The Chelsea Flower Show is in full swing and the Gardens Illustrated team has been at the show, scouting out interesting features and ideas.
Here are five interesting things to look out for around the Chelsea showground today, chosen by our commissioning editor, Veronica.
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What to look out for at Chelsea today
Check out the RHS Plant of the Year
Don't miss a glimpse (and a sniff of) the first truly pink-flowered mock orange, newly crowned as RHS Plant of the Year. Philadelphus x 'Petite Perfume Pink' has been bred by renowned breeder, Alan Postill and introduced by Hillier. It bears a profusion of vivid, bright pink blooms from late spring to early summer, is attractive to pollinators and has an intense citrussy scent reminscent of orange blossom. Find it within the Sparsholt College garden in the Great Pavilion.
Discover alpine plants
Amid the showstopping perennials and naturalistic planting at Chelsea this year, the British Red Cross Here for Humanity garden showcases a different and largely underappreciated group of plants: tiny, jewel-like alpines.
Alpines actually have a long history at Chelsea, as rock gardens were in vogue for many years. "They’re very specialist, and often the exquisite displays in alpine houses or in the Great Pavilion are done on a very large scale," explains designer John Warland. "We wanted to take that portfolio of plants outside, into a show garden. We’re paying homage to the origins of Chelsea.”
Alpines are what designer John calls ‘gap fillers around the planet’, able to thrive in extreme conditions. In the garden, you can see alpines from around the world, including the UK, Turkey, Ethiopia and Morocco, including Saxifraga x urbium (London Pride), Dianthus cruentus, Tulipa sprengeri and Leontopodium nivale subsp. alpinum.
John points out that alpines are perfect for people who have tiny gardens or even just a window box. “They might have a one-bedroom flat in an urban location and are getting into houseplants. An alpine display in a window box or trough could be a natural next step.”
The plants even have their own bespoke and very cute alpine cloches (pictured above), created by specialist makers, Claverton Cloches, which keep them ventilated but ensure that rain keeps off. “A traditional cloche would get too humid and the plants would rot off,” explains John.
Get nostalgic with "pellymania"
If a traditional greenhouse filled with colourful and scented pelargoniums is your idea of heaven, don't miss the Alitex stand on Main Avenue. It's popular 'Mottisfont' greenhouse has been filled with delectable pellies supplied by specialist nursery, Fibrex Nurseries in collaboration with C. Atherley, the geranium-centric new venture from Cath Kidston MBE. Cath explains that for many people, scented pelargoniums are pure nostalgia, and this is summed up perfectly in 'The Scented Letter' written by Jo Fairley of the Perfume Society that nestled among the covetable blooms.
Take a trip into the future
The Garden of the Future is a fun and optimistic look into the future, offering a glimpse of what we might be growing in the UK in years to come. Designed by Matthew Butler and Joshua Parker and sponsored by the Gates Foundation, it highlights innovations that improve the health and livelihoods of smallholder farmers in the Global South, which could benefit growers in the UK.
You'll discover climate-resilient crops like sweet potato, chickpeas and pigeon peas and - if you can spot it in the rammed earth building in the far corner of the garden - a toilet (surely a first at Chelsea). Not just any toilet - this is a Cranfield Circular Toilet, a compact and self-contained toilet system that converts waste water into clean (but not potable) water for irrigation, and produces pathogen-free biochar (or 'humanure') for garden use. You can even compare lettuces grown in the biochar and in ordinary potting compost - you may be surprised at which grew best.
Visit the Victorian Arid House
For a masterclass in displaying the varied forms of cacti and succulents (perfect for a bright windowsill or an unheated conservatory), don't miss Sarah Gerrard-Jones' Victorian Arid House.
The design is inspired by the Victorians’ fascination with these plants and particularly the way they were displayed in glasshouses and conservatories during the 19th century - on display is a book that Sarah bought on eBay that was published in the 1800s and looks surprisingly contemporary.
The greenhouse has been painted black to create a dramatic backdrop to showcase the timeless appeal of these plants, arranged to highlight their colours, textures and forms. Supplied by Ottershaw Cacti, they include tall, columnar types, architectural, branching and rosette-forms; rounded, barrel-like specimens and rare and unusual collector’s plants - don't miss the bizarre, coral-like Trichocereus pachanoi. Outside, the surrounding landscape features black gravel and large specimen cacti supplied by Conservatory Archives. Find it the Victorian Arid House in the Houseplant Studios area.