Before RHS Chelsea Flower Show opens its gates to RHS members and the general public, Press Day gives a whole host of celebrities, gardening royalty - and actual royalty - the chance to get a special first glimpse of the gardens and showground.
We asked a selection of famous figures about their first reaction from the show. Here's what they had to say.
Grayson Perry: "Chelsea, is it about gardening?"
This was the question on artist Grayson Perry's lips when we asked him what he thought of the show so far. "I don't know. It seems like a jolly good party and a lot of PVC bannerage."
Summing the show up in a few words, he added, "Anthropologically it's fascinating. It's a great sort of tribal get-together for middle England. I don't put myself above it at all. It's the kind of Glastonbury for people who wear linen."
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Caitlin Moran: "Like a really handsome, charismatic man"
Author Caitlin Moran felt conflicted about the Japanese-inspired Tokonoma Garden – Sanumaya no Niwa, designed by Kazuyuki Ishihara and Paul Noritaka Tange.
"Every time I come and look at the Japanese gardens and see the moss I'm like 'I must do that', but then I see that they have to go and squirt it every 35 seconds. You realise those kind of gardens are like the really handsome, charismatic man that you're like 'I would like to go out with him' and then two minutes later you see him being really horrible to someone or being very high maintenance and you're like 'Actually, no'!
"It's a beautiful thing to look at but long term me and the beautiful mossy Japanese garden will not work out."
Kirstie Alsopp: "I just stood there and looked at it for ages"
For TV presenter Kirstie Alsopp, it was the The Eden Project: Bring Me Sunshine Garden that was most impressive.
"If you look at the Eden Project garden, they've got the most extraordinary structure on it, which is actually steel but looks like lead, it's incredibly soft and it creates an optical illusion because it collects rainwater. I just stood there and looked at it for ages and ages and ages and wondered how on earth it can be collecting rainwater when one bit is higher and one bit is lower."
Despite the incredible physics, the structure reflects an important issue. Kirstie said, "I think the ability to collect water is so important, we all now need structures all over our gardens, all over our houses which collect water because we're in this situation now where we get this torrential rainfall and then these extraordinary dry periods and as gardeners we need water, and we need our own water."
Caroline Quentin: "If you're a gardener you can see gardens in everything"
We found actor and keen gardener Caroline Quentin feeling emotional after having a rose named after her by Thompson & Morgan - Rosa 'Caroline Quentin'. Caroline told us she felt inspired by Sarah Eberle's Campaign to Protect Rural England Garden: ‘On the Edge', which won RHS Chelsea Garden of the Year. It features naturalistic planting to evoke the often-overlooked countryside areas on the fringes of towns and cities.
"It's about reminding you of all those spaces that we use all the time when we're walking the dog, when we're going past railway lines or under bridges and you suddenly realise that if you're a gardener you can sort of see gardens in everything.
"Everywhere you look, they become part of that landscape and it's so clever that, to remind us that they may not be nurtured gardens, but they are places to spend time with nature - and they are particularly good for nature of course because they've got all that wild stuff going on. There are foxgloves in there, there are wild geraniums, there are nettles, there's ivy - all the things we should be putting in our gardens. So far, I love that one."
Sophie Raworth: "It's always strange coming here when everyone's in posh frocks"
Newsreader Sophie Raworth was also in awe of the Campaign to Protect Rural England Garden.
"One of my favourite things is Sarah Eberle's garden with that incredible sculpture, Mother Nature. I saw Mother Nature come in here on the back of a huge lorry about three weeks ago and I watched as she bedded down.
"I'm really lucky because I get to watch the build so I come here every week during the build up to it and it's always quite strange coming here on this day when everyone's in posh frocks, and it's all been diggers and lorries and so many work people putting it all together."
Nick Knowles: "It's not a construction show"
TV personality Nick Knowles was interested in the high proportion of hard landscaping across the RHS Chelsea gardens. The DIY SOS presenter said, "Arit Anderson's [Parkinson's UK] garden looks very beautiful, with that lovely combination of wildflower planting and not too heavy on the hard landscaping. There are quite a few here that have gone big and heavy on the hard landscaping and it's not a construction show. I understand there are reasons for some of them."
Nick also gave a special mention to the The Eden Project: Bring Me Sunshine Garden, which will be relocated to Eden Project Morecambe, a new 1.5-acre Eden Project location in Cumbria. "That will bring so much attention and interest and jobs and wealth."
On the show itself, Nick said, "There are lots of lovely things about Chelsea - I think people tend to look of it as being that posh event that happens in Chelsea but in actual fact there are a lot of real good, down-to-earth things that are happening here that then spread out around the country and do a lot of good things for people, so I'd encourage people to come along.
"Plus you get a lot of good ideas; I've got some amazing Eryngiums in my garden that I saw here about six years ago and they keep coming up and doing amazingly."
Anthea Turner: "I'm obsessed with pots"
Describing herself as the "self-styled queen of the pot garden", TV presenter Anthea Turner was looking at the Italian Terrace stand on Main Avenue in awe. "I love anything you can put in a pot and I'm obsessed with pots."
Rather than feel disappointed about having a container garden, Anthea sees her space positively. "I see it as something to be revered and talked about."
Nick Grimshaw: "Really wild"
Although the radio and TV presenter Nick Grimshaw admitted he has a gardener to tend his outside space, he highlighted The Killik & Co ‘A Seed in Time’ garden.
"I love how it feels really full, really wild and there are elements that feel really dense and full and then there's so much space in it as well."
Jo Whiley: "So much inspiration"
For radio and TV presenter Jo Whiley, it was the planting composition across the showground that stood out the most. "There's so much inspiration, like the way you put the plants together – that's what I always take away."
Jo highlighted the Parkinson's UK garden. "I think Arit's garden is really lovely; the delicate use of the roses and then the drifts of colour. It's really beautiful."
Claire Balding: "I love acers"
Spotted near the Tokonoma Garden – Sanumaya no Niwa, broadcaster Claire Balding admitted her fondness for Japanese design.
"I love this Japanese garden because I love acers, and I love the peacefulness and the tranquility with the running water," she said. "I just think it's gorgeous."
Dominic West: "It's beautiful"
We also bumped into actor Dominic West on the show ground, who told us his wife collected piles of Gardens Illustrated at home. When asked about the garden that had stood out the most so far, he said, "We just saw Tom Stuart-Smith's [Tate Britain] garden and it's amazing, it's beautiful."
Head to our Instagram page @gardens_illustrated to watch more of our celebrity interviews at RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2026.
