How to avoid the crowds, bag a bargain and what to wear. Our expert has insider tips to make the most of your visit to the Chelsea Flower Show.
For a glorious mash-up of garden party, plant-fest, green-fingered shopping and cocktail hour, nothing touches the RHS Chelsea Flower Show.
It’s a magnet for royalty and celebrities but, more importantly, it’s a green haven for keen gardeners, budding botanists and people watchers, right in the heart of London.
There’s so much to see and do, as the show covers over 23 acres at the Royal Hospital Chelsea, so follow our insider tips to ensure you make the most of your day in, and outside, the showground.
Tickets have been on sale for months, so many options are already sold out – but check the website for late availability.
If you’re not a member, no problem – there are three public days, Thursday to Saturday, or become a member via the RHS website and buy reduced rate tickets for any day.
The show runs from Tuesday 20 to Friday 23 May, 8am-8pm, and on Saturday 24 May from 8am-5.30pm, which is the final and busiest day of all, when many plants are sold off.
Go via the official RHS website to be sure you’re getting official tickets, as touts are rife, online and at nearby Sloane Square Tube.
Chelsea Flower Show is now paper-free so download the AXS app to receive and store your tickets digitally (and make sure your phone is charged ahead of entry).
If you need to drive, pre-book an official parking space in Battersea Park when buying your entry ticket, to use the park and ride bus – or it’s a 20-minute walk.
There’s so much to see, the RHS has calculated it’s at least a six hour walk to see the main features of the show, including the Marquee and gardens, so pace yourself.
Seeing the Main Avenue gardens close up and photo-ready is everyone’s goal but there’s little chance amid the scrum of visitors around midday. Target the big gardens as you arrive (ideally before 9am) or after 5pm, when crowds thin out and the lower light is lovely on bright days.
Quieter areas at busy times include Royal Hospital Way and Western Avenues and the shady dell called Ranelagh, that’s home to smaller gardens and the Houseplant Studios.
The Great Pavilion marquee in the centre of the showground is a day in itself, potentially, covering nearly 3 acres, with over 85 nursery exhibitors, four small gardens focused on plant combos, a dazzling array of floral art and an exhibition zone dedicated to horticultural science and innovation.
Discover what else is on with our guide to the Chelsea Flower Show.
If you’re there on Saturday, the final day of the show, don’t miss the plant sell-off, after 4pm. A giant bell rings, marking the free-for-all across the showground, as stalls and gardens pull apart their displays to sell plants, saving them the trouble of taking them home.
Be prepared by taking a folding trolley (the only day this is worthwhile) and an envelope of cash. Recce what’s on offer earlier in the day, putting your name against choice blooms if you can.
When the sell-off bell rings, it’s head down and elbows out for the best bargains – then work out how to wrangle it home on the Tube...
Staying hydrated on hot days at Chelsea is easy, as there are refreshment stops aplenty, with the main seating areas in the food courts on Main and Western Avenues and deckchairs by the bandstand, around which cluster bars, coffee and food stalls – and where those who peak too soon on Pimm’s can recover!
As no re-entry to the show is allowed, you can’t pop out for a bite to eat so pack a posh picnic (there’s a Waitrose on the nearby Kings Road) and look out for cheeky free drinks samples from headline sponsors The Newt and Babylonstoren.
For a real (but pricy) treat and to escape the queues, reserve through the ticket booking system high-end catering – including Champagne teas by the Dorchester chefs and bespoke menu by star-chef Skye Gyngell, who bring fine dining to the show.
Reflecting its status as the garden world’s catwalk, many visitors dress to impress – so you’ll be right at home in big floral prints and colourful outfits! While the ladies tend to set the bar high, with floaty tea dresses and summer hats, a smart jacket and Panama is the crisp look for gents, or channel your inner Monty Don with his crushed linen sartorial style.
But fancy clothes aren’t essential, as there’s no dress code – pack for weather and comfort, above all.
Sunglasses protect your eyes from the notorious plane tree pollen that can swirl around the site on hot days (causing hay fever and the infamous ‘Chelsea cough’), while comfy shoes or trainers are a must, however smart you are on top.
Don’t rush back to your car or the Tube before strolling through the neighbourhood competitions, Chelsea in Bloom and Belgravia in Bloom, which celebrate all things floral.
Dozens of shops and restaurants dress themselves in floral finery to vie for RHS-judged prizes, and add to the area’s carnival atmosphere. Look out for the Armani flower cart on Sloane Street, the dazzling doorways of Ralph Lauren on Sloane Square and enjoy a rickshaw ride around the floral quarter.
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