Chuckling our way through Chelsea 2026

Like lemmings responding to the migration call we 3 Growbags traversed the UK for our annual gathering in SW3 – the Chelsea Flower Show!
As ever, this wonderful event didn’t disappoint, and for those of you who couldn’t attend in person here are our highlights, some lowlights and of course a few giggles along the way…

If there was one buzzword around Chelsea Flower Show 2026 it was RESILIENCE!  The R word was used everywhere and about everything. There were plants chosen for a stiff upper lip in the face of climate-change heat (the Tate Britain garden) salt-laden winds (the Eden ‘Bring me Sunshine’ garden), urban pollution (‘Flourish in the City’ garden) and a myriad of other tricky situations.

It wasn’t just plants but people too were being encouraged to fight back when up against illness (the Parkinson’s Garden – very nice rill/rail!)) or (the Lady Garden ‘Silent N0 More’), the fragility of young people’s mental health (the Childrens’ Society garden), or even the threat of losing the bosky, unloved edges of towns and cities (the frankly stupendous ‘On the Edge’ garden).

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For once I agree with Elaine, what I want from Chelsea Flower Show is to be transfixed by an installation that touches the very soul, and Sarah Eberle’s Mother Nature in repose did this is spades – it was simply spellbinding – as you can witness in Caroline’s emotional reaction to it in our little video at the end…

Another stand that warmed the cockles of my heart was the display of English blooms from the Flowers from the Farm. It just makes so much ecological and sustainable sense to buy British cut flowers and their stand was simply gorgeous. Well done girls!

The next thing I want from the Show is to see and learn about new plants and the way they like to grow – which is why I found the curiosities on the Plant Heritage ‘Missing Collectors Garden’ The ‘Tate Britain Garden’ and the Australian ‘Journey Beyond the Tracks’ garden so captivating.

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Whilst my sisters were pontificating respectively about resilience and botanical curiosity, the theme I observed most fully at this year’s show was the visual impact you can create by simply driving your car into your flowers beds…

And the presence of a brand new yet-to-be-launched electric Range Rover (a snip at £130k) in one of the gardens also brought me to musing over the future of Chelsea Flower Show itself; Range Rover were the white knights who rode in at the eleventh hour to sponsor the event, when its previous sponsor The Newt (a garden in Somerset) pulled out. 

Secondly, Project Giving Back, an anonymously donated fund which has enabled numerous charities to create gardens, came to an end this year. So, does this mean we’ll see more commercial organisations, such as LoveHoney (our feature pic at the top), promoting their, ah hem, rather saucy well-being products, in future? More tea, vicar?

Moreover, the celeb count is creeping up. Of course, national treasures are mandatory – we wouldn’t be without Judi Dench, Mary Berry and Joanna Lumley, but now, quelle horreur, we’re seeing stars of  TOWIE, Love Island, and random Tik-Tokers grabbing headlines with their Chelsea couture. It could come more show-biz than grow-biz? Buckle your seat-belts!

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So on to our own personal Chelsea Awards, starting with the ‘What Da’ moment:

Elaine

I couldn’t suppress my usual whinge that most of the show gardens would look rubbish in six weeks’ time, loaded as they were with seasonal flowerers. But at least their borders looked pretty amongst all the ecologically-sound recycled paths and structures. Which is more than I can say about the Australian garden (‘Journey beyond the tracks’) which seemed to consist of obscure and ugly plants plonked into a brown stony mulch, next to a structure supposed to look like a railway carriage – definitely my ‘What Da’ moment (although my peculiar sister Laura was salivating…..)

Laura

I know James Basson is a very busy person and a main avenue Chelsea Flower Show Garden is probably very low on his agenda, but the lack of anything remotely resembling care and attention to detail on his depiction of ochre mines in the South of France was honestly breathtaking.

Caroline

I know modern floristry has to be a bit edgy but this display would have me running back to gladioli and carnations at warp speed!

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Plant I’d most like to take home:

Elaine:

All the rose stands in the Great Pavilion held wonders, of course, and I was extremely taken with the multi-stemmed Lagerstroemia ‘Natchez’ (Cape myrtle) on the Tate Britain garden, as well as some lovely structural hawthorn crosses on a couple of the big show gardens, but I think it has to be the peony ‘Kopper Kettle’ on the All About Plants ‘Plant Heritage’ garden.  Want one!

Laura

Although my sisters described it as designed with the Addams family in mind, I loved the newly launched sweet pea ‘Black Magic’ and actually I did manage to take some home, albeit in form of seeds.

Caroline

I was delighted to see the return of an Auricula stand at this year’s Chelsea and it was one of these little gems that I would have loved to take home.

Best Overheard comment:

Elaine:

Quite a few to choose from, but one I liked best was from the obviously very tired owner of Daisy Roots nursery when discussing possible predators of the Saxifrage that Laura was busy reserving – ‘Of course wine veevils, oh vine weevils can be a problem – it’s been a long week!’

Laura:

Scanning the immaculately designed and engineered Trussell’s Garden, one eagle-eyed voyeur spotted a rookie error….

Caroline

A lovely couple discussing a garden statue of a naked woman – Him: ‘She’s practically throwing herself at me’ , Her: ‘She’s £68,000’ , Him (quite quietly): ‘I’m going to order three..’

We left tired but happy, Chelsea Flower Show had once again shown why it is still the greatest flower show on earth.

We’d love to hear what your highlights of this year’s show were!

Louise has picked a rose with history, which is better as a climber than a shrub – to find out what it is, and why it’s her Great Plant this Month, click on the image below.

Finally, we put together a rough and ready little video of the wonderful day we had at Chelsea today.

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