Chelsea Flower Show

Chelsea Flower Show, annual horticultural event that takes place in May in the grounds of the Royal Hospital in Chelsea in south-west London. Arranged under the auspices of the British Royal Horticultural Society, it is widely regarded as the world's premier flower show and attracts around 157,000 visitors each year.

The first Chelsea Flower Show was held in 1913 as part of a Royal Horticultural Society programme to encourage public interest in horticulture in all its forms. From modest beginnings, when it was known as the Great Spring Show, it now includes full-sized gardens on the 4.45 hectare (11 acre) showground, most of them sponsored by industry and other institutions, which are elaborately landscaped and planted over the three weeks before the show's opening. Themes range from elegant oriental schemes to stylized Victorian plots and other formal arrangements, as well as gardens that encourage wildlife or consist entirely of wild plants. Another feature is the 12,000 sq m (3 acre) Grand Pavilion, where millions of blooms are displayed, many of them rare species or new plants which are the result of recent plant breeding programmes. In addition, there are scientific displays showing the latest advances in gardening, marquees where flower-arranging demonstrations take place, and others where the principles of garden design are explained. Water gardens, courtyard gardens, window boxes, and hanging baskets are among regular special features. The show also includes trade stands where the latest developments in garden tools and machinery are displayed alongside garden furniture and antique and modern statuary.