Anybody who knows me well knows how much I love flowers. In addition to my love of fresh flowers, I have so many items of clothing, bedding, household linens, table linens, etc. adorned with flowers. A trip to the Chelsea Flower Show has been on my bucket list for a very long time. When I lived in London 30 years ago, I could never really afford it. The RHS Chelsea Flower Show was formally known as the Great Spring Show. The RHS (Royal Horticultural Society) show is usually visited by the royals. This year, the King and Queen visited on Opening Day. They visited the children’s only garden, where only children are allowed; adults must take a special pledge to enter. King Charles is a passionate gardener and advocate for sustainability, and there was much of this on display this year.
This year 2024, I found myself in London for the show, and finally, I could afford it. It is not cheap, in fact at GBP120 a ticket it is very expensive. I purchased my tickets with my husband, and we headed to the show early on Saturday morning. We packed a picnic and took the district line to Sloane Square, where we disembarked and followed the crowds to the grounds at the Royal Chelsea Hospital for the show. I am very glad we went there early, as there were minimal lines for displays and no lines for the bathrooms. We walked around the grounds and looked at all the commercial displays, which were amazing, showcasing beautifully designed gardens, patio options, and backyards to drool over. The highlight of the show was the main hall, where you are met with a kaleidoscope of color and beauty, which is breathtaking. I love roses and the rose displays did not disappoint. I am not knowledgeable enough of the names of flowers, I just enjoy the color and the beauty. We walked around for a long time, enjoyed the displays, and visited the vendor’s award-winning blooms.
When we left the main hall, or the Grand Pavilion as it is called, the show had become much busier. This was at about 11.30. It was now difficult to move around, and the show got very packed. We finished walking through the outdoor displays, enjoying the interesting backyard and patio options and saw some very interesting sculptures. We then headed to the picnic area to eat lunch, which was so packed we ended up finding a spot on the pathways with raised stone pavement to sit on and enjoyed our picnic, which we had picked up at Asda’s on the way. We were very glad we took food and it seemed many people had the food there was very expensive and with long lines at all the vendors. There was an option to purchase lunch for GBP100 per person which I am glad we did not purchase. The British weather was very kind to us, and we had beautiful weather all day. Sitting amongst such beauty despite the crowds at this point, enjoying an al fresco lunch was very pleasant.
After lunch, we walked around some more, but at this point he venue was packed, and it was hard to see some of the exhibits with the sheer volume of people. We visited the discovery zone and explored the future of horticulture with a fascinating exhibit on hornet bees and efforts to protect our pollinators.
We stayed until about 2 p.m. and then took the free bus to Battersea Park. For this Show rookie, here are my tips for a pleasant experience at the Chelsea Flower Show.
- Get to the show early, as early as possible. It seemed to get much busier starting at 11:00 a.m.
- Bring a packed lunch and something to sit on. There is no guarantee there will be a space at the picnic tables. If you are a visitor and not a local, you can pick up lunch in any of the many stores around the stations.
- Wear very comfortable shoes, there is a lot of walking. I saw some people in heels, and it hurt to watch!
- Find toilets near the entrance early on and go back there if you need to. I found this avoided the long lines or maybe I got lucky.
- Many vendors sell mementos and cute items, but they are expensive, so set your budget and find something to match it. I bought some lovely candle scents and a burner for GBP22.00; I could live with that.
- Wear a hat and sunscreen even if it’s raining. The British weather changes significantly by the hour.
As I am not terribly knowledgeable about the actual breed of flowers or their names, I will let you enjoy the beauty of the displays in pictures, but there is really no substitute for going in person.
You can check out the Plant of the Year finalists and winners here.
Check out all the exhibitors here.
I also loved the display of driftwood sculptures from this artist James Doran Webb