TOP 5 MUST-SEE gardens at the RHS Chelsea Flower show
The RHS Chelsea Flower Show covers more than 23 acres with over 500 exhibitors and gardens. Bloomin’ heck! So we asked local landscape garden expert, Nik Edser, to spill the beans on the best gardens to see this 2023.
This year’s RHS Chelsea Flower Show is taking place from Mon 22 May – Sat 27 May. Planning on going? With so much to see and do we’ve rounded up the best gardens to put at the top of your list.
Kent’s luxury landscape garden expert and founder of Langdale Landscapes, Nik Edser, is currently building an incredible space for the world-famous garden show – so we asked for his TOP 5 gardens to visit this year.
With 25 years’ experience – and an ever-growing word-of-mouth client base – Nik has built a solid reputation for excellence, attention to detail and overseeing every single element of his team’s projects from start to finish.
Regularly designing and constructing gardens in the Sevenoaks and Tunbridge Wells area, Langdale Landscapes will also travel throughout the rest of Kent and surrounding counties. Here’s Nik’s RHS Chelsea Flower Show TOP 5:
1. David Harber
This is the Trade show garden Nik and his team are building for acclaimed sculptor, David Harber. Designed by James Doyle Design Associates, from New York, the stunning garden will feature several of David’s existing and new eye-catching creations. It will include a sycamore-shaped sculpture, painted in a rich champagne gold which is part of a collaboration with British fine jeweller, Annoushka Ducas, as this is one of her iconic, nature-inspired pieces. A magical space not to be missed.
2. Samaritans’ Listening Garden
Award-winning garden designer and Samaritans volunteer, Darren Hawkes, has created a stunning space to help this charity celebrate 70 years of supporting people struggling to cope.
Sculptural seats positioned throughout the garden represent a safe space where people can talk and be heard but the design also stands as a reminder that while the path to hope can seem full of obstacles there is always support out there.
3. The Savills Garden
Imagine you’re staying at a country hotel with a pretty walled, kitchen garden where they grow as much of their own produce as possible to serve the guests in their restaurant – and you have an inkling of this experience.
Designer, Mark Gregory, is teaming up with Chef, Sam Buckley, to create a buzzy, plot-to-plate dining experience. See Sam foraging and prepping from 10am – with the day accumulating with eight Chelsea pensioners sitting down for a full dining experience at lunchtime.
4. Boodles British Craft Garden
Designer Thomas Hoblyn, winner of a gold medal last year, is creating this space inspired by stylised depictions of nature in Pre-Raphaelite paintings.
This woodland garden will be filled with examples of British craft skills, from embroidered cushions adorning the furniture to the garden’s centrepiece, a treelike arbour made from metalwork and enveloped in stunning roses.
5. The RSPCA Garden
Not a fan of long grass, nettles or rewilding parts of your garden, but still want to support bugs, bees and birds and make your outdoor space as wildlife friendly as possible?
Designer Martyn Wilson makes his RHS Chelsea debut with a garden that puts a stylish twist on the idea of a wildlife sanctuary.
Find more garden inspo here: Langdale Landscapes