RHS SHOWS | My Review Of Malvern And Chelsea

Just like that, another Spring of RHS Shows has been and gone. What a spring it has been! We were so pleased to see so many gardens win amazing awards, especially as we had followed their journeys throughout, from design, to the stresses of build week, before seeing the garden completed and ready for judging. 

This year we supported a total of 30 gardens across Malvern and Chelsea, using a wide range of brands, such as Collingwood, in-lite, Aquascape, Oase, LuxR, Claber, Hunza and Ortus. 

Although we have supported Malvern and Chelsea in many years gone by, I felt this year was different. I thought there was " Much more diversity in the gardens, with trade stands becoming more of a feature and gardens designed by some top designers" Which was very exciting for all of us to see! 

With all those gardens to support, it meant I spent a lot of time on the road, helping to organise all the products and ensure everybody had all they needed to bring their plans to life. Because we personally deliver to Malvern and Chelsea, it meant I was able to see all the gardens at various stages and watch their stories unfold. It was a very different feeling to see the gardens during build week vs show week. "During build week, you start to get a feel for the gardens, but it's not until show week they come into their own. Build week is also manic and a chance to see landscapers in full swing of what they do best" 

After the madness of Malvern and Chelsea had died down and I was back in the office. I had a chance to review the past few weeks, and reminisce on some of the amazing gardens I have seen. Although I had spent a large amount of time with all the Designers, Contractors and Landscapers we were supporting, one of my personal highlights was. "Working on the lovely green oak benches that Ann-Marie had on her garden, to see the effect on the finished garden of the lighting under the bench was especially pleasing"

Although it may sound slightly biased, I think it would be really good to see a lighting award next year! 

Landscapeplus have been involved in supporting show gardens at various shows for 12 years. It started when we delivered 1 pond pump and a couple of lights to 1 garden, and quickly realised that support is needed during the build week, especially with couriers not getting onto the site and failed deliveries letting contractors down. It has now evolved into supporting designers and contractors from around November time, with the hopes of helping bring their thoughts and ideas to reality. We have now suggested lighting on over 130 gardens and trade stands over the years. 

I often get referred to as Mr Chelsea around the office, which was cemented by Tori, who after helping me out with deliveries this year said... "Wherever the LSP van stopped and Paul stepped out, people started coming from all directions and they just didn't stop! He knows everyone, but what's more noticeable than that is everyone knowns him!" Thanks Tori!!

I always find it interesting to hear the garden designers stories of how their garden goes from an idea, all the way up to the complete build. However, it's never straight forward, there's always going to be a bump in the road somewhere down the line. 

Those that were building a show garden at Malvern this year had to deal with a large amount of rain during build week, which no doubt made life a little more difficult. 

People choose to do a show garden for a variety of different reasons, whether they be personal or business, for example, Mark Draper, designer for Graduate Gardeners, wanted to do a show garden to continue "showcasing to a wider audience what we get up to, day in day out". This year Graduate Gardeners are celebrating their 50th anniversary which gave Mark the inspiration for his garden "The Cotswold Garden", "because that's what we are really known for, Cotswold stone walling, york paving, set detailing, water features and meadows" 

I asked Mark what his favourite part of his garden was... "I really like the lounge seating area, the four hornbeams created dappled shade, the planting here was soft and textural, having the feel of a woodland edge. This area was set below the height of the dining area. I sat here each morning before the show opened, watering all done, sipping a coffee, it was a lovely place" 

I was able to chat with Mark during the different stages of Malvern, starting from the design stages, right the way through to show week, so keep an eye out for our full interview with him! 

With Chelsea only a couple of weeks after Malvern, I did have a scramble to make sure everybody we were supporting got everything on time. 

Malvern and Chelsea are very different shows. At Malvern, there is a lot more space between gardens and feelst more relaxed than the hustle and bustle of Chelsea. But still "build quality" gardens. 

I asked garden designers with various backgrounds and differing stories about why they wanted to design a Chelsea show garden in 2024. Emma O'Connell's story behind her Chelsea garden (The Freedom From Torture Garden: A Sanctuary For Survivors) is incredibly inspiring. She was approached by John Warland (who was already a Chelsea award winning designer) and the charity Freedom From Torture to join forces and do a show garden which would not only raise awareness of the charity during the show week, but would provide a real life sanctuary for survivors of torture. After the show, the garden will be rehomed at the charity's headquarters in Finsbury Park. Emma said..."The opportunity to create something so meaningful for individuals who have been through so much on the world stage, was something I couldn't turn down".

