RHS Chelsea Flower Show

The RHS Chelsea Flower Show is ready to take centre stage again, hailed as the most glamorous and prestigious gardening event of the year. Held in the grounds of the Royal Hospital Chelsea since 1913 (apart from a hiatus during the two World Wars), the show is always full of excitement around flowers, new specimens of flowers, interesting interpretations and new ways to showcase them.

The first RHS Chelsea Flower Show was held in a tent with a total of 244 exhibitors. Today the event spreads across over 23 acres and there are 500 exhibitors and gardens to see. Coined as ‘The World Cup of gardening’, it is considered by locals and international visitors alike as being the unmissable event that officially kicks off the British Summer Season.

At Lavender Green Flowers, we see RHS Chelsea Flower Show as an incredible platform for the high number of talented creatives in our entire industry, showcasing their skills to the world’s media and over 150,000 visitors.

Beginning on the 21^st May, the Chelsea Flower Show brings together world-renowned garden designers, plant specialists, florists and nurseries, whose innovative garden designs, inspirational horticultural exhibits and dazzling flower displays continue to impress (even us!) year on year. This year’s show will feature a garden co-designed by HRH The Duchess of Cambridge as well as numerous other creative installations and floral works of art.

Lavender Green Flowers are exceedingly proud to have been involved with RHS Chelsea Flower Show for over 7 years. Our work at the show consists of working with the onsite corporate events and hospitality teams, as well as at numerous events at the Royal Hospital Chelsea. This year, we are working on one significant hospitality event all week, alongside 4 events on Gala Night.

Quintessentially British and graced by Royalty, there is no better way to start the summer season. “Our involvement in the show allows us to really showcase our talent and passion for working with plants, not just cut flowers!” says Alice, our Head of Events. “We also get to be more hands on with design, and we are fully immersed throughout the whole process, so it is a very detailed journey.”

We treat each year as if it were our first, and we don’t like to repeat any designs people have seen before. Creating new bespoke designs in vases and containers that are full of texture, fragrance and intricate detailing is a must. We work extremely closely with our clients to ensure every aspect of their brief is captured. It is not enough to just put flowers on a table; guests come to the show from all over the world and they expect to be wowed.

With Chelsea in Bloom extending the atmosphere of RHS Chelsea Flower Show to the iconic Chelsea streets, the buzz and floral frenzy around the local area makes it a unique and unforgettable week.

Chelsea Flower Show observations from Alice Couzens, lead floral designer

There is a very natural and thriving feel to this year’s Chelsea Flower Show. It is very foliage and green plant based, incorporating trees too.

Delicate flowers have been used to add touches of colour, ranging from burnt oranges, purples and mustard yellows.

Everything is very full, lush and almost overgrown with mass planting and lots of leafy plants.

Water is present in lots of gardens, showcasing the more natural and fresher feel to this year’s show.

 It feels very nostalgic and evoking; each garden we’ve seen so far really makes you want to explore, touch and see everything as there is lots of detailing. The design also seems to change the different way you see it.

We have gone this way in our designs too. We are using natural bark containers and going heavy on the green planting, using larger leafed plants and mixed textures. To add colour we have added beautiful yet simple and delicate flowers in grouped planting to look as if they have grown out of the design, with the table centres changing as the plants and flowers open and grow throughout the week. This is to give the design a different perspective each day.