This year, we exhibited at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show.
Not only did we design, create and develop our own award-winning stand at the show to display our wide range of products and skills, but we also contributed to a number of show gardens.
In addition to supporting the RHS Chelsea Flower Show, we have been busy supplying our products to the RHS Malvern Spring Festival too, including for the gold-medal award-winning garden Bee Positive, Bee Kind, Bee Aware designed by our friend Rick Ford.
In this piece, we’ll be recapping the event and showcasing the range of gardens that we contributed to.
The History of RHS Chelsea Flower Show
In May, every year since 1913, the Chelsea Flower Show has captivated audiences from around the world. Although the event itself is not the largest of its kind, it’s indisputably the most famous.
The first meeting of what would become known as the Chelsea Flower Show began way back in 1862 (although its origins stretch even further back) in Kensington. Although the show at that point was known as the Royal Horticultural Society Great Spring Show.
The first event span across three days; staged in just a single marquee.
The show continued in Kensington for a further 26 years. During this time the popularity of the show continued to grow until 1888 when the show moved to Temple Gardens on the Thames Embankment.
Moving to a more centralised location proved to be an inspiring move, and continued to draw in audiences across the UK and abroad, with applications from exhibitors wishing to take part in the show tripling.
On May 20th 1913, the RHS held the Great Spring Show on the grounds of Chelsea Hospital for the first time. A huge two-acre tent was erected, enclosing 84 ‘large groups of flowers, plants and shrubs’, with over 90 different exhibition tables and 17 outdoor gardens.
Steel Landscaping Co. Stand
RHS Chelsea Flower Show
We designed our stand to showcase our fantastic product range, such as estate fencing, steel weave fencing, edging, slatted fencing, arches, and our range of troughs and planters too.
Exhibiting at the Chelsea Flower Show was an absolute dream come true for us, both personally and professionally, and so much time and effort went into the design and structure of our stand, right down to the tiniest detail.
However, we’re incredibly fortunate to have been able to work with fantastic people to ensure our stand came out precisely the way we intended it to. Firstly, our installations team at Steel Landscaping Co. did a phenomenal job getting everything set up with the limited time we had available.
Jane Hancock from Unity Garden Design played a huge part in helping us design and structure our stand and finally Trudy Orme, better known as the The Idle Mole worked closely with us to help us select the best flowers to suit the stand.
We were also incredibly proud when our stand won the “4 Star Trade Stand Award”, handed out to only the best in class of the trade stands.
Heroines of Horticulture
RHS Chelsea Flower Show
At this year’s event, renowned, award-winning garden designer Pollyanna Wilkinson was asked to put together the Heroines of Horticulture garden, which paid tribute to the great women in horticulture.
The displays at the centre of the show at The Monument were created to be firmly female-focused, to tie into the special celebrations around the Heroines of Horticulture.
These dedications are depicted as sketched portraits throughout the garden, and range from those who have played important roles in horticultural development as designers, campaigners, collectors, journalists, artists and scientists.
We were incredibly honoured to be asked to offer our assistance in putting the garden together, and we provided some specially designed, bespoke steel planters, which were clad in beautiful willow weave by the Field Farm Project led by the very talented Mollie McMillen.
The planters surrounded the monument tower in a 360-degree spectacular design, showcasing the most beautiful classical country cottage plants.
Cavernoma On My Mind
RHS Chelsea Flower Show
The garden Cavernoma On My Mind was designed by Anne Hamilton and Taina Suonio. The former has a family member who has a cavernoma, a cluster of veins which can be particularly debilitating when occurring on the brain since it can cause strokes, haemorrhages and seizures.
The garden is sponsored by the Cavernoma Society, which strives to create awareness of this still relatively unknown condition and create more research opportunities.
Steel is used symbolically throughout the garden, and for our part, we were asked to construct a bespoke stainless steel water rill which takes pride and place within the garden.
This is designed to represent the tears and anxiety of those with the condition and, conversely, the calm and soothing effect of truly experiencing your emotions.
Centre for Mental Health’s The Balance Garden
RHS Chelsea Flower Show
We were asked to contribute our steel edging to the Centre For Mental Health’s The Balance Garden, which focused on man-made structures, urban ecology and habitat layers in areas where you wouldn’t expect to find a thriving ecosystem.
The garden utilised crushed site waste and piles of sand to produce a variety of wildflowers, grasses and hardy shrubs that do particularly well in these kinds of environments, and are often overlooked, but provide vital feeding opportunities for pollinators, birds and small mammals.
This symbolism was designed to perfectly demonstrate the delicate balances of our own mental wellbeing too. When even in the most unlikely of situations, we can thrive against the odds.
Steel is a familiar theme throughout the garden, whether that’s the edging or the shipping container – this symbolises the man-made aspect of the garden and how nature can thrive in even the most unlikely of habitats.
Hamptons Mediterranean Garden
RHS Chelsea Flower Show
Estate agent Hamptons partnered with Garden Club London to create “Hamptons Mediterranean Garden”, inspired by RHS Chelsea Flower Show debutant designer Filippo Dester (celebrating his upbringing in Italy) and four-time RHS Chelsea Flower Show Gold-winning designer, Tony Woods.
Inspired by the architecture, sights, sounds, and sculptural planting of the landscapes of Italy, the garden celebrates the culture of Mediterranean cuisine, family and sharing, whilst also bringing to light the heavy burden of climate change.
The garden features a modern outdoor living space, which brings to life the look and tone of a Mediterranean climate, complete with an outdoor kitchen and dining space.
We were asked to create a specially designed steel pergola for the garden, which we installed over the garden’s kitchen and dining space; the silver shine of the steel contrasted perfectly with the beige and oranges of the kitchen structure and the brilliant greens, whites and purples of the flowers and plants in bloom.
We also designed and fabricated several bespoke pieces, which although small, were important for the look and feel of the garden, these were the custom steel spouts and carcassing for the water feature.
Bee Positive, Bee Kind, Bee Aware
RHS Malvern
This environmentally-aware Bees for Development Sponsored garden Bee Positive, Bee Kind, Bee Aware, won gold at RHS Malvern earlier on in the Spring!
Designed by Rick Ford and Katie Gentle, the space was designed to showcase growing fruit and vegetables, cooking, and keeping bees and how these connect to each other in a continuous loop.
The garden contained a range of pollinator-friendly flowers and plants, such as hawthorn, foxgloves, fennel and thyme. The garden also made heavy use of repurposed materials, which will in turn be used again in other projects later on down the line too.
Highlights of the garden include the scaffold pergola, wooden seating, bee hives, and an upcycled water trough.
The garden featured several of our products such as the steel weave raised beds, steel edging and a bespoke bee gate which we designed and fabricated specifically for this garden.
The gate features a stunning honeycomb design, complemented by gorgeous flower motifs too – and was of particular interest to none other than Alan Titchmarsh!
Conclusion
Our work takes us all over the country, and to have the opportunity to work on some of these absolutely fantastic projects that are both designed right down to the smallest detail and shed light on societal and environmental issues is a real privilege for us.
If you’d like to learn more about us, are interested in getting a quote or have any questions, don’t hesitate to get in touch with us.