The RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2025 has officially arrived, with the annual garden extravaganza kicking off for a week of impressive displays. At this year's event, sponsored by The Newt in Somerset, every Show garden is addressing issues such as climate change, sustainability, wellbeing and diminishing wildlife. They aim to tackle these problems with with solution-led designs which are as beautiful as they are relevant - and we can confirm there are some truly breath-taking displays.
While show gardens are the main attraction at Chelsea, there are plenty of other displays and competitions to catch your eye. The All About Plants category, for instance, focuses on all things flora, but with a creative twist - think quirky fun designs packed with practical inspiration for any garden. Have limited outdoor space? Then the balcony and container gardens are for you, showcasing designers' fresh takes on small gardening ideas. Alongside the gardening displays, there are also prizes to be won in the Floral and Floristry Design Competition and the Plant of the Year competition.
New this year are also the first ever RHS Sustainable Excellence Awards - particularly apt for this year's theme - which will be awarded by Deborah Meaden. And, while Sanctuary Gardens were introduced in 2021, this year we won't see the category return as visitors didn't find them distinct enough from the regular show gardens. In addition to all the main displays and competitions, you'll also find a plethora of stalls offering the latest garden products, from pots and plants to sculptures and conservatories, as well as a food stands and live music on the bandstand. Essentially, it's a fabulous day out all round!
Chelsea Flower Show 2025
Want to know exactly what to expect from the Chelsea Flower Show this month? Here's everything you need to know, including a special guide to the gardens to look out for this year, from expert Pattie Barron.
When is the Chelsea Flower Show 2025?
The 2025 show has returned during its traditional springtime slot between the 20 May to the 24 May. The first two days of the show (20 and 21) will be reserved for RHS members only.
What are the Chelsea Flower Show 2025 opening times?
Between Tuesday and Friday, the show opens from 8am and closes at 8pm. On the Friday, you can also attend the Chelsea Late event, which is between 5.30pm to 10pm.
Where is the Chelsea Flower Show 2025?
The Chelsea Flower Show takes place in the grounds of the Royal Hospital Chelsea in London. The nearest tube stop is Sloane Square, which is approximately a 10 minute walk from the show ground.
What to expect from Chelsea Garden Show 2025
We asked gardening expert Pattie Barron what to look out for at this year's show. Here's what she had to say...
There will be 16 show gardens at RHS Chelsea Flower Show, each with solution-led designs which address various ecological issues. We'll also see a Seawilding Garden that will be partially relocated to the ocean floor; SongBird Survival Garden, which shows how we can support our declining songbird population; a climate-resilient Garden Of The Future, sponsored by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation; and The ADHD Foundation Garden, which celebrates the uniqueness of people as well as plants.
These are picks of the gardens not to miss...
The RHS And BBC Radio 2 Dog Garden
Regular viewers of BBC Twoâs Gardenersâ World will be familiar with the much-loved canine residents at Monty Donâs Longmeadow â golden retriever, Ned, and Yorkshire terrier, Patti â so it will be no surprise that Montyâs first RHS Chelsea garden is devoted entirely to dogs (below). He has, he says, fine-tuned every dogâs need for shade, grass and water to make the most of the doggy experience, so expect a shady, tree-lined stream for dogs to wallow in, topiary balls to play with, a lawn for rolling about on, and a summerhouse with old sofas for snoozing while listening to a dog-pleasing playlist curated by Radio 2 DJ Jo Whiley. The garden will live on across the river at Battersea Dogs & Cats Home, for all the rescue dogs to enjoy for years to come.
The Avanade âIntelligentâ Garden
We already have smart irrigation and lighting systems, and robot mowers that whizz around the lawn without our help, but award-winning designer Tom Massey will take tech further by teaming up with architect Je Ahn to show how artificial intelligence can transform the way we manage our gardens. Put simply, says Tom, âThe garden will have a âbrainâ.â Chelseaâs first garden with embedded AI (above) will be constantly monitoring factors like soil moisture, air quality, pH levels, temperature and individual tree health, using a network of sensors. This data will power a digital model of the garden, tracking changes and predicting future conditions, enabling care that is resource-efficient. Visitors can interact with this technology in an innovative pavilion of mycelium panels. Closer to home, the RHSâ
AI ChatBotanist service can answer your garden queries â free to RHS members or as part of the RHS Grow app.
The Glasshouse Garden
RHS Gold medallist Jo Thompson is renowned for her dreamy plantings, liberally scattered with roses, so her Glasshouse Garden, celebrating the transformative effect of horticulture, and showcasing an elliptical pavilion with translucent screens that open like petals, is bound to delight. As is her just-out coffee table tome The New Romantic Garden (Rizzoli) detailing 30 of her favourite gardens, full of inspiration and fresh ideas.
The Hospitalfield Arts Garden
British gardeners have traditionally valued topsoil enriched with manure as the best medium for plants, but pioneer Nigel Dunnett â renowned for his low-input, high-impact planting at the OIympic Park and the Tower of London â features plants established solely in sand and gravel (above). He shows how mineral materials can be used as a growing medium and encourage diversity.
Pattie Baron's feature comes from Good Housekeepingâs new Gardening Handbook on sale now. BECOME A GH MEMBER and read the rest of the issue in the GH app.
