Gallery
Days Gone By - Glorious gardens and beautiful blooms at Chelsea Flower Show over the years
Paul Hansord, MD of Thompson and Morgan, with Michael Perry, Product Manager, accept the award for Plant of the Year at Chelsea Flower Show in 2012 Picture: ARCHANT - Credit: Archant
Many amazing show gardens have been created at the Chelsea Flower Show over the decades. Today we look back at some of the highlights.
The show is regularly visited by thousands of people from Suffolk and Essex along with royals and celebrities.
Sadly, this year’s event has not been able to go ahead because of the coronavirus pandemic, being cancelled along with so many other annual fixtures.
It’s the first time it has been cancelled since the Second World War - but BBC viewers have been able to see highlights of past shows each night this week on TV. And plans are already being made for the show to make a comeback in May 2021.
Each year, the Royal Horticultural Society’s prestigious awards go to a show garden, nurseries, plant growers, artists, designers and horticultural suppliers.
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Our photo gallery features some of those from Suffolk and Essex who have achieved glory at past shows.
The region’s success story has continued to blossom from year to year. Notcutts Garden Centres, a national chain based in Woodbridge, has won more than 50 gold medals at RHS Chelsea, and last year hosted a free garden advice and plant clinic at the show to pass on some of its staff’s expertise.
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Also in 2019, six plants from Suffolk-based plant specialist Thompson & Morgan made the shortlist of 20 in the running for plant of the year, with Agapanthus Fireworks going on to take third place.
This came on top of the company taking both first and third places for its plants in 2018, when its Hydrangea hybrid Runaway Bride - Snow White received the top spot.
But it’s not just the professionals and experts who have taken the honours at the show over the years.
Children have also won prizes, such as the proud young gardeners from Capel St Mary Primary School who won an RHS Silver-Gilt medal in 2011, for the fruits and vegetables they produced for the show. The 11 classes contributed to the school’s kitchen garden.
What are your memories of the Chelsea Flower Show? Email judy.rimmer@archant.co.uk
To order photos, visit www.eadt.co.uk/myphotos24, or call Diane Townsend on 01603 772449.