Cutting edge science & technology at RHS Chelsea

This year’s Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) Chelsea Flower Show (22nd May to 26th May 2018), sponsored by M&G Investments, will demonstrate cutting edge science and technology as the Discovery Zone returns to the Great Pavilion. Below is a sneak preview of what we can expect from the ‘Zone’ at this year’s show.

This year, 10 exhibits will champion the latest in gardening science and interactive displays will explore the threat of invasive plants and pests. There will also be displays on how to utilise your outdoor space and the highlights of beekeeping. This year, key anniversaries will celebrate MV Empire Windrush, Capel Manor College, Help for Heroes and Bees for Development.

The Discovery Zone offers a chance to get up close and personal with a wide variety of educational exhibits and visitors can always take home plenty of inspiration as well as useful advice over a range of issues.

The importance of Oak trees and the iconic part they play in our countryside will feature on The Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) display highlighting how we can protect them for future generations.

Over the past 25 years, Bees for Development has helped some of the poorest people in the world to keep bees and break out of poverty by using honey and beeswax to create income and pay for food and education. From their beehives in Africa to ‘Bee Houses’ designed for gardens around the UK, the display will highlight examples of the Charity’s work.

Birmingham City Council will make their Discovery Zone debut with a celebration of the 70th anniversary of the voyage of HMT Empire Windrush from the Caribbean to Tilbury. Birmingham have exhibited in the Great Pavilion many times, with consecutive Gold medals since 2011, and we feel sure their Discovery Zone debut will also be a success. Working with RHS Ambassador Baroness Floella Benjamin, the exhibit will feature a mixture of plants from both regions and demonstrate the important part allotments played in helping different communities to integrate.

A range of houseplants creatively displayed within a home office environment will be the theme for Indoor Garden Design’s (IGD) second co-creation with Ikea. Visitors will be able to learn the different benefits selected plants can offer when used in this particular setting and aims to show how Biophilia – the suggestion that there is an instinctive bond between human beings and other living systems – works to improve our wellbeing.

Sparsholt College will be highlighting the positive experiences horticultural therapy has on individuals going through recovery supported by Help for Heroes. Their exhibit, Force for Good will celebrate the 10th anniversary of the charity by demonstrating how gardening can aid physical recovery and improve mental health for all.

‘The Great Escape’ by the Horticultural Trades Association, taking its inspiration from how to transform any outdoor space into a multitude of escapes, from a gym, to a kitchen to a place of pure beauty.

A first-time exhibit from Vegepods will feature fully contained, self-watering, efficient organic raised gardens, educating visitors on the importance and principles of urban farming. The River of Flowers’ Honeycomb Meadow Bee Garden is designed to bring a meadow into the city while the Property Care Association will host a Weed Clinic, providing advice and a better understanding of how to manage those invasive non-native plants.

Capel Manor College will explore how the colour yellow is important in pollination and why breeders prize the colour, in celebration of their 50th anniversary. The display will feature 50 different yellow plants including trees, shrubs, herbaceous, grasses and bulb.

The Discovery Zone has taken on an increasing importance at RHS Chelsea over the years and it certainly looks like there will be a lot to see, learn and be motivated by this year.