The Society’s horticultural exhibitions have come a long way since a Mr Charles Minier brought along a potato to a meeting in 1805. From such humble beginnings over two centuries ago, RHS Chelsea has grown to arguably become the best-known and most prestigious horticultural show in the world.

Scroll down to learn more about the history of RHS Chelsea.

The origins of the Chelsea Flower Show go back to the Society’s first fête at its Chiswick garden in 1827. The Chiswick fêtes quickly established themselves as ‘one of the principal attractions of the fashionable season’, even if they sometimes had to contend with the unreliable English weather.

The first Great Spring Show was held at the Society’s new garden in Kensington in May 1862. The show was staged alongside the Second Great Exhibition, on a site now occupied by the Natural History and Science Museums.

After the closure of the Society’s Kensington garden in 1888, the Great Spring Show moved to the Inner Temple Gardens on London’s Embankment. Now the Great Spring Show became an annual event, taking place at Inner Temple every year until 1911.

Rock gardens were very popular at the Inner Temple Shows, thanks to the increasing popularity of railway travel across the Continent, to countries such as Switzerland and Austria. Expensive to build and maintain, rock gardens were considered a status symbol for wealthy gardeners.

On 20 May 1913, the RHS held its Great Spring Show in the grounds of Chelsea Hospital for the very first time. So many exhibitors applied to join the show that only half could be accommodated, but of the 244 who made the cut, Kelways, Blackmore & Langdon, and McBeans Orchids were still exhibiting a century later.

A massive single tent extended over 2 acres, enclosing 84 ‘large groups of flowers, plants and shrubs’, with 95 exhibition tables. Out in the open, there were 17 gardens, with many indulging in the continuing popular appetite for rock gardening.

The Show was a roaring success. It cost £3,365 to stage and made a profit of £88; £150,000 and £4,000 respectively in today’s money.

Even more important than the immediate profit, the 1913 show proved that Chelsea was the ideal stage to showcase gardening at its very best and the RHS decided to make it the permanent venue for its premier flower show.

A huge amount of planning and work goes into setting Chelsea up before the gates can open for members on the first day. Show gardens typically take three weeks to set up, and have to be dismantled in just five days once the Show has finished.

The centrepiece of the Chelsea Show is the floral marquee. In 1951 a huge single marquee, covering 3.5 acres replaced a number of smaller tents. The 1951 marquee spent many years in the Guinness Book of Records as the world’s biggest tent.

After nearly 50 years’ service the old marquee was replaced by the Great Pavilion in 2000. The new Pavilion covers an area of 2.9 acres and has enough room to park 500 London buses. The old tent was recycled into 7,000 aprons, bags and jackets.

A great deal of planning is required to get gardens and exhibits ready in time for Chelsea. Growers move plants that do not normally bloom in springtime between cold storage and greenhouses to either delay or advance their flowering in order to get the perfect bloom for Chelsea week.

The RHS Chelsea Flower Show is perhaps the most famous flower show on earth, and every year it draws in large crowds. The first Show at Chelsea in 1913 was a three day event. In 1927 the RHS expanded the Show to four days, with one day reserved for RHS members.

Chelsea's popularity, combined with the limited space on its 11-acre site, has caused problems in the past. On occasions the turnstiles have had to be closed to prevent overcrowding reaching dangerous levels. In 1988 the RHS made the decision to limit the number of tickets each day to 40,000 and to charge RHS members admission for the first time.

As a huge horticultural event and a key fixture in the social calendar, the press has always covered Chelsea. However the profile of the RHS Chelsea Flower Show really increased when the BBC began television coverage in 1958. Originally just one programme, coverage now extends through the whole week and reaches millions of viewers.

In 2005 the Show was expanded to five days, with two days reserved for members. Chelsea continues to attract around 160,000 visitors each year.

Royal visitors to Chelsea

Chelsea is the flower show most associated with the Royal family, who attend the opening day every year. The first Chelsea Show in 1913 was opened by Queen Alexandra, wife of King Edward VII.

Going Home

Every year at 4pm on the last day, a bell rings. This marks the great plant sell off when exhibitors sell any plants they do not want to take away. Polite chaos ensues, as keen gardeners snap up plants and then puzzle out how they are to get them home in one piece.

In recent years, the RHS has been determined to reduce waste. Many show gardens are planned with a second, permanent home in mind, and these are carefully dismantled and replanted after the show. Across the site timber, compost, woodchip, bricks and other materials are passed onto community groups to re-use. Entire gardens have been created out of this waste material, notably the Desmond Tutu Peace Garden in Lewisham.

The work then begins to plan next year’s show.