With eight Show Gardens, five Fresh Gardens and nine Artisan Gardens, the gardens and more than 100 floral displays will make up the 2017 RHS Chelsea Flower Show, sponsored by M&G Investments. Nowhere makes gardening more fashionable than Chelsea, with a catwalk of colour and creativity, the brightest new ideas, the latest plant trends and the pinnacle of garden design, this show is one the world wants to see.

One of the biggest attractions at RHS Chelsea are the spectacular gardens. Unrivalled in their ability to create the extraordinary, with the largest and most outstanding displays, they act as perfect examples of horticultural excellence and innovative landscape design.

RHS’ world-famous Show Gardens display the latest innovative designs and must-have plants, crafted with skill by highly-talented designers and their teams. This year’s displays include The M&G Garden 2017, by James Basson. This garden is inspired by the principles of ecological sustainability and the urgent need for action to preserve the fragile balance of our planet. It uses the unique environment of Malta to explore the cyclical relationship between destruction and creation, as the country provides a microcosm of our planet’s plight today.

Professor Nigel Dunnett has designed the 2017 RHS Greening Grey Britain Garden. Set within an urban context of high-rise and apartment developments, Nigel will demonstrate and celebrate the multiple benefits of plants and gardens in even the smallest of areas. He will also provide a vision for the future development and use of private, communal and social spaces in the places where we live.

Artisan Gardens

Traditional designs, materials and methods are revitalised by new approaches to craft and craftsmanship within the Artisan Gardens at RHS Chelsea. Representing some of the most imaginative and inspiring designs, these smaller gardens put a modern twist on timeless rustic ideas.

This year’s Artisan Garden exhibitors include, Gary Breeze’s The IBTC Lowestoft Broadland Boatbuilder’s Garden, Graham Bodle’s Walker’s Wharf Garden, Fiona Cadwallader’s The Poetry Lover’s Garden and Dr Catherine MacDonald’s The Seedlip Garden.

Fresh Gardens

Fresh Gardens, fresh in nature as well as in name, aim to redefine the perception of the garden. Taking more of a conceptual approach, they embrace new technology, trends and materials to create truly innovative designs. This year’s gardens include The Breast Cancer Now Garden, by Ruth Willmott and contractor, The Outdoor Room, which draws inspiration from the work of breast cancer researchers working in the lab, in particular looking through microscopes in their goal to stop breast cancer taking more lives. Whilst, The Bermuda Triangle, by Jack Dunckley, represents both the diverse topography and climate in Bermuda and the Caribbean, as well as the social and economic variances in the Caribbean region. This contemporary architectural garden is a representation of an active volcanic landscape interwoven with tropical planting.

The Great Pavilion

The jewel in RHS Chelsea’s crown is the Great Pavilion, which not only plays host to over 100 nurseries – new and old – but also houses the Discovery Zone, an area dedicated to highlighting the very cutting edge of technology in the world of horticulture. The Discovery Zone features the Come to your Senses Eco Garden by Scotts Miracle-Gro aiming to tackle the overstimulated and sedentary lives of children in the UK, with a design that encourages children to enter the haven of a garden. Whereas, the British Ecological Society’s Delight in the Dark will showcase the diversity of shade-tolerant plants.

Taking inspiration from the environmental issues surrounding bees, Burncoose Nurseries will shine a light on the lesser-known plants pollinated by flies, moths and beetles, while Raymond Evison has created a contemporary design inspired by the seashore. It features sand, pebbles and five large waves running the length of the exhibit, each of which will have clematis arranged on and below them.

Some of the exhibitors at this year’s Great Pavilion include:

• Avon Bulbs
• Barbados Horticultural Society
• Binny Plants
• Blackmore & Langdon
• Bowden Hostas
• Brighter Blooms
• Brookfield Plants
• Burncoose Nurseries
• Calamazag Nursery
• Craig House Cacti

A shopper’s paradise

An array of tradestands transform the showground into a shopper’s paradise, each selling the very best in garden structures, accessories and products, and complementing the quality of the gardens and floral exhibits on show.

Combine all of this with fashion-forward thinking, celebrity visitors and a Royal victory, and it’s no wonder RHS Chelsea is the highlight of the horticultural calendar.