Gabriel Ash at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2018

For this year’s RHS Chelsea Flower Show we have tried something a little different with our greenhouse display exhibit which will feature a new and bespoke greenhouse structure.

Show Facts

2018 is the 105th Chelsea Flower show to be held at the famous Royal Hospital grounds in London.  The show is the pinnacle of the gardening calendar when the show season really begins. Plots at this coveted event are limited and only the best exhibitors can get a site.  The show is seen as the catwalk for hot trends in plants, garden design and the latest gardening products.  The show has an attendance of 165,000 visitors over the five days the show is open.  The televised footage goes out to over 3 million viewers in the UK and is seen worldwide by over 100 million.

With all these people visiting and viewing the show every square inch of the show ground has to be presented to the highest standard possible. Gabriel Ash spend many months planning our Chelsea exhibit to keep things fresh and to ensure visitors to the show enjoy our greenhouses.  We look at which models to take, planting, hard landscaping, and staffing/logistics to make it all happen on time.  This year we have decided to try something a little different for this cutting-edge show.

The Stand Design

In previous years we have always stuck with a winning formula of displaying standard structures on the show stand but this year the largest greenhouse on the plot is a bespoke structure designed specially for our Chelsea Flower Show exhibit.  The main glasshouse on our stand would normally be something like one of our RHS Portico greenhouses.  This year this has been replaced with a greenhouse/shed/greenhouse combination structure.   The new greenhouse is based on an RHS Rosemore Shed combination with a twist.  The greenhouse is higher, and the shed is central with a greenhouse coming off each end of the shed.

Don’t despair if you are planning to visit the show to view some of our standard greenhouses we will still be showing two of our more popular models; the Classic 6×8 and the ever-popular Grow and Store greenhouse shed combination, plus a range of cold frames and planters on our stand.   We also have our flagship RHS Portico greenhouse on display in the main Floral Marquee.  This greenhouse is pride of place on the D’Arcy and Everest stand who are an alpine plant specialist nursery and one of the 92 exhibitors in the marquee.  They will be using the Portico greenhouse to display their excellent range of alpine plants.

Planting

We take great pride in our displays at the show and many visitors compliment us on our wonderful displays, sometimes confusing them with the show gardens themselves.  The planting scheme on the stand has been left in the capable hands of our team Base Squared Landscaping.  This year we have tried to be even more adventurous with our planting.  The central courtyard area is dominated by an old and beautiful olive tree.  Inside and around the greenhouses there is a mix of traditional planting alongside some modern twists.  The new bespoke greenhouse has one of the greenhouse pods dressed in a very traditional planting style typical of a traditional British greenhouse.

The other greenhouse in this structure is designed with relaxation in mind. This greenhouse is a place to escape in.  The greenhouse has many house plants and terrariums planted with the modern and welcomed growth trend for indoor plants.  There is a comfy area to sit and relax with a gin and tonic that you can add a touch of flavour from some of the surrounding herb and spice plants that are within easy reach in your glasshouse retreat.  From here you can sit with the double doors opening out onto the courtyard area and enjoy a little bit of ‘me time’.

Where to find us

If you are looking for our stand, we can be found in our usual spot on Royal Hospital Way.  This year this area has been designated as a new area featuring several gardens entitled “Space to Grow Gardens” These wonderful Gardens have been designed to inspire the gardener in all of us no matter what the size of your plot is.  We hope these gardens are as much of a success as the Radio 2 gardens were last year in the same area. Gabriel Ash are pleased to be one of the stands to feature in this area and we hope you will agree that our stand fits perfectly within these beautiful gardens and will ‘Inspire you to Garden’.

Awards

All the effort in the design, build, dressing and planting of the stand paid off with the RHS awarding us a prestigious 5-star award. Thank you everyone involved for all your efforts in making this year another successful display of our beautiful greenhouses.

We would also like to congratulate D’Arcy and Everest for their Gold medal winning display which is built around one of our RHS Portico greenhouses in the main Floral Marquee.