It’s officially flower show season, as the RHS Chelsea Flower Show kicks off again for another year, with a week of impeccably created gardens and displays. One of the most talked about installations has been The RHS and The King’s Foundation Curious Garden, a collaboration between The King’s Foundation, Sir David Beckham and Alan Titchmarsh. The final garden makes for an impressive display, sitting pride of place on a large corner of the show grounds.
While there are plenty of clever features to take a look at, there’s one particularly clever detail, which is almost impossible to spot unless you know exactly what you’re looking for.
At the centre of the garden sits a grand oak structure which houses a ‘museum of curiosities’, including an art easel with paints and dried flowers. We also spotted Alan Titchmarsh hanging his hat up inside, and bringing his hand-painted gnome for a look around. Surrounding the building are lush flowers and plants that are a subtle nod to one of the garden’s collaborators – Sir David Beckham. The footballer is synonymous with his number seven shirt and, in a discreet nod to his legacy, there garden includes seven raised beds within its design. Clever!
The space was designed by Frances Tophill to display ‘the highest standards of horticulture’ and celebrate ‘the breadth of horticultural careers through stories we tell about the garden,’ she said in a release. According to the RHS, the aim of the garden is promote the joyful side of gardening and the ‘vital contribution plants make to the health of people, places and planet’.
Sir David Beckham also has another role at the show this year, as David Austin Roses has revealed a variety named in his honour, the Sir David Beckham Rose. It follows varieties named in honour of Royal Family members, including King Charles and the Princess of Wales, and can be found on display in the Great Pavilion at Chelsea.
Monday at Chelsea Flower Show is always the official press day, which invites members of the media as well as celebrities to explore the grounds ahead of official opening. This year, we spotted plenty of famous faces out and about enjoying the show, including Dame Mary Berry, Dame Joanna Lumley, Angela Rippon, Dominic West and The Traitors’ Rachel Duffy.
The RHS Chelsea Flower Show opens to RHS members from Tuesday 19 May and the public from Thursday 21 May. You can watch all the action from home on BBC One and BBC Two with twice daily programmes, including a special from Dame Mary Berry on Friday 22 May.
