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RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2008
20 - 24 May 2008

The Chelsea Flower Show marks the arrival of summer with a riot of glorious colors and gardening exhibits.The Royal Horticultural Society has been making London bloom at the Chelsea Flower Show for close to 150 years.

The RHS Chelsea Flower Show offers a view of the best in gardening and in horticulture. Originally known as the Great Spring Show, it was first held in Kensington in 1862 as a small expo focused on selling plants raised by members to raise money for the RHS charites. The late spring flower show was moved to the Royal Hospital, Chelsea in 1913 when the crowds became too large for the smaller site.

The world's premier gardening expo takes place for 5 days every May. The Chelsea Flower Show can accommodate 157,000 visitors on each of the five days it is open. Normally all tickets sell out as visitors from around the world gather in London to see work from the world’s leading gardeners, designers and floral artists.

Gardening professionals and talented amateur gardeners show off their green thumbs with a stunning array of flowers and plants to the delight of those able to purchase tickets. If you won't be able to go in person, you can still take advantage of the live web cams, photos and video clips available at the RHS site.

Prior year's well know garden designers included Jinny Blom, Chris Beardshaw, Andy Sturgeon, Cleve West, Tom Stuart-Smith and Stephen Woodhams. Designers of this caliber are just one of the reasons that the RHS Chelsea Flower Show is considered to be the greatest and most renowned show of its kind in the world.

The gardens cover more than 11 acres of the grounds of the Royal Hospital in Chelsea, which was founded in 1620 by King Charles II and designed by architect Sir Christopher Wren. The Great Pavilion alone covers nearly 12,000 square meters! It takes 18 months of planning to organize all of the exhibitions. In the final 3 1/2 weeks, 800 people work feverishly to build the complex of tents, water pipes and garden settings that seem so natural as you wander through the show.

International exhibitors come from countries as far away as the USA, Barbados, Sri Lanka, France, Holland, Italy, Germany, Australia, Jamaica, South Africa, Trinidad & Tobago, Hong Kong, India and Zimbabwe. There are around 600 exhibitors in total with over 100 floral exhibitors in the Great Pavilion. Be sure to see the exhibitions of Floral Art, and the Continuous Learning gardens offering a different themed garden annually.

Each year, more than 50 small gardens are scattered through the grounds. Besides the Lifelong Learning gardens, there are gardens in the Urban and Courtyard categories and special exhibition show gardens.

Visitors also have the opportunity to create their own garden designs. At 4 PM on the last day of the show there is a sell-off of display plants that can be taken home to add a touch of royal garden flavor to your yard.

The food served at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show is another attraction that draws visitors. According to the RHS, during show week 8,000 bottles of champagne, 20,000 glasses of Pimms, 110,000 cups of tea and coffee, 25,000 bottles of water and 35,000 rounds of sandwiches are sold. Quite the garden party!

The RHS Chelsea Flower Show actually opens on Monday May 19, but this is not a day open for public viewing. Members of the Royal Family make a private visit to the show on this Preview Day.

The following two days are reserved for RHS members. The RHS currently has more than 370,000 members who turn out in great numbers both to see the show and to support the charitable causes.

The general public, those not Royal Family or RHS members, may purchase tickets for Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

The RHS Chelsea Flower Show is always eagerly anticipated and tickets for the event sell out fast. This also leads to an increase in demand for hotel accommodation in Chelsea and the surrounding areas as London hotels are booked up by green-fingered fans and budding 'Diarmuid Gavins’.

Related Web Sites:

2008 Chelsea Flower Show - Tickets and Information

BBC Chelsea Flower Show 2006 - Highlights

Plants Magazine 2006 Chelsea Flower Show Previews

Jinny Blom's Laurent Perrier Garden Plan & Plant List (PDF file)

Review of Show Garden Designs at Chelsea 2005 Flower Show