The RHS Chelsea Flower has made some bold changes to the Floristry & Floral Design concepts for the 2021 show and embraced new concepts and rules to make it more aligned to sustainable practices.
Out go plastic based foam, glue, and wire … in comes a unique opportunity to raise awareness that plant health (be it in pot or cut flower form) is crucial for all life on Earth, how to reduce the human impact on our shared environment, and to raise awareness of the risks and challenges facing us today.
Realising that the cut-flower industry is global, as are its challenges, issues and advocates, the concept for Floristry & Floral Design at RHS Chelsea 2021 will be ‘Our World’ … presented in a series of 14 different installations created by some of the country’s top florists and from across the sector.
The 2021 RHS Chelsea Flower Show Florists
Amanda Randell Cox Branch-out MK CIC Charlotte Smithson Edie Rose Ltd Fabulous Flowers Fairford Flower Collective Flowers of Elegance In Water Flowers JamJar Edit Keiko Flower Academy Larry Walshe Studios Little Garden Tracy Rowbottom Design - follow Tracy's journey to Chelsea 2021 in our week by week blog here Trudie Easton
A range of display options
Staged in either a 1.5 high white display 'Floral Windows' with visitor facing aperture or one of the raised staged, Floral Booths, designers will create their installations for judging on Monday 20th September working to one of four themes
British Blooms which will highlight the environmental benefits of British flowers.
Preservation designed to highlight waste-minimal floristry and how dried flowers and plant material are beneficial for the environment as well as for your garden.
Pollination which highlights the sharp decline of the world’s insect populations, and promotes the planting pollinator friendly flowers.
Beauty of Nature, a theme that emphasises storytelling as its core concept and encourages designs with a strong horticultural message.
Commenting on the new concepts an RHS spokesperson said: “We want to reinforce the theme of OUR WORLD with thought provoking, interesting and fun floral installations that stick in the minds of our visitors long after leaving the show.”
But the floristry and floral design doesn’t end there. NAFAS will be returning with a main display whilst throughout the showground florists will be using their skills to add yet more floral inspiration to key areas of the show.
Alongside their display in the Main Marquee, the iconic RHS Letters will be designed by Larry Walshe and filled with luscious green foliage highlighted with an array of wild and dried blooms and grasses to show the change of our beautiful countryside.
The Bull Ring Gate will be the responsibility of JamJar Flowers and will celebrate the flora and fauna of the British Isles concentrating on pollinators wildflowers, hedgerows and migratory birds with Bug Hotels and a willow and birch arbour.
Lavender Green Flowers will be using Soane House to celebrate Fairtrade flower workers in East Africa and Ecuador with a floral structure representing the female workers, a tree to represent stability and resilience, and a desk, representing the importance of education in building strong and resilient futures for flower workers.
And at the other main entrance, Tattie Isles of Tattie Rose Flowers will be decorating London Gate in a spirited, rich in colour and scent way by using a combo of abundant and rambling foliage’s, hops, and berries, banks of hydrangeas and roses from Usk Valley Roses
