24 beautiful pictures of Chelsea Flower Show 2024
Held in the affluent London borough since 1912, the Royal Horticultural Society Chelsea Garden Show is a highlight of the springtime social calendar – and makes for a quintessentially British outing.
Alongside ruling monarchs (King Charles visited this year), celebrities are often spotted mingling – this year we saw Dame Joan Collins, Mary Berry, Monty Don and Daisy Edgar-Jones. As they sipped the show’s signature Babylonstoren rosé, a new vintage of which was launched to mark press day, dishes designed by Michelin-recognised chefs were circulated for snacking on.
At the heart of the event is a passion for spectacular horticulture. Leading garden designers and florists lead the pack, stunning viewers whether they be in physical attendance or getting a glimpse of the action courtesy of the BBC’s in-depth coverage.
Highlights of the 2024 show include the show gardens, which are known for their theatrical displays and design. Elsewhere, sanctuary gardens embrace the ever-growing trend of wellness, mental health and accessibility.
Somerset's iconic hotel The Newt is celebrating its third year as the official sponsor of the flower show, and we loved The Newt's Roman Garden. Inspired by the ruins of a Roman villa found on the Somerset estate, it includes a peristyle colonnaded courtyard adorned with wild cherry, pomegranate and mulberry trees, along with French lavender, myrtle, poppies and roses.
The Forest Bathing Garden, designed by Ula Maria, won a gold medal this year. The garden has been designed as an accessible space for everyone, but particularly for those with muscle wasting conditions such as Muscular Dystrophy. The immersive space features more than 50 birch trees providing shade over stone, slate and brick pathways, with pops of purple foxgloves, mayflowers and wild strawberries peeping through. The space encourages those struggling with loneliness, mental health or shock to soak up the nature in an area that provides comfort and clarity.
Another favourite was an installation by St James's Church Piccadilly, designed by Robert Myers. It's a space dedicated to community – a garden where “people of all faiths and none seek tranquillity and inspiration”. The garden features a timber cabin, a prototype for “a new space for our drop-in counselling service”, alongside lush green trees and perennials.
Keep scrolling for our roundup of the best blooms and flowers at RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2024
- Sophie Knight
A selection of sculptures by James Doran-Webb, a leading driftwood animal artist. This year, we saw galloping horses, owls mid-flight and a dragon, complete with smoke billowing from its nostrils.
- Sophie Knight
The Roman Garden by The Newt in Somerset. “The inspiration was our Roman Villa in Somerset,” says Ed Workman, CEO of The Newt. “We went back to the year 78AD, just before Mount Vesuvius erupted. It's a peristyle collonaded garden that would have been found within the city of Pompeii. It’s really a sanctuary, a room within the house that brings the outside in.”
- Sophie Knight
The crowds starting to grow with those eager to spot the winning garden designs.
- Sophie Knight
Gold medal winner: inside the garden by Robert Myers, a project for St James's Church in Piccadilly.
- Sophie Knight
Some wild strawberries poking out in the sunshine, grown in the gardens of The Pig hotel.
- Sophie Knight
A decadent floral bouquet inside the main tent.
- Sophie Knight
Another gold medal winner: the Water Aid Garden. This cleverly designed space represents the power of water, using reclaimed and repurposed materials and placing emphasis on three funnelled structures, design to collect and disperse rainwater.
- Sophie Knight
A beautiful tablescape inside an Alitex greenhouse.
- Sophie Knight
The Flood Resilient Garden: a space designed by Flood Re, an initiative dedicated to promoting the availability of flood resistant homes across the UK. The garden includes mixed-level areas, with ponds, streams, shrubs, perennials and barriers throughout (and extra wide guttering, too). It won a silver medal.
- Sophie Knight
A floral installation inside the main pavilion at Chelsea Flower Show showcasing the national flower of South Africa, the king protea.
- Sophie Knight
The World Child Cancer Nurturing Garden won a gold medal this year. It's a warm, sensory space, with low-maintenance plants and flowers, designed to provide some calm and solace.
- Sophie Knight
The Marlow Shepherd's Hut, complete with an oak porch, en suite, coffee corner, woodburner and electric underfloor heating.
- Sophie Knight
Pretty pastel-coloured foxgloves rising upwards.
- Sophie Knight
Hungry guests settle down at the food court for some lunch.
- Sophie Knight
A selection of different species on display including red roses, peonies and delphiniums.
- Sophie Knight
Another angle from The Flood Resilient Garden, with a comfortable seating area on a raised platform.
- Sophie Knight
A look at the RHS No Adults Allowed Garden, an area designed by Harry Holding and students, which features a slide that goes underground, a rickety ladder to climb back up and a secret treehouse to spy on the crowds. Adults can enter only if they make a pledge: to donate to the RHS Campaign for School Gardening, plant a tree, or spend time locating a flower in the gardens that begins with the first letter of their name.
- Sophie Knight
The band begins warming up for an afternoon performance.
- Sophie Knight
A gold medal-winning floral display.
- Sophie Knight
Crowds queueing for coffee at Chelsea Flower Show.
- Sophie Knight
Another beautiful tablescape.
- Sophie Knight
Colourful wild flowers erupting from a woven display.
- Sophie Knight
A rainbow of colourful flowers inside the main tent.