Bespoke portraits, a photography exhibition and a celebration of British flowers all featured among floral tributes to Her Majesty
Decorative floral and plant displays featured at RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2022 to reflect The Queen’s long-standing support for the RHS, as well as her love of flowers and gardens.
Her Majesty has been the Society’s Royal Patron since 1952 and was a regular visitor to the show with her parents as a child. Her first visit to the show as The Queen was in 1955, attending more than 50 times during her 70-year reign and recently on the Monday of the 2022 show.
A bespoke sculptural portrait
Renowned florist Simon Lycett, who has created many floral arrangements for the Royal family, designed a bespoke sculptural portrait of Her Majesty in the official Platinum Jubilee shade of purple. The silhouette was covered on both sides with an assortment of native British-grown tree branches with connecting inner shelves arranged with 70 terracotta pots, hand-made in Warwickshire and planted with lily of the valley, one of The Queen’s favourite plants as it was featured in her Coronation bouquet.
The Queen and RHS Chelsea
At the centre of the show’s Great Pavilion, the Monument was surrounded by a photography exhibition depicting images of The Queen visiting the show throughout her reign.
The feature installation by designer Dave Green included an accessible deck walkway that flowed around the images, set among a woodland inspired planting scheme. A calm and serene environment was created for visitors to view the images, with a colour palette of white, green, purple and blue plants reflecting the tones found in natural woodlands.
An immersive tribute
In celebration of The Queen’s passion for nature, an installation by floral designers Veevers Carter gave visitors an immersive experience to enjoy their own personal tribute. Natural Perspectives featured a canopy of flowers including fresh delphiniums, inspired by the colours and planting of the Scottish landscape near the Royal Family’s Balmoral Castle estate. As visitors encountered the space, an ambient soundscape filled the air, visual projections of wildlife captured their gaze, leading to a large-scale portrait of The Queen made from dried pressed flowers that have been collected and re-used from the designers’ previous events.
Floral crowns celebrating British blooms
As visitors entered the iconic Bullring Gate, they were greeted by an archway decorated with royal emblems reminiscent of a countryside meadow by Lucy Vail Floristry in collaboration with jewellery designer Annoushka Ducas MBE. Celebrating British flower growers and craftsmanship, the colourful design included three wicker crowns covered in sweet peas and columns of foxgloves, geraniums and irises. Following the show, all plants from the display were returned to flower farms to be re-used and stems were recycled for further events.
Helena Pettit, Director of RHS Gardens and Shows said:
“The 2022 RHS Chelsea was particularly special as we celebrated a historic anniversary for Her Majesty and the show's return to May following the pandemic. These imaginative floral tributes were a fitting and joyful representation of a truly unique monarch, and we hope visitors enjoyed seeing them at the show in the lead up to the Platinum Jubilee celebrations.”
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