For many designers, this wasn't their first time at Chelsea. Many decide to come back year after year and have another crack. I asked Harry Holding what was different about this year compared to previous years at Chelsea. "This year we were invited by the RHS to design their feature garden, co-designing it with a class of children from a local primary school and engaging them with all the design steps". They highlighted the focus being on "inspiring the next generation to get into horticulture". The garden is currently being rebuilt at the school, where it will live on and benefit thousands for many years to come. 

Chelsea can often be so manic and such a rush that time can get away from you, and before you realise, the show is all over. Being able to reflect on what you have achieved is so important. 

I was able to catch up with Penelope Walker a few weeks after the show had finished to reflect and see what her main takeaway was from Chelsea this year...

"There's so many to choose from- it's hard to nail this down! The show was fantastic of course but actually I've come to realise that my heart really belongs to the process and the people. I had an absolutely incredible team from the main growers, the tree suppliers, those who cared for the trees, the guys on the tools, the planting volunteers, even the haulage company were outstanding! The list could go on and I have so much gratitude for those who stepped in at short notice to help where things hadn't gone to plan". 

I also caught up with Catherine MacDonald, the designer behind "The Boodles Garden", to see what she learnt from this year's Chelsea show. "Even though I've designed nine RHS show gardens now in total, it's always a unique experience. The design is always different and the challenges you face change every time. The best bit for me is the teamwork and collaboration, in the lead up to the show; working with the nurseries, suppliers and fabricators beforehand, also when you're on site with the build team and the sponsors during the show week. 

If you are reading this blog and thinking about getting into garden design, or have just started your journey, it's important to take this time to assess areas you'd like to do differently or areas you could improve.

Penelope Walker learnt that you can never be too safe when ordering plants. "If I was to do another show garden, I would over-over-order on plants. I though my "over-order" was on safe grounds, but when it came down to it, there weren't enough plants. Like everyone, we grappled with an extremely challenging spring, and so many plants I'd ordered didn't come into bloom. Colour was a critical part of my brief so this was a major problem for us. I'd set myself the goal of excluding poisonous and toxic plants too which of course made things more challenging". 

"I'd also have potted on large shrubs a year earlier. It would have been a gamble as, at that point, we didn't have confirmation from the RHS but in hindsight, the risk would have been worth it - even if we hadn't used them all, the reward may have been a few less sleepless nights". 

I also asked Emma O'Connell the same question, "what would you do differently?"

"I would do a video of exactly where all the spike lights were buried before judging so that when it came to unearth them again on press day, we knew exactly where each one was!"

This year we were proud to support the gardens with more lighting brands than ever before. Every light fitting was precisely placed to help enhance the already stunning gardens. When darkness falls the lights come into their own, creating magical effects and highlighting specific features. 

Harry Holding used "Spike lights and LED strips. The spike lights were used in uplighting the trees and den. LED strips giving a wash of light in the underground cave that housed fossils that could be viewed through portholes from the subterranean" 

Check out the Collingwood Spike Spotlights here>>

Check out the Collingwood Frosted Neon Strip LED light here>>

Emma O'Connell chose to use Bronze Ortus spike spotlights, which blended perfectly with the terrain and materials used on the garden. They had a really great effect on the garden, and looked fantastic at night, especially on the willow structure! 

Explore the full Ortus range>>

Penelope Walker’s garden “The Panthalon Joy Garden” was one of the first gardens to feature in-lite. Choosing to use the in-lite SMART SCOPE TONE, with the help of the in-lite app, they were able to have the lights showing different colours. 

Learn more about the in-lite range >>

Choosing the right light fitting is crucial for any garden, let alone a show garden, which gets viewed by hundreds of people. It’s like the cherry on the top of a cake! Mark Draper chose the LuxR Wayfinder, which was really effective, as you can see from the image below! 

Catherine MacDonald used the Collingwood Spike Spotlights…" Landscapeplus were open to making some of the fittings bespoke and spraying them to match or tone with colours in both hard landscape materials / elements and plant colours within the soft landscape scheme. I was really pleased with how they turned out. They were very striking and there were positive comments from both judges and the public about the fittings"

Overall, it was another really great year of supporting garden designers and landscapers at Malvern and Chelsea, and we hope to continue supporting them for many years to come.