January 28th 2022
A new garden category, All About Plants, which celebrates the many powers of plants will be the first garden category to feature in the Great Pavilion at this year’s RHS Chelsea Flower Show, sponsored by The Newt in Somerset, 24-28 May 2022.
As the show returns to spring after a two year absence, the All About Plants gardens will join the growers and nurseries in the Great Pavilion. They have each been designed to raise awareness of a UK charity and will visualise the many ways plants can positively influence mental health, community, and industry.
Steely greys, silvers and blues interspersed with pops of vibrant colour dominate the planting of ‘The Core Arts Front Garden Revolution,’* designed by Andy Smith-Williams. It strives to demonstrate the power plants have to reconnect communities and positively impact mental health. The design depicts two urban households that have combined their front gardens to create a positive space for gardening, socialising, and environmental gain.
Lottie Delamain’s ‘A Textile Garden for Fashion Revolution’* champions the physical power of plants as textiles. Nettles and cow parsley will feature as part of a planting scheme selected for its uses as dyes or fibres, re-establishing the connection between plants and textiles and challenging the impact of the fast fashion industry by leading us to ask “what’s in my clothes?”
Previously a mental health counsellor, Pollyanna Wilkinson uses her planting to reflect the journey of recovery many women face in motherhood and the mental health challenges that often come with it. ‘The Mothers for Mothers Garden: This too shall pass’* features a muted palette transitioning to bright and exuberant colour to reflect this journey from despair to hope.
A naturalistic tapestry of green, interspersed with moments of vibrant colour, demonstrates the immersive power of plants to enhance our connection to the natural world in Charlie Hawkes’ ‘The Wilderness Foundation UK Garden.’* Inspired by a child’s eye view of the natural world, the planting is lifted up to pull the viewer into the wilderness of the garden and instil a sense of awe and wonder in nature and inspire a desire to protect it.
Helena Pettit, RHS Director of Gardens and Shows said: “We are thrilled to be hosting this category of firsts at RHS Chelsea. All About Plants is the first garden category to be hosted inside the Great Pavilion and is filled by four first time RHS Chelsea designers. They have each interpreted the positive powers of plants in such unique and interesting ways and we can’t wait to see the designs come to fruition at the show.”
Hattie Ghaui, Director of Project Giving Back, said: “This group of exceptional small gardens really demonstrates the essence of what we’re trying to achieve by supporting gardens for good causes at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show. Designers have been incredibly creative with their interpretation of their chosen good cause, and we hope visitors and viewers will fall in love with the immersive plant experiences the All About Plants gardens will offer and rush to find out more about the charities they support.”
Tickets to the RHS Chelsea Flower Show are currently available and can be purchased online at: http://www.rhs.org.uk/chelsea
Source: RHS Press Release