Chelsea Flower Show 2023 Show gardens announced at RHS's autumn conference

The RHS has today announced several of the gardens to be featured at RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2023.

At the autumn press conference, the first press conference held by the RHS since 2020, the new director general Clare Matterson announced there would be a series of restorative gardens at the Chelsea Flower Show in 2023. The gardens will make up some of the 12 show gardens and will be inclusive green spaces for socially deprived communities to connect with nature, as well as gardens for patient recovery.

The Royal Entomological Society Garden will be designed by Chelsea gold medal winner Tom Massey, who will focus on the biodiversity found on brownfield sites.

Horatio's Garden will be designed by Charlotte Harris and Hugo Bugg and will be wheelchair accessible. It will be a garden created for patients recovering from spinal injury and will be relocated to Northern General Hospital in Sheffield.

Designer Cleve West, returns to Chelsea Flower Show in 2023 with a Show Garden for the first time since 2016 with designs for The Centrepoint Garden.

Watch: meet the designers of some of the Chelsea Flower Show Gardens 2023

Korean designer Jihae Hwang's garden will look at how a rewilding project in her home country has helped prevent native plants from becoming extinct. The garden, called The Hoban Cultural Foundation: Land of Healing, Korean Mountain Light, promotes balanced ecosystems from around the Jiri Mountain region.

Other Chelsea Flower Show highlights include The Savills Garden by Mark Gregory, championing how growing your own food can form the basis of a healthy lifestyle and The Nurture Landscapes Garden, designed by Sarah Price. The garden will be low carbon, which celebrates the art and craft of garden making. Below is the full list of Show Gardens this year.

Other designers appearing at Chelsea this year will be Jonathan Davies and Steve Williams, Paul Hervey-Brookes, Jilayne Rickards, Chris Beardshaw, Darren Hawkes and Gavin McWilliam and Andrew Wilson.

Also announced at the autumn conference is the first ever Children's Picnic at Chelsea Flower Show. The Children's Picnic will see 100 children attending a picnic from schools in some of the most disadvantaged areas of London. Ten schools will bring ten pupils along with their teachers.

The initiative is one of Clare Matterson's first initiatives since beginning as director general at the RHS.

She said: “I want this to be a special experience for all the children at RHS Chelsea, igniting an interest in gardening that will be with them throughout their life. We know that spending time in nature leads to better well-being and creates a greater attachment and desire to protect and cherish the natural world. So, with the huge issues facing future generations of mental health, a changing climate and loss of biodiversity, we hope this picnic represents a beginning for children to connect to nature through a love of gardening."

She added: “With RHS Chelsea being the world’s greatest gardening show, this will also shine a light on all we do as a charity through our campaigns, gardens and other shows to bring gardening into the lives of millions of children.”

Project Giving Back will be supporting several of the Show gardens for the second year running at Chelsea Flower Show and the Great Pavilion will this year feature 70 specialist nurseries including Raymon Evison Clematis and the Caley Bros.

Helena Pettit, RHS director of shows and gardens, said: “It’s no coincidence that the restorative power of gardens and gardening – both for people and the environment – returns as the main theme for next year’s RHS Chelsea Flower Show.

“So whether you’re looking to create a wildlife haven on your doorstep, ideas to garden more sustainably or to brighten up your balcony, the 2023 show will be teeming with gardening inspiration to help you bring more plants into your home.”

This year's Chelsea Flower Show will be sponsored by The Newt in Somerset for the second year running and runs from 23 to 27 May 2023 at the Royal Hospital Chelsea.

Head to our Chelsea Flower Show hub for more information.

Here's the full list of Chelsea Flower Show Gardens for 2023

Chelsea Show Gardens 2023

Centre for Mental Health’s The Balance Garden designed by Jonathan Davies and Steve Williams (Wild City Studio)

Sponsor: Project Giving Back/Centre for Mental Health
Contractor: Stewart Landscape Ltd.

The RBC Brewin Dolphin Garden designed by Paul Hervey-Brookes

Sponsor: RBC Brewin Dolphin
Contractor: GK Wilson

The Centrepoint Garden designed by Cleve West

Sponsor: Project Giving Back/Centrepoint
Contractor: Crocus Ltd.

The Fauna & Flora International Garden designed by Jilayne Rickards

Sponsor: Project Giving Back/Fauna & Flora International
Contractor: Living Landscapes

Hoban Cultural Foundation: Land of Healing, Korean Mountain Light designed by Jihae Hwang

Sponsor: Hoban Cultural Foundation
Contractor: The Landscape Tailor

Myeloma UK Garden designed by Chris Beardshaw

Sponsor: Project Giving Back/Myeloma UK
Contractor: Cultura

The Nurture Landscapes Garden designed by Sarah Price

Sponsor: Nurture Landscapes
Contractor: Crocus Ltd

Horatio’s Garden designed by Charlotte Harris and Hugo Bugg
Sponsor: Project Giving Back/Horatio’s Garden
Contractor: Ryan Alexander Associates

The Royal Entomological Society Garden designed by Tom Massey

Sponsor: Project Giving Back/The Royal Entomological Society
Contractor: Landscape Associates

Samaritans’ Listening Garden designed by Darren Hawkes

Sponsor: Project Giving Back/Samaritans
Contractor: Landform Consultants Ltd.

The Savills Garden designed by Mark Gregory

Sponsor: Savills
Contractor: Landform Consultants Ltd.

Transcendence designed by Gavin McWilliam and Andrew Wilson

Sponsor: Darwin Alternative Investment Management Ltd.
Contractor: The Outdoor Room