The 2023 Chelsea Flower Show is highlighting nature’s influence, featuring gardens that display untamed ecosystems, robust terrains, and organic flora arrangements.
On Monday, celebrities will be among the first to get a look at this year’s exhibition before the King and Queen visit the yearly horticulture showcase at the Royal Hospital Chelsea. This event celebrates everything related to gardening.
Designers mention that numerous gardens this year exude a “highly natural vibe,” reflecting people’s desire for a stronger bond with nature. These spaces often incorporate features like pathways made of gravel that seamlessly blend into lush plantings, pavements covered in moss with vegetation sprouting through them, and include indigenous flora such as foxglove and cow parsley showcased at the event.
Nigel Dunnett, who created the Hospitalfield Arts Garden using sand to mimic the Arbroath coastline where the organization operates, mentioned that this method of growing gardens with sand has become quite trendy recently. This trend comes amid the UK experiencing a parched spring and facing increasing challenges from extreme weather conditions linked to climate change.
He mentioned that his garden was “teeming with plants,” aiming to populate as much of the area as possible with greenery.
“That’s quite typical for many gardens; they tend to exude a strong sense of nature,” he commented.
Crafting this enveloping natural environment is something folks are truly yearning for, instead of harsh urban settings.
It’s this bond with nature that we’re increasingly disconnecting from, and urban gardens and public spaces present genuine chances to reconnect people with it.
After the exhibition, the garden will be moved to a primary school in Arbroath. He emphasized that there’s an obligation to link kids back with nature, ensuring that coming generations can experience the inspiration that ignites a passion for gardening.
The most organic garden showcased this year is the one created for the Wildlife Trusts, focusing on an Atlantic temperate rainforest environment. This ecosystem formerly blanketed the west coasts of Britain, the entire island of Ireland, and the Isle of Man, yet now covers only around 1% of what was originally about one-fifth of these lands.
The garden showcases the initiatives taken by the trusts, working alongside insurance provider Aviva, aimed at restoring and safeguarding the ecosystem. It also demonstrates how environmentally conscious gardening practices can support British wildlife.
Zoe Claymore, the designer of the garden, stated: “Our aim is to achieve a beautifully flawed look while embracing joy and life.”
She characterized the garden as organized chaos, drawing attention to the tilted trees that demonstrate nature’s toughness. She showcased native flora like Welsh poppies, bluebells, cowslips, and foxgloves, along with emphasizing mosses and ferns as the main attractions of her display.
“True perfection is more untamed, as it doesn’t mean uniformity in gardening; rather, it’s about the happiness and bonds that plants create for you and nourish your spirit,” she explained.
I believe a more untamed garden better represents what it means to be human.
Rob Stoneman, who directs landscape recovery at the Wildlife Trusts, mentioned that the garden included plants like cow parsley—commonly found along hedges—that people often regard as weeds yet consider “stunning.”
He mentioned that from the Victorian era onwards, it has been recognized that gardens and green areas can introduce elements of the countryside into urban environments, thereby enhancing individuals’ physical and psychological well-being.
However, a standard garden center was brimming with plastics and pesticides and had turned into an artificial environment.
I’m not suggesting that everything is negative, but really, what we should focus on is reviving the idea of reintegrating rural elements into your patch of green space, as doing so will provide numerous advantages.
He mentioned that the garden was free from peat and insecticides, featuring native trees and plants, aiming to demonstrate how to “incorporate more wilderness into urban areas.”
In another location, dogs were granted a special opportunity to attend the Chelsea Flower Show. Among them was Monty Don’s dog, Ned, who explored the dedicated “dog garden.” This space was developed collaboratively between TV gardening personality Monty Don, the event organizers at the Royal Horticultural Society, and BBC Radio 2.
Mr Don revealed a fox had slept in the garden over the weekend and highlighted some key features, including a dog house where they are “allowed to lie on the sofas”, a gate that leads out to an “imaginary countryside” for walks and a lawn looking “quite trashed already”.
“I had previously declared that I would absolutely not participate in any show garden, particularly at Chelsea. However, the RHS managed to convince me by introducing dogs into the mix, and since I cannot say no to combining dogs with gardens—something I’ve always loved—I agreed,” he explained.
So right from the beginning, this garden was designed with dog owners in mind, and I aimed to keep it quite straightforward. There isn’t any deeper meaning or secret backstory. The garden simply reflects its appearance as it is.
The garden, which won’t face judgment, will be moved to the nearby Battersea Dogs and Cats Home. Mr. Don commented, “We’re here for a week but hopefully at Battersea forever.”
