Each year, the RHS Chelsea Flower Show attracts both top designers to put on jaw-dropping displays and visitors to be inspired by the vast array of flora and fauna on show.
But those in the know have secrets behind the scenes to achieve horticultural perfection, or simply get through the week with the least physical and mental stress possible, while visitors remain blissfully unaware of their toils.
Here, six Chelsea exhibitors reveal some of their secrets behind the scenes during the horticultural event of the year.
We use tweezers – Sarah Eberle
“We have incredible attention to detail but even to the point where we use an artist to paint over any damage, maybe to rocks or to trees or plants,” says multi award-winning designer Sarah Eberle, winner of a record 19 RHS Chelsea gold medals.
“And we have an army of amazing helpers who come in with scissors and tweezers and secateurs and dusters, and they prepare all the plants for us as we put them in,” says Eberle, who is this year designing The Campaign to Protect Rural England Garden ‘On The Edge’, highlighting the often-overlooked edgelands – countryside areas on the fringes of towns and cities.
“I once did two gardens and a trade stand and an RHS feature at the same show, and during that I walked the equivalent of six-and-a-half marathons in nine days.
“The funniest thing that ever happened to me was at RHS Hampton Court where I did an estuary garden and on the morning of judging I found that somebody had put a supermarket trolley in there.”
Show plants often remain in their pots – Katerina Kantalis
When show gardens are created, plants often remain in their pots hidden by soil, reveals Australian Katerina Kantalis, who is designing the Viking-sponsored balcony garden ‘A Little Garden of Shared Knowledge’.
“When you plant your garden you usually come away with small plants. You’ve got your 9cm or one litre or two litre, but for Chelsea we can’t really do that. You really want to see a mature planting scheme. You bring together two pots, three pots, four pots, five pots and mesh them together to make it look like one mature plant.
“Some people, especially with the bigger gardens, plant with the pots in because there’s not enough time, so they mesh all the plants in and then put soil and mulch on top. Some people do actually plant straight into soil but that takes a lot more time.”
We hope for rain – Lucy Hutchings
While many visitors will hope it doesn’t rain on show day, exhibitors in the Great Pavilion are always hoping for a downpour, says Hutchings, co-founder of heirloom seed company She Grows Veg with Kate Cotterill, two-times Chelsea gold medal winners whose display this year is entitled Feast, where heirloom veg meets woodland dining.
“When it starts to rain, the entire audience at the show rushes into the Great Pavilion and suddenly we are surrounded by people and everyone wants to look at our exhibits. So, you might not be hoping for rain, but we are.”
Chairs are another hidden luxury, says Hutchings, who is on her feet for a very long time at the stand.
“Chairs are life and you can’t have a chair on your stand and you might be standing from 7am to 10pm.
“We learned very quickly that the key is to have chairs hidden backstage and we take it in turns on a rota to go behind the scenes for a little sit-down so that we can get through the day.”
Seeds take hours to pack – Phil Johnson
The small team has to decide which varieties they will display at the show, says Phil Johnson, managing director of English Sweet Peas and self-confessed ‘sweet pea nut’.
Their display won a gold medal on their debut at RHS Chelsea last year and they are launching the Nigel Slater – Fruit Fool sweet pea at this year’s show.
“Our first criteria is, ‘Have we got enough seeds?’ We have to pack all the seeds ourselves individually. We have to put hundreds of packets of seeds into little envelopes with these labels on – and it takes hours.”
It’s not as competitive as it seems – Max Parker-Smith
Some designers go the extra mile for research, or in garden designer Max Parker-Smith’s case, to the other side of the world. His inspiration for his Chelsea garden comes from the Indian Pacific train line which runs between the green cities of Adelaide and Perth, which he explored.
“I got to see the epic Jurassic landscapes and the wonderful green cities of these two states,” says Parker-Smith, who has created Journey Beyond The Tracks: From Adelaide To Perth Australian Garden.
Back on home turf, he says of the RHS Chelsea Flower Show: “There’s a really great community and when people are struggling or in need of assistance or materials, we are there to help each other out. It’s not nearly as competitive as you might think.
“And the show gardens get to live on somewhere else. As soon as Chelsea’s finished, they get rebuilt and get to be experienced by more people in years to come.”
The plants from Parker-Smith’s garden will be relocated to Kensington Gardens, while the hard landscaping will be going to Longleat, “next to the fluffy koalas”, he says.
It’s like a mini-city before the show – Alex Michaelis
“The build teams often work through the night to the last possible moment to make sure every detail is as close to perfection as it can be,” says the co-designer of The Eden Project: Bring Me Sunshine garden with Harry Holding, which is being relocated to its new home in Morecambe after the show.
“Chelsea, in the build-up, is like a mini-city with people walking around, machinery, a bustling community supported by the wonderful RHS. There’s a buzz in the air and when something goes wrong, everyone pulls together to help. It would be great if it were like that in actual cities.”
RHS Chelsea Flower Show runs from May 19-23.
Read MoreMeghan’s ‘Megstock’ disaster and the warning for Harry’s July homecoming trip
Unusual gardening hacks to save time and money
A beginner’s guide to tablescaping with flowers
The great protein myth – why you don’t need as much as you think
JLS star JB Gill: How to get your kids to eat more fruit and veg like mine do
