RHS Chelsea Flower Show, the hottest event in the horticulture calendar, is back for 2025. There are Show Gardens to see, plants to lust after, exhibitors to buy from in the Great Pavilion, and food and drink to be had. But there are also little gems not to be missed, and so the team at Gardens Illustrated are rounding up five things you really shouldn't miss at RHS Chelsea Flower Show each day.
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What to do today at RHS Chelsea Flower Show: Tuesday 20 May 2025
Chosen by digital editor Daisy Bowie-Sell
RHS x UBS Moments of Reflection installation speakers, hosted by Tamsin Westhorpe
The Great Pavilion is always filled with bustle at RHS Chelsea Flower Show, and this year it's no exception. One of the central spots to visit it the RHS x UBS garden, which is built around the monument and designed by Maximillian Parker-Smith. Here, horticulturist and RHS judge Tamsin Westhorpe is interviewing seven different horticulturalists and nursery experts every day of the show.
The speakers area is set within the garden and the interviews will be 30 minutes each, and with the likes of Claire Austin, Jekka McVicar, Taylors Bulbs, Pheasant Acre Plants, Max Parker-Smith, Bowden Hostas, She Grows Veg, David Austin Roses, English Sweet Peas and the four nurseries involved in the garden: Dibleys Houseplants, Green Jjam Nurseries, Kevock Garden Plants and Lincolnshire Pond Plants. It is well worth heading that way to discover who Tamsin is speaking with, and to see the garden itself, which is imagined as a walk into the mountains and lochs of the Scottish Highlands.
Go and see a brand new rose at David Austin Roses
It's not every day that a new rose is released, and this week we saw a real departure for David Austin Roses: a bicolour rose. The new striped rose is named The King's Rose, in honour of HM The King, and you can see it for the first time at RHS Chelsea Flower Show. It has been 12 years in the making, care of head breeder at David Austin Roses, Carl Bennett, and his painstaking work to make it beautiful as well as resilient and disease-free is remarkable.
You'll be able to see it on the David Austin Roses stand in the Great Pavilion, which has a secret garden theme with archways of rambling roses. At the centre of the stand you'll find the new cultivar. We're told there will be leaflets with a discount code offering free delivery throughout show week.
Take part in Gardener's Question Time
We are reliably informed that there's a chance to watch Gardeners Question Time at the show on Tuesday, from The Stage. You can submit questions at the show any time until midday for the panel to answer. And you can watch the show in the afternoon. This one will likely be very popular, so if you're keen to get your question asked, make it a good one, and turn up early for a seat.
Don't miss the special stand offer from Gardens Illustrated!
We have our usual stand this year at EAE524, where you can meet some of the team. It's also a chance to take up our exclusive subscription offer, which is only available in person on the day. When you sign up as a member at the show, not only do you get six issues for £26.95, saving you 25% of the usual price, you'll also get a gift of a pair of Niwaki Mainichi Secateurs, worth £42. Our stand this year features two pretty pot displays planted by designer Katie Guillebaud in beautiful containers created by specialist makers Heritage Handmade Garden Collections.
Visit She Grows Veg to see a beautiful rainbow display
After their gold winning 'edimental' exhibit in the Great Pavilion last year, She Grows Veg are back at Chelsea Flower Show for their second time. Themed around 'Grow the Rainbow', for their exhibit the Suffolk-based, heirloom-seed company demonstrates how 'eating the rainbow' can be beneficial to our health. You can expect a 360-degree exhibit that will take you on a journey past the company's colourful rainbow of veg. Everything will be enhanced with styling by floral designer Hazel Gardiner and with a prime position at the entrance to the Great Pavilion, it's unlikely you'll miss what they have to offer. Perfect for an Instagram moment, or to pick up ideas for lovely veg varieties.
Discover our guides to all the 2025 show gardens
- RHS and BBC Radio 2 Dog Garden
- Avanade Intelligent Garden
- The Glasshouse Garden
- Hospitalfield Arts Garden
- Hospice UK: Garden of Compassion
- King's Trust Garden
- Down's Syndrome Scotland Garden
- Tackle HIV Challenging Stigma Garden
- Boodles Raindance Garden
- Garden of the Future
- Children with Cancer UK 'A Place to Be...'
- The British Red Cross 'Here for Humanity' Garden
