Turning a New Leaf
Three years after its last May outing, the RHS Chelsea Flower Show is back in full swing in its usual slot. For 2022, usual headline sponsor M&G Investments has been replaced by The Newt in Somerset. And that’s not the only change. This year’s event ushers in a crop of fresh talent and new show categories, with wild plants and naturalistic planting design taking centre stage.
As ever, the Great Pavilion will be filled with immaculate plant displays and this year, for the first time, it will host one of the new garden categories: All About Plants. Outside, the Sanctuary Gardens category offers inspiration for those with compact outdoor spaces. And, of course, there are always bountiful shopping opportunities.
Each visitor will have their own favourite element, but, sponsored by the charities Mind and Project Giving Back. The therapeutic benefits of gardening on mental health are becoming increasingly well known, and this garden intends to communicate different aspects of the subject, with rough-textured clay-rendered walls enclosing calm seating areas alongside colourful meadow planting. “I’ve created a number of gardens over the years that feature curved walls, and this is an evolution of those ideas,” Andy explains.
