Chelsea Flower Show digital photo exhibition launched

Image source, RHS Lindley Collections
Image caption,
The RHS's first major event was the Chiswick Flower Show, originating from an 1827 fete.
Image source, RHS Lindley Collections
Image caption,
The Great Spring Show, another incarnation of the flagship event, moved to the Inner Temple Gardens on London's Embankment for a time.
Image source, RHS Lindley Collections
Image caption,
On 20 May 1913, the RHS held its Great Spring Show in the grounds of Chelsea Hospital for the very first time - this is its current home.
Image source, RHS Lindley Collections
Image caption,
A huge amount of planning and work goes into setting up the Chelsea Flower Show (CFS) before the gates can open for members on the first day, but just five days to dismantle (Suttons floral display, 1958).
Image source, Reginald A. Malby and Company / RHS Lindley Collections
Image caption,
The CFS's floral marquee was a centrepiece for decades - in 1951 a huge single marquee, covering 3.5 acres set the record at the time as the world's biggest tent.
Image source, RHS Lindley Collections
Image caption,
The Chelsea Flower Show has long been popular with royals, including Queen Alexandra who visited in 1914.
Image source, RHS Lindley Collections
Image caption,
This photo was taken in 1934 and shows gardeners from the Hilliers nursery taking saplings out of crate to their display

2 hours ago

A digital photo exhibition examining the history of the Chelsea Flower Show (CFS) has been launched.

The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) archive material, external looks back at the event from its humble beginnings as a meeting about a potato, then a fete in Chiswick that went on to become one of the biggest gardening events in the world.

It details the show's various incarnations over the past two centuries, how it was set up and how the flagship event was promoted in the analogue era.

The 2025 show saw tens of thousands of people attend over the five day event - including the King and Queen.

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Chelsea Flower Show digital photo exhibition launched

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