From new plants to nurseries making their show debut, there’s plenty to see in the Great Pavilion at RHS Chelsea 2024. I spent a lot of time in there – and not just to escape the terrible weather on Tuesday.
It’s long been one of my favourite parts of the show, a chance to discover new things, chat to expert growers and just get up close to plants.
Dominating the displays this year is one by Leon Kluge Garden Design showcasing the flora of South Africa. Divided into different sections by sweeping mud ‘walls’ it covered the range of habitats and the plants that grow in them from proteas to restios.
The South Africans hadn’t been at Chelsea since 2019 and they returned in style, winning gold, Best Exhibit in the Great Pavilion and the New Design Award.
Another award-winner was this rather lovely prunus, displayed on Green JJam Nurseries’ stand. Introduced by Frank P Matthews, it won the RHS Plant of the Year 2024. The tree was covered in these unusual star-shaped flowers.
While I love seeing familiar faces among the nursery stands, it’s always good to have something new on show. Among the newcomers at RHS Chelsea 2024 was Strete Gate Camellias, who marked their debut with a gold medal.
Jeremy Wilson who runs the south Devon nursery, was overwhelmed at winning a top prize on his first appearance at Chelsea.
He grows 500 different camellias, a range that meant despite the unpredicatable weather, he had enough flowers to put on a good display. Even so, some varieties that would normally be in flower for Chelsea had already gone over.
His local pub also came to the rescue, giving him use of its cellar as a cold storage: “It held them back a little bit and enabled me to get them in flower for Chelsea.”
The display had dishes of cut flowers showing the range of colour and shape available and, determined to have them in the best possible condition, he brought a van full of shrubs in flower to the show so that he could cut the blooms at the last moment. It certainly paid off.
Roses are always a mainstay at Chelsea and the displays are as good for their fragrance as they are for colour. There are always new varieties launched at the show and RHS Chelsea 2024 was no exception.
David Austin Roses had Rosa ‘Emma Bridgewater’, which has rosette flowers in shades of pink, apricot, and mauve. An English shrub rose, it has a good scent.
Two more new roses were R. ‘RNLI 200th With Courage’ from Peter Beales Roses and R. ‘Chelsea Pensioner’ introduced by Harkness Roses.
A percentage of the sale price of ‘RNLI 200th With Courage’ goes to the charity and I loved the way the rose started with dark orange buds opening to coppery orange flowers that fade to a pale apricot as they age.
I’m not a fan of red roses but the ‘Chelsea Pensioner’ is a beauty and the colour perfectly matches the distinctive coats of the Chelsea pensioners.
Clematis are often a natural companion for roses and Raymond Evison Clematis were launching two new varieties at Chelsea.
‘Lindsay’ has large purple-blue flowers while ‘Guernsey Flute’ is pure white and has buds that look like a champagne flute. Both will flower from May to July and repeat in September.
I don’t grow many Geranium pheum varieties but may add some more after seeing some beauties at RHS Chelsea 2024.
This was on the Moore & Moore Plants display and was delicate with lovely markings on the flowers.
I always find something of interest on Kevock Garden Plants and Design’s stand and this year was no different. Again, it was the small and dainty that caught my eye. Whether the primula or anemonastrum would survive in my garden is another matter.
A new initiative last year was bringing in a group of small nurseries under the Plant Fairs Roadshow banner and it was good to see them return to the 2024 show.
Each had their own display but they pooled resources when it came to managing them, allowing everyone to divide their time between the show and looking after plants on their nurseries.
Pelham Plants owner Paul Seaborne, one of the co-ordinators of the PFR, which runs events in the South East, said it gave small nurseries the chance to be at Chelsea, which would be difficult on their own. It also gives the public the chance to see “the quality and variety of plants that micro nurseries can offer”.
The Caley Brothers, who made their Chelsea debut last year, returned with another display of mushrooms, this time teaming them with wild flowers.
And I loved this foxglove with a difference on The Botanic Nursery’s display and am sorely tempted to buy the dahlia I spotted on the Proctors Nursery stand.
That’s the biggest problem with RHS Chelsea – there’s far too much plant temptation.
You can read about my look around the RHS Chelsea 2024 gardens here.
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I must say I’m a bit disappointed that the RHS chose to give the 3 big awards in the Great Pavilion to overseas exhibits – how does this encourage British Nurseries to go to all the effort and expense of showing at Chelsea? Aren’t they supposed to be champions of British horticulture?
You have a point. I do like the overseas exhibits though – it was the closest I’m likely to get to the flowers of South Africa.
Love that verbascum and the unusual foxglove. I’d enjoy looking around, but without the crowds, so thank you for the tour.
Glad you liked it.