Hillier Nurseries, the most successful exhibitor in the history of the RHS Chelsea Flower Show, is pleased to announce it will be exhibiting again this year and can now reveal the design of the 2019 garden.

‘The Stihl Hillier Garden’ blends together contemporary and traditional themes in this year’s design. The central element of the garden, alongside the thousands of beautiful quality plants, will be a striking water feature that will bring a feeling of calm and elegance to the garden.

The garden will be sponsored by the world-famous power tool manufacturer, STIHL. This is the second year Hillier and STIHL have partnered together for RHS Chelsea Flower Show, following the gold-medal winning ‘Stihl Inspiration’ by Hillier in 2018. 

Hillier holds the record for the most consecutive Chelsea gold medals and hopes the 2019 show will see it receiving its 74th.

This year, Lilly Gomm has joined the Hillier team as designer, making her RHS Chelsea Flower Show design debut and she will be mentored by Sarah Eberle, Chelsea’s most decorated designer. Lilly’s passion for gardening started at a young age and, having studied architecture at the University of Brighton prior to her move into horticulture, she combines a love of plants with an interest in materials and hard landscaping. Lilly already has a string of medals under her belt, including a silver-gilt at RHS Hampton Court Flower Show 2018.

Lilly said: “I feel incredibly privileged to be designing the Chelsea exhibit for Hillier this year. Their ethos towards encouraging future generations in the industry is admirable and something I am personally grateful for. I was keen to create a design which is vibrant and interactive yet remained contemporary and I feel we have achieved this and more. With the knowledge and experience of Sarah Eberle as my mentor, alongside a confident team, I know we are going to showcase something beautiful for the visitors of the show.”

With a fresh approach, Lilly has drawn upon a modern form set against planting that contains esteemed Hillier classics. Serene white borders transition to vibrant pinks and oranges, moving to hues of purple. Plant combinations are presented to provide inspiration for use in people’s home gardens. Along with the planting, central to the design is the eye-catching water feature, which is easily viewed from all angles of the garden.

Commenting on her design, Lilly added: “I wanted the vibrancy of the garden to change as you moved around it and having the water features definitely plays a part in this. Combining both traditional and contemporary can be a fine balance, but we have made sure the two are seamless. The presentation of a wide variety of Hillier hardy perennials, shrubs and trees, including brand new varieties and classics, is of course a vital part of this.”

After three successful gold-medal winning years designing the Chelsea garden for Hillier, Sarah Eberle has taken on a mentoring role with new designer Lilly.

Sarah said: “It is an honour to once again be involved in the Hillier RHS Chelsea Flower Show exhibit. It is fabulous that Hillier is so supportive of young people in our industry and I relish working as a mentor to a new talented young designer.”

George Hillier, who is one of the fifth generation of Hillier family members to be involved in the business and is Director of Property, added: “A huge amount of time and effort goes into every Chelsea exhibit – it doesn’t seem that long ago that we were celebrating our last garden, but the amazing thing is that the team is already well underway with plans for 2019. We are delighted that Lilly Gomm is designing this year, mentored by the incredibly talented Sarah Eberle. At Hillier, inspiring future generations of gardeners is a mission that is close to our heart, so to see this sharing of knowledge in action with our Chelsea design is really gratifying.”   

Simon Hewitt, Head of Marketing for STIHL GB, said: “We’re thrilled to be sponsoring the prestigious Hillier garden for a second consecutive year and are excited to see Lilly’s debut Chelsea design come to life. The Hillier trees and planting schemes look set to be even more stunning this year, and the water feature will make a fabulous centrepiece that we’re sure will be a big draw for visitors. STIHL GB is delighted, once again, to be part of one of the must-see exhibits at the show.”

Having exhibited plants and trees at Chelsea for over 100 years and maintained the record for consecutive gold medals, the RHS Chelsea Flower Show is an exciting event on the Hillier calendar. The show is the platform from which the company launches many of its new plant varieties, showcasing the vast variety of plants grown on its nurseries and demonstrates a continuing passion and commitment to horticulture.

Retail and Wholesale Director, Chris Francis, told GTN Xtra that they have been having great success selling "Chelsea" plants on the back of the garden exhibit.  "The sales of "Chelsea" trolleys of plants to centres have grown significantly over the past three years and in our own centres we make sure there are "Chelsea Garden" displays from the moment the TV coverage starts.  Those sales and all the intangible marketing benefits make Chelsea a really profitable project for Hilliers."

Three new plants will be launched by Hilliers at Chelsea 2019:  Wigelia "Piccobella Rosa", Isoplexis Isabelliana "Bella" and Cordyline "Pink Star."  See pictures and more detail in the gallery below.

For more information, please visit www.hillier.co.uk/chelsea or follow @HillierGarden on Twitter.