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The Little Botanical exhibit at RHS Chelsea Flower Show
Our journey to Chelsea from our initial design concept to the beautiful immersive exhibit we created full of British Grown, peat-free greenery.RHS Chelsea Flower Show
This week, we are exhibiting at the prestigious RHS Chelsea Flower Show which runs from the 21st May to 25th May. We are in the Houseplant Studio section, Stand 701 if you are visiting pop by and say hi!
We couldn’t be more proud of the team effort that got us here. From designing the concept to seeing it all come together, its been an epic journey. We’ve just been awarded an RHS Silver Medal which is a huge achievement for the team and a huge credit to the work they have done. Houseplant Studios return to RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2024 / RHS Gardening
The Design – Plants with Soul
Our exhibition space housed in a stunning Malvern Garden Buildings studio will take visitors on a journey from the Jungles of Central and South America to our West Sussex based nursery, where all our plants are grown using sustainable methods and peat-free soil. Coming up with the concept and how it should look was a fun start to the project. Our Plant with Soul vision was to enable people to see the journey their plant goes on before it arrives in its forever home. We moodboarded ideas and plans and worked as a team on developing the concept. We wanted to showcase where our plants originate from; what they see and hear in the jungle – we imagined rainforests growing up and out of the studio – more wild and natural than the perfect plant that arrives at your home. We wanted to show visitors a sneak peek of our West Sussex nursery and how we nurture the plants and their individual personalities and souls, before they arrive in your home and lastly we wanted to showcase our plants, presented beautifully in our stylish bespoke ceramics in a stunning carefully designed home setting. And allow visitors to visulalise how easy it is to introduce greenery to your home. The design for our applications was drawn up and the vision was created.
The RHS Chelsea Flower show Application & Planning
The application and the numerous forms were submitted in December and we waited! When we found out in January we were successful, it was all hands on deck to make our vision a reality. We submitted screeds of information from the design, the concept, the the list of plants we wanted to showcase etc. We also had lot of discussions about the building we’d be using with the team at Malvern Garden Buildings so we knew the size of the building to create our exhibition. Several of the team visited the site in Chelsea in April and we planned out dimensions and floor space and which plants would work where. The team selected the most beautiful plants all British grown, Peat-free from our nursery and grouped them according to their habits so they could work on how the rainforest would look. We worked closely with Vinco Marketing who created the illustrations and graphics for the studio walls and vinyls for the glass doors to help bring the ‘Plants with Sould – Come on a journey with us’ to life.
The RHS Chelsea Flower Show – Build Up
Trolleys and trolleys of plants and ceramic, moss, more plants, TV, nursery equipment, posters, tools, chair, gin trolley, gin, more plants, rugs, photo frames. You name it .. it all got packaged up and brought up to install in the exhibit.The empty Malvern Garden Building was to become our moodboard. We had 5 days to bring it all together and make our vision come to life. Our team spent hours creating the inviting Rainforest, individually mossing every plant. The sounds of the jungle were played through the speakers, all set up by our team and the TV and video of the nursery was all set up. A lot of hardwork allowed us to bring our vision to life and the finished result is incredible. Our immersive display pays homage to the vibrant soul of each plant. The unique display celebrates the individual personalities and origins of each plant with native soundscapes playing from distant lands – from the gentle patter of tropical rain to the sounds of the daily operations on their nursery. Visitors can learn more about the soul of each plant as they listen to the sound bites and read the info boards about the selection of plants from the strong-willed and tenacious Sansevieria from the arid regions of Africa, the mystical Dragon Tree from Madagascar and the resilient Yucca from the hot and dry regions of North and Central America and many more.
RHS Silver Award – The big reveal
The on-site preparation had us all in high vis with steel capped boots until Sunday when we spent the last few hours titivating the display and literally polishing leaves! The Little Botanical Plants with Soul exhibit was finalised and judging commenced at 2pm on Sunday afternoon. After much waiting and excited chatter, we found out this morning that Our Plants with Soul exhibit won an RHS Silver Medal. What a result after months of hardwork. We couldn’t be more proud of our team who have all worked hard on making our vision come to life. We are proud to be showcasing our British-grown Peat Free plants in all their glory at our stand all week. We invite you to embrace the soul of your humble houseplant and leave about the journey it made to you home.
Collabs
As one of the first UK nurseries to make the important move to peat-free, we are delighted to be able to demonstrate our own incredible journey working with a peat-free soil mix from ICL, that keeps their houseplants happy, healthy and growing beautifully. We have also worked closely with Growing Revolution and have built a stunning living wall to the side of our studio. The perfect selfie spot! And the actual studio itself, supplied by Malvern Garden Buildings.
To read more about our collabs, read out Chelsea Collabs Blog.
Chelsea Collection
Although the show attracts thousands of visitors, we know not everyone can make it to Chelsea Flower show this year so why not follow us on social media to come along on our journey. If you are looking to bring a little bit of the Chelsea magic into your own home, browse our limited edition Chelsea Collection. We have crafted delightful bundles of plants in brightly coloured pots that we are sure you will love. Add the Air-pUrifying Plant Gang toyour bedroom to create a little oasis of calm. Pop the My Home Bundle in the kitchen and living area to bring the delights and colours of Chelsea into your home. Each of the houseplants featured in our studio can be purchased online to help you create your own zen space and enjoy Chelsea from your sofa!
RHS Chelsea Flower Show is being held between Tuesday 21st May and Saturday 25th May. Visitors to the show can find The Little Botanical at stand 701 in the Houseplant Studio section.
