This week is Virtual RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2020. Kicking off Monday 18 May and running until Saturday 23 May, there will be a host of videos, talks, tours, Q&As, TV coverage and more to do each day. Scroll down for our daily breakdown of everything that's happening, with other highlights to be added as they arrive. And don't forget to sign up to our daily digest newsletter for all our Chelsea coverage.
Saturday 23 May 2020
A focus on indoor gardening and growing in small spaces.
- Last year’s Chelsea Best in Show gold medal winning designer Andy Sturgeon will be giving a tour of his own courtyard garden, sharing design and growing tips for smaller outside spaces.
- As orchids are the UK’s most popular houseplant, visitors will meet the UK’s oldest orchid nursery, McBeans Orchids who have amassed over 70 Chelsea gold medals.
- Andy’s Air Plants and London-based interior planting duo RoCo will show how to propagate weird and wonderful plants to help transform your indoor space.
At lunchtime on Twitter
The RHS Advisory team will be joined by a special guest who will be on hand each lunchtime to answer visitors’ gardening questions.
Don't miss:
Articles written by experts from across the industry providing planting, gardening and design tips and information on specialist plant species.
Special digital exhibitions on the history of the RHS Chelsea Flower Show curated by the RHS Lindley Library team.
The School Gardening Club, providing parents and children with fun hands on activities as experts provide a range of fun activities
All the video content will be available on the RHS website from the morning
Head to our Chelsea Flower Show hub page for all our Chelsea Flower Show coverage
Monday 18 May: MEMBERS DAY
Don't forget: today is Members Day, reserved only for RHS members. The rest of the activity will be open to the wider public from tomorrow and everything is hosted on the RHS's website.
On the RHS website
- A welcome from RHS President Sir Nicholas Bacon, followed by RHS Vice President Alan Titchmarsh.
- Monty Don on his morning routine, giving visitors a glimpse into unseen parts of his famous garden at Longmeadow as he heads out before breakfast to feed his chickens.
- A top celebrity floral designer will demonstrate how to create a contemporary floral arrangement helping bring the joy of beautiful blooms into the home.
- Clematis specialist Raymond Evison will take visitors behind the scenes of his award winning Guernsey nursery.
- Perennial plant specialist Rosy Hardy of Hardy’s Cottage Garden Plants will host a potting bench demonstration.
At lunchtime on Twitter
The RHS Advisory team will be joined by a special guest who will be on hand each lunchtime to answer visitors’ gardening questions.
Don't miss:
Articles written by experts from across the industry providing planting, gardening and design tips and information on specialist plant species.
The School Gardening Club, providing parents and children with fun hands on activities as experts provide a range of fun activities
Special digital exhibitions on the history of the RHS Chelsea Flower Show curated by the RHS Lindley Library team.
On TV
BBC Two, 20:00 Monty and Joe celebrate the best of British at RHS Chelsea Flower Show
All the video content will be available on the RHS website from the morning
Head to our Chelsea Flower Show hub page for all our Chelsea Flower Show coverage
Tuesday 19 May 2020
On the RHS website
- Sarah Eberle will welcome visitors into her naturalistic, woodland garden and share top summer gardening tips.
- Charlotte Harris will take viewers on a lockdown tour of some of London’s public parks, highlighting the value of inner city green spaces and shining a light on some of the best performing plants for urban gardens.
- Indoor garden specialist Ian Drummond and expert gladioli grower Rob Evans from Pheasant Acre Plants will be leading Tuesday’s Potting Bench Tutorials.
- Meet the team at David Austin Roses who have been bringing their award- winning roses to the Chelsea Flower Show for the last 37 years.
At lunchtime on Twitter
The RHS Advisory team will be joined by a special guest who will be on hand each lunchtime to answer visitors’ gardening questions.
Don't miss:
Articles written by experts from across the industry providing planting, gardening and design tips and information on specialist plant species. Including how to press flowers and lilies for garden pots or containers.
Special digital exhibitions on the history of the RHS Chelsea Flower Show curated by the RHS Lindley Library team.
The School Gardening Club, providing parents and children with fun hands on activities as experts provide a range of fun activities. Today it's Lee Connolly on how to make a seed bomb pinata.
On TV
All the video content will be available on the RHS website from the morning
Head to our Chelsea Flower Show hub page for all our Chelsea Flower Show coverage
Wednesday 20 May 2020
Plant health day
On the RHS website
- BBC Presenter and designer Adam Frost will explain how he gardens with plant health in mind as he shows visitors around his Lincolnshire garden.
- Japanese designer and Chelsea favourite Ishihara Kazuyuki will provide an insight into his own exquisite garden at home in Japan.
- Nikki Tibbles, British florists and Founder of Wild at Heart will be showing visitors how to create a seasonal bouquet with the Potting Bench demo.
- Todd’s Botanics will be sharing everything you need to know to grow your own show-worthy irises.
- RHS judge James Alexander-Sinclair touring you round his very own garden.
- Botanic Nursery Garden gives a tour of their nursery and focuses on foxgloves.
At lunchtime on Twitter
The RHS Advisory team will be joined by a special guest who will be on hand each lunchtime to answer visitors’ gardening questions.
Don't miss:
Articles written by experts from across the industry providing planting, gardening and design tips and information on specialist plant species. Today there's a focus on succulents and how to dry flowers.
Special digital exhibitions on the history of the RHS Chelsea Flower Show curated by the RHS Lindley Library team.
The School Gardening Club, providing parents and children with fun hands on activities as experts provide a range of fun activities. Learn how to make a hedgehog home with Lee Connolly.
On TV
All the video content will be available on the RHS website from the morning
Head to our Chelsea Flower Show hub page for all our Chelsea Flower Show coverage
Thursday 21 May 2020
- Plantswoman Sarah Raven will take visitors on a tour of her garden at Perch Hill in East Sussex to showcase what's ready for cutting in the garden now.
- Prince of Wales records a special message about the International Year of Plant Health.
- Chelsea Pensioners show how they have been busy on their allotment during lockdown.
- Celebrity florist Larry Walshe demonstrates how to use flowers and foliage from the garden to create a chic table setting.
- Vegetable grower Medwyn Williams shares his top tips and tricks on how to grow amazing veg at home.
At lunchtime on Twitter
The RHS Advisory team will be joined by a special guest who will be on hand each lunchtime to answer visitors’ gardening questions. Today RHS judge Jon Wheatley will be joined by RHS gardening advisors including Lena Cooke and Nichola Barker.
Don't miss:
Articles written by experts from across the industry providing planting, gardening and design tips and information on specialist plant species, especially, how to get the best from your lupins and shade-loving edibles from HarrisBugg Studio.
The School Gardening Club, providing parents and children with fun hands on activities as experts provide a range of fun activities. Today it's about how to make a mini allotment.
Special digital exhibitions on the history of the RHS Chelsea Flower Show curated by the RHS Lindley Library team.
On TV
BBC Two, 20:00 The best of: Monty Don celebrates the healing power of plants
All the video content will be available on the RHS website from the morning
Head to our Chelsea Flower Show hub page for all our Chelsea Flower Show coverage
Friday 22 May 2020
- Designer Tom Massey demonstrates how to create an organic, wildlife haven on a smaller scale
- Ann-Marie Powell will welcome viewers into her Hampshire garden as she shares her top design tips.
- Sienna Hosta will be Friday’s expert grower, giving a tour of the show stopping plants grown for this year’s show.
- Newlands Nursery leads the Potting Bench demonstrations showing how to get the best from chilli pepper plants to ensure a constant supply for culinary uses.
- Head on a tour of Diarmund Gavin's own garden.
At lunchtime on Twitter
The RHS Advisory team will be joined by a special guest who will be on hand each lunchtime to answer visitors’ gardening questions. Today it's Chris Beardshaw answering your questions.
Don't miss:
Articles written by experts from across the industry providing planting, gardening and design tips and information on specialist plant species. Today don't miss a piece on success with calla lilies and a celebration of the peony.
Special digital exhibitions on the history of the RHS Chelsea Flower Show curated by the RHS Lindley Library team.
The School Gardening Club, providing parents and children with fun hands on activities as experts provide a range of fun activities
On TV
BBC Two, 20:00 Legends and Legacies: discover some legends from the RHS Chelsea Flower Show
All the video content will be available on the RHS website from the morning
