It’s the world's leading horticultural event, and this year’s Chelsea Flower Show did not disappoint.
Offering inspiration for flower enthusiasts and gardeners in spades, we saw a strong focus on sustainability and natural beauty, with themes including mental health, climate change, and community, with many designs destined for permanent homes after the show.
So come with us as we step into a world of flora and flowers and take a look at this year’s highlights and trends.
The Show Garden Of The Year
The Cha no Niwa - Japanese Tea Garden was designed by Kazuyuki Ishihara and was his first large garden on Main Avenue. Inspired by the garden designer’s childhood in Nagasaki and post-war resilience, as well as the traditional flower arranging art of ikebana, meaning ‘making flowers alive’, the garden featured a tea house, moss, gravel, maples and ikebana-style planting. Incorporating varying layers to create a sense of depth and communicate harmony, the designer used traditional Japanese plants and trees and strategically shaped boulders to symbolise the mountains and hills found in Japan.
Key Trends
There were plenty of new trends to be seen, and we’ve captured them all below.
Climate-resilient planting
Some gardens showcased innovative designs to address the challenges of a changing climate. The Garden of the Future, designed by Matthew Butler and Josh Parker, featured drought-tolerant crops such as sorghum bicolor (an upright plant with small, yellow-green flowers), and Cistus x purpureus (also known as rock roses, which originate from dry, rocky parts of the Mediterranean). The garden also featured a rainwater harvesting system integrated into a rammed-earth structure.
Coastal and Japanese influences
Layered planting, sand, and salt-tolerant flora were seen throughout the show. Seawilding by Ryan McMahon highlighted marine conservation through a coastal-themed garden, inspired by Loch Craignish in Scotland. The design featured sandstone outcrops, a saltwater pool planted with seagrass, and a pebble beach.
And there were other Japanese influences in addition to the winning Japanese Tea Garden.
The Komorebi Garden by Masa Taniguchi captured the essence of ‘komorebi,’ the Japanese term for sunlight filtering through trees. This urban courtyard garden featured birch trees, charcoal and bamboo elements, and a wooden platform for meditation, which reflected the designer's childhood memories of growing up in Nagano, Japan.
Tech in gardening
AI is making its way into many different sectors, and gardening is no different. The Avanade Intelligent Garden, designed by Tom Massey and Je Ahn, starred AI-linked sensors to monitor real-time environmental data, including soil moisture, sap flow, air quality, and weather patterns.
The AI system analysed this data to provide insights into tree health, meaning smarter, quicker care. Visitors could interact with the garden through a web-based app, engaging in ‘conversations’ with the trees to learn about their well-being and other requirements.
Reclaimed and recycled materials
Sustainability was a key theme, with numerous gardens showing innovative uses of reclaimed and recycled materials. The Pathway Garden, designed by Allon Hoskin and Robert Beaudin, only used upcycled materials, including a bench made from a fallen tree and a mycelium wall crafted from recycled waste from previous shows.
The Hospice UK Garden of Compassion, designed by Tom Hoblyn, featured artisan-crafted elements made from reclaimed and sustainable materials sourced within 50 miles of St Cuthbert’s Hospice in Durham. This included water bowls decorated with oyster shells recycled from fisheries, and benches crafted from a fallen oak tree.
In the Glasshouse Garden by Jo Thompson, recycled acrylic was used to create pivoting screens that opened like petals, complementing the garden's theme of transformation. The inspiration was The Glasshouse programme, where women in prison receive horticultural training, employment and resettlement support as they approach the end of their sentences.
Water features
Rills and rain chains added movement and a sense of calm to gardens. Again in Jo Thompson’s Glasshouse Garden, a narrow rill was seen winding through the space, culminating in a tranquil pool. And in the Hospitalfield Arts Garden by Nigel Dunnett, a clay-lined dune pool was a central feature, irrigated by rainwater harvested from an on-site bothy. Then, in the Killik & Co Save for a Rainy Day Garden, designed by Baz Grainger, a pergola with troughs was incorporated into the garden to collect and redirect rainwater, showcasing how gardens can be adapted for water conservation.
Deep red and plum tones
Deep red and purple hues emerged as a dominant trend, infusing gardens with a sense of richness and sophistication. These bold colours were often set against lush green backdrops, allowing the vibrant reds and purples to stand out and create striking visual contrasts.
The aforementioned Avande Intelligent Garden included the dark red Japanese wineberry throughout, and the Salvia plant came in joint second place for Plant of the Year, which stars vibrant red petals and green leaves with purple undersides. Other contenders for Plant of the Year included the ruby-red clematis flower, the 'Lady in Red' miscanthus sinensis, and the purple 'Betty' streptocarpus.
Indoor plants
But don’t feel like you have to have an outdoor space to grow beautiful plants. The TerrariROOM by Hugo & Green invited visitors into a walk-in terrarium, showcasing plants such as the phlebodium aureum (blue star fern) and the monstera deliciosa (Swiss cheese plant). Suspended kokedama and strategic use of lighting demonstrated how to create a thriving indoor space, even with limited natural light.
The Roots of Wellbeing by Botanic York focused on integrating greenery into work-from-home environments. This jungle-inspired office space used trailing plants like the sansevieria trifasciata (snake plant) and jasmine to create a calming atmosphere. There was also a central workstation flanked by herbs, and a dedicated area for plant care to encourage both productivity and relaxation.
So if you’re feeling inspired (and we’re not surprised!) start filling your bag with our vast collection of flowers and plants to begin creating your own (indoor or outdoor) garden.
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