Chelsea Flower Show 2012
The RHS Chelsea Flower Show is a garden show held for five days in May (22nd to the 26th this year) by the Royal Horticultural Society in the grounds of the Royal Hospital Chelsea in Chelsea, London. It is the most famous flower show in the United Kingdom, perhaps the world, attracting visitors from all over corners of the globe, attracting around 157,000 visitors each year.
Highlights of the show include the avant-garde show gardens designed by leading names with Floral Marquee at the centrepiece. The Show also features smaller garden such as the Artisan and Urban Gardens.
The show celebrates all forms of horticulture, with competitions that range from Best Courtyard Garden to the RHS Sundries Bowl which are all graded either gold, silver-gilt, silver or bronze.
With such a variety of competitions, there is always something to catch your eye at the show, such as last year’s Irish Sky Garden by Diarmuid Garvin’s which was the first garden to be suspended in the air, inspired by Oscar winning Dublin animator Richie Baneham who created the visual effects for Avatar. Last year’s show also saw the introduction of the new Artisan garden category which featured beautiful artistic and natural gardens, which will be sure to impress this year.
One designer worth looking out for is Sarah Price. Not only is she helped design the Gardens at the London 2012 Olympic Park – the largest urban park in the capital since the 19th century – but she has also been picked to design The Daily Telegraph’s garden for the Chelsea Flower Show 2012 who have achieved Best in Show Gold for the last three years in a row.
Unfortunately all tickets have now sold out, however, the BBC will be offering coverage of the highlights during the event.