Honest heads to the 2022 RHS Chelsea Flower Show
There are many perks to working at Honest, but there are two things in particular that we are especially lucky to be able to boast about.
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The lovely clients and brands we work with (who wouldn’t want to be talking about plants, gardens and home accessories all day?!)
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The amazing sector we work in (again, who wouldn’t want to be talking about plants, gardens and home accessories all day?!)
Because of this, our summer is always busy travelling around the country visiting shows like RHS Hampton Court, RHS Tatton Park and Gardeners World Live. It’s a hard life, but someone’s got to do it! (It’s work, honest!)
But there’s one show each year that stands out in our diaries. Chelsea!
For a PR and social media agency that specialises in working with gardening brands, you couldn’t really get a more perfect event than the Chelsea Flower Show.
After a few years of Chelsea taking different formats with it first, being online and then moving to September where beautiful autumnal displays took to the fore, the 2022 show saw Chelsea returning to May and we couldn’t wait to get back to the showground.
Many of our clients were at the show, with Hillier being shortlisted for the Plant Of The Year, elho’s pots featuring on the Dobbie’s stand to help the garden centre chain shout about its sustainable credentials, one of Oxenwood’s tables being front and centre on the Bowdens’ stand, and Haws showcasing and selling its iconic watering cans. Nemaslug even came to the rescue of the Blue Peter Show garden when it came under attack from slugs!
When stepping away from promoting our clients at the show, we had time to explore the mind-blowing show gardens. And we were not disappointed.
This year the show had gardens for everyone, with something that appealed to all types of gardener and all design preferences. There were small space ideas for balcony gardens and container inspirations, houseplant collections for those without outdoor space (or just those, like us, with a houseplant obsession) but also bigger picture visions and landscapes we can only dream of! No matter the level of gardening prowess, from gardening experts to plant novices, the show had something for everyone. You needn’t be a gardener to be able to take inspiration from the show.
There were nods to the Jubilee dotted throughout the showground, and two particular installations caught our eye. The first was the incredible floral portrait of the Queen designed by Simon Lycett that stood at one of the entrances to the Great Pavilion. It featured the Queen’s favourite plant, the Lily of the Valley, with 70 of them on display – one for every year she has reigned.
The key theme that was instantly apparent at this year’s show was sustainability, not just with the products on sale and innovations being showcased but also within the garden designs.
The RHS has made a clear transition in its design rules this year to support this and ensure the show is as sustainable as possible – artificial lawns were banned and designers had to declare their plans for the gardens after the show to make sure they find good homes to thrive in for years to come.
The Garden Of The Year was won by Rewilding Britain and the focus on a more wild, natural planting style was evident in most of the show gardens. There was a distinct move away from big, bold blooms and instead wildflower areas, natural planting style with grasses, and small pops of colours from geums and alliums were prevalent, along with an embracing of “weeds” (or plants as we prefer to call them). There were pollinators everywhere, and it was so lovely to see bees buzzing around the show gardens – our sinuses could definitely tell the pollen count was high!!
Our favourite garden was the Perennial With Love garden. It had beautiful planting and was subtle yet with so much detail and a lovely colour scheme. With water running through the centre, it created a moment of peace and calm in the middle of the busy show ground. We weren’t the only ones to be a fan of it as it went on to win the People’s Choice award!
This year’s show was one of the most inspiring we’ve been to and it’s definitely got us thinking about ways to transform our gardens at home! If you visited the show, we’d love to hear from you about what you enjoyed and what inspiration you’ve taken from it!
