Five emerging trends from the RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2018

The world’s most-watched flower show opens today – here are some of the styles you’ll want to emulate in your own garden

It’s the horticultural event of the year as the RHS Chelsea Flower Show opens in the grounds of the Royal Hospital Chelsea in southwest London.

Since its opening in 1913, the annual event has been a major draw for professionals and enthusiastic gardeners alike and this year hundreds of beautiful exhibition gardens and stands are set to dazzle visitors once again.

The Queen, who is patron of the Royal Horticultural Society, attended the private reception yesterday, only days after the excitement of the weekend’s royal wedding.

The show is now officially open to press and visitors, so we’ve taken a sneak peek at some of the displays and identified five of the biggest trends at this year’s show.

Wellness

Big for this year’s show is the positive impact gardening and outdoor living has on our physical and mental well being.

A small-scale sauna in the Wellness Garden. Image: Sarah Cuttle / RHS

The Viking Cruises Wellness Garden features a sauna and plunge pool, plus traditional Nordic plants, while the RHS Feel Good Garden designed by Matt Keightley and built by Rosebank Landscaping is a therapeutic space that aims to put people at complete ease with their surroundings.

To create your own oasis of relaxation, Matt suggests using cool-toned colours such as whites, pinks, blues and purples, adding pollinating plants to attract more wildlife to your garden (and water features for them to bathe and drink in), plus adding non-ornamental plants such as rosemary.

“There’s a huge value from aromatic plants and everyday herbs and I think if they’re used appropriately throughout it can look and smell very beautiful,” Matt says.

The Royal Wedding 

No doubt, the Queen was delighted to see several references to her grandson’s happy day on Saturday making their way onto the displays.

At the London Gate Entrance, visitors are greeted by a bower of trees created by London-based florist Kitten Grayson Flowers, which includes an English oak and a Californian cedar, which connect to create a canopy that represents the baobab tree native to Botswana, known as the tree of life.

Elsewhere, A Royal Celebration by Hillier (pictured above), designed by Sarah Eberle, welcomes guests to the Great Pavilion and features lots of white florals and flowers with regal names such as Lavendula Regal Splendour and Cotinus Royal Purple.

Romanesque

If you are looking for a more classic interpretation of the romance theme then look no further than the Redwood Stone exhibit, which brings an 18^th-century feel to its garden, using a Roman bath and spa in front of a logia featuring fluted Ionic columns, arches – even a cloister window.

The family-run business, based in Wells, Somerset, also heralds the use of faux ruins to create screening and its planting scheme incorporates species typical of a Roman garden, such as roses, thyme and Cypress and Citrus trees.

Tropical

As tropical prints slowly take over our interiors the trend for cacti, palms and succulents has finally extended into the garden and grown to include hothouse flowers developed for Britain’s colder climbs and references to exotic locations around the world.

The gold medal-winning stand Grenada – The Road to Success, designed by Catherine John

The Pure Grenada stand at this year’s show has been awarded their 14^th gold medal for a showcase of the amazing plants native to the tri-islands of Grenada, Carriacou and Petite Martinique.

The stand is an exuberant display of some of the scented spices and verdant foliage found on the Caribbean islands, all set around a picturesque bus, and includes heliconias, orchids and gingers, which can be grown in the UK, given the right care.

For further tropical inspiration the VTB Capital Garden, Spirit of Cornwall (pictured above) includes a collection of subtropical and temperate plants found in the southwest, such as Mahonia ‘Soft Caress’ and Iris Chrysographes.

Urban gardening

New to the show for this year are the Space to Grow gardens that aim to inspire those who have limited outdoor space or live in built-up urban areas.

The Urban Flow Garden features a planting scheme in a small plot that deflects and processes pollution, while the Vegepods exhibit includes self-watering and organic raised gardens that hopes to educate visitors on the principles of urban farming.

Plants Work garden display at RHS Chelsea Flower show 2018 with Ikea and Indoor Garden design

If you don’t have a garden (and especially if you work from home), the Plants Work exhibit from Indoor Garden Design and IKEA showcases a number of houseplants including aloe vera and Cactaceae for adding greenery to your everyday environment.

Marcos Tejedor, sales leader for plants and home decoration at IKEA UK & Ireland, says:

“We’re thrilled to be returning to RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2018 with Indoor Garden Design. There’s a continuing trend for bringing a feeling of the outside in, and we’re looking forward to sharing our unique insights into life at home with visitors, as well as tips to help them bring the look and benefits of plants into their own homes.”

The RHS Chelsea Flower Show is on until Saturday. You can book tickets here.

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