes of sand, 24 pallets of bark, 2,000kg of corten steel and over 4,000 screws.


• 150 people are involved from build up to breakdown


• They get through at least 10,000 cups of tea


The Agapanthus Bridal Bouquet is just one of the varieties that will be used in the Royal Celebration installation


the act of gardening, to an area based on a garden room or conservatory, with houseplants and somewhere to sit, followed by the vibrant outdoor space for entertaining and having fun in the garden.


Detailing her design further, Ms Eberle said: “part of my brief is to make it more relevant to people in terms of the plants that are grown, the plants that are sold within the garden centres, and the other elements of the garden centre market that people want for their gardens – whether that is furniture, accessories, product – and there are a lot of exciting things there that a designer can get her hands on, so it’s a delight for me.”


for a show like Chelsea can be all


and


Planning and building up consuming


something


Ms Eberle and the Hillier team weren’t expecting was for the RHS to approach them in January and ask them to create a large floral installation at the entrance to the Great Pavilion at this year’s show. It was a huge honour, as it is the first time the Royal Horticultural Society has ever commissioned an installation in the key location at the famous gardening show and it is the entrance that the Queen will walk through. Sarah Eberle was free to choose her own design for the display and said she was delighted at the prospect of not having to adhere to the same rigid rules applied to other gardens and exhibits in the show. “It’s a first for me,” said Ms Eberle. “I’ve never done an installation or feature at Chelsea before and it’s a huge opportunity because we are freed of our judging regulations. As a designer, that’s absolutely fantastic!” With the


www.diyweek.net just two days before Chelsea,


Hillier’s showcase, titled, ‘A Royal Celebration,’ aims to celebrate Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s nuptials but is also an ode to love and the garden. Ms Eberle explained: “We want to give the sense of arrival that you come to something a fantastic event. It’s a celebration of everything royal, their visit to Chelsea, and the weeding. It’s also a celebration of everything about love and marriage, as well as the garden and plant material.” Clearly excited by not having to abide by the usual RHS judging rules and with a passionate team of plant people behind her, Ms Eberle promises big things. “It’s wonderful to be released from those regulations and have some fun but the quality will be absolutely Hillier – top-notch and really exciting.” There will be four corten steel


staircases either side of the entrance, which will be bedecked with candles, lanterns, flowers, plants – “you name it – everything that is to do with the garden,” she said. “There will be draping stems of cherry, draping fronds of ivy, and wonderful candles that will be lit at night.”


This will all sit within a carpet of planting, which will be predominantly white, green and pink. “Many of the plants we have selected are associated with the royal family and weddings, such as Lavendula Regal Splendour, Cotinus Royal Purple, Agapanthus Bridal Bouquet, Lavendula Tiara, as well as Hydrangea Kanmara Champagne. As Hillier is known for its


trees, Royal Wedding


it will also incorporate a couple of special examples, including flowered, pruned, pinus, which Ms eberle says will “add a great deal of


architecture and a little bit of fun”. She concluded: “This is the chance for us to just have a ball. As a team, Hillier is so enthusiastic about Chelsea and here we are really going to let rip and have some fun. I think it’s going to be impactful, have a ‘wow factor’ and I think people are going to really enjoy this welcome to the flower show.”


Proud history The family proudly showcased some of the historic Chelsea prizes it has been awarded over the years – and, as the business is the World Record holder for having received the most consecutive gold medals at the flower show (72 in total) – it has quite a collection.


Chairman Robert Hillier explained that his grandmother often opted for silver cutlery instead of the medals and cups when the business won at the gardening show – a prize she found far more practical and which required less polishing joked, wholesale and retail director Chris Francis.


As well as showcasing some of the original medals and silverware Hillier won, the Chelsea team also displayed photos of past Hillier exhibits, which in the 1930s were outside before a move into the great pavilion. There were also shots of members of the Royal Family visiting its show gardens, and of Arthur Sanders, who was with Hillier for nearly half a century and helped to manage its show exhibit for many years. George also told of how his grandfather, Harold Hillier has pioneered the use of cold storage to delay and hold blooms to make sure that things came out in flower at the


• 20 lorries will set off from Hillier HQ to the Royal Hospital ground


right time for shows. “The story goes that he went down to the docks at Southampton and found somebody that had refrigeration equipment, and he put flowering cherries in that were then able to hold back the flower in time for the show. It absolutely wowed the crows the first time that he did it.” Hillier - which has 12 retail garden


centres, a 60-acre wholesale nursery and 700-acre amenity tree division – has a rich history with Chelsea and the flower show is an important part of the business and its ethos, explained George: “As a business we are all about our core products, which is horticulture – trees and plants – and what Chelsea gives us is a chance to really show what we do best.”


He continued: “It’s the one


project that we can bring all the departments of our business together and work on collectively, so it’s a really exciting time. Our mission statement that we’ve worked on recently is to inspire the creation of green living spaces for now and the future and I think Chelsea encapsulates that and is our best opportunity to show how you can create green living spaces and how people can go to Chelsea, see it and go home and recreate it for themselves.” “Our brand is also synonymous with Chelsea and that’s something that we are enormously proud of. Chelsea is the show that encapsulates everything that is great about horticulture. It’s also enabled us to develop our brand through our connections with Chelsea, so we absolutely love it. We have been exhibiting there for generations and we certainly hope to continue.”


11 MAY 2018 DIY WEEK 9


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