The Horticultural Trades Association member businesses are playing a vital role in this year's RHS Chelsea Flower Show, with landscapers, designers, growers, retailers, and suppliers from across the country involved in three-quarters of the gardens on show.
Attracting around 160,000 visitors over five days, the world-renowned Chelsea Flower Show features 37 gardens this year. HTA members are involved in 27 of these gardens, showcasing the pinnacle of horticultural excellence.
The HTA represents the entire environmental horticulture and landscaping sector in the UK, supporting over 1,400 member businesses. These businesses, along with others in the environmental horticulture industry, employ more than 722,000 people in the UK. They also deliver environmental benefits, mitigate climate change, enhance health and wellbeing, and contribute £38 billion to the UK economy.
This year at Chelsea, 50 member businesses are providing a diverse range of services and products – from plants, trees, seeds, and bulbs to tools and various supplies for gardens, exhibits, and trade stands. More than a dozen businesses involved in garden construction this year are the HTA’s specialist landscaper and designer members, the Association of Professional Landscapers (APL).
Fran Barnes, Chief Executive of the Horticultural Trades Association (HTA), commented: “Our members are the backbone of the Chelsea Flower Show. They are the businesses that build Chelsea and bring it to life with the sights and smells along the main avenue and within the Great Pavilion. The HTA’s landscapers, designers, growers, retailers, and suppliers embody the skill, innovation, and excellence of the UK's environmental horticulture. Without their contributions, the Chelsea Flower Show would not be the extraordinary event we enjoy today. Best of luck to all our members participating in the judging categories, including show gardens, exhibits, trade stands, and Plant of the Year."
Among the notable highlights this year:
- APL members involved in the construction of 17 show gardens, including Parkinson’s UK Garden (Landscape Associates), The Boodles Garden (designed by Catherine MacDonald from Landform Consultants and built by Gadd Brothers Trees and Landscapes), Woodland Trust: Forgotten Forest Garden (CJ Landscapes), YoungMinds Garden (Frogheath Landscapes), Alzheimer’s Society: Microbes and Minds Garden (Big Fish Landscapes), and A Little Garden of Shared Knowledge (designed by Katerina Kantalis).
- HTA member Crocus building The Tate Britain Show Garden, Crocus’ 39thgarden at Chelsea.
- APL member JJH Landscapes building the RHS x CITI Season of Abundance immersive installation at the Monument in the Great Pavilion.
- HTA member, Blue Diamond’s fully immersive, walk-through exhibit. It is the largest in the Great Pavilion at 240 square metres and will include more than 35 metres of walk-through pathways.
- HTA member Hortus Loci supplying around 30,000 perennials for the show.
- APL member, Garden House Design celebrating its 30th anniversary, with a garden trade stand designed by Cherry Carmen.
- HTA member Taylors Bulbs showcasing more than 40 varieties of daffodil in the Grand Pavilion. This year, it is launching ‘Wordsworth Golden’ to mark 100 years of The National Garden Scheme.
HTA members also play a significant role in the RHS Chelsea Plant of the Year competition. This year, 13 of the 17 shortlisted plants are either being supplied or exhibited by HTA members. Frank P Matthews has entered its Prunus ‘Sumaura-fugenzo’ Japanese Lantern, which won the HTA New Plant Awards last year.
