Every year I am invited to attend the Chelsea Flower Show organised by the Royal Horticultural Society, arguably the most famous in the world. Gardening amateurs and horticultural professionals, celebrities, royalty and media experts descended on London from around the world and, as usual for this year's show and it certainly did not disappoint.
The Provenance of the Royal Horticultural Society
This show has a long history. Founded in 1804, it has always been at the forefront of horticultural research and education for British gardeners. Today, the RHS interests millions of people through its special gardens, shows, community programmes, publications and Society membership.
Hatchard Bookshop Still Trading in London's Piccadilly
It was on 7 March 1804, that John Wedgwood and six of his contemporaries met at Hatchard's bookshop in Piccadilly. That day they founded the Horticultural Society of London and the organisation took off. Two hundred years later, its membership has grown to almost half a million and is a world leader in plant research..
Gardening Experiments and Growing Success
London's Chiswick was the home to an experimental garden. A project to collect plants from around the world resulted in exotic plants arriving in London by well known collectors who were supported by wealthy patrons. In 1836, formal examinations for plants people were introduced.
In 1861 the name of the Society was changed. It became known as the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) and as a celebration, a garden was established in London's Kensington. This became the RHS HQ until 1888 and was the site of the first RHS Great Spring Show. This later became the famous RHS Chelsea Flower Show
A Quartet of World-Class Gardens
Land at Wisley in Surrey was presented to the RHS in 1903 as a new experimental garden, replacing the Chiswick site. RHS Garden Wisley was their only garden until 1987, when RHS Garden Rosemoor was gifted to the RHS by Lady Anne Palmer. The wonderful Hyde Hall near Chelmsford in Essex was presented to the RHS in 1993, and in 2001 the charity took over the running of RHS Garden Harlow Carr. This quartet of world-class gardens remains today.
Good Gardening
Experimentation and encouraging expertise is still the RHS's principal purpose. Those founding members' dream of forming a repository for the knowledge which could be collected on every aspect of horticulture, has come to pass.
Future Plans
The RHS is continually developing a robust future for gardening in the UK by reaching out to current and future generations to develop their horticultural skills and knowledge. There now exists the RHS Campaign for School Gardening. In this campaign, the RHS is providing more than two million children with direct opportunities to learn gardening skills. The charity also has an extensive programme of events, training, bursaries and qualifications, setting a benchmark in horticultural learning across the world.
Britain in Bloom Charities
Through RHS's 'Britain in Bloom' and 'Its Your Neighbourhood' campaigns, the charity supports 2,000 communities to 'clean up and green up' their environments. This has breathed new life into the towns and villages around the UK.
RHS Heritage
Through its great collection of gardens, the RHS helps preserve the UK's garden heritage. Their gardens provide gardeners with access to diverse plants collections, examples of innovative and attractive planting and the best horticultural practices.
Source:
Research for my on-going regular gardening columns in Essex Life Magazine
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