Floral Safari

10^th February

As soon as ‘Floral Safari’ is announced as the theme for this year’s Chelsea in Bloom, our event designer Hana Moss grabs her sketchbook, pen and watercolours and sets to work. “The minute I heard about the brief I knew what we should do,” says Hana. “The Real Flower Company is known for our quintessentially English flowers, so last year’s colour palette of pale blush, cream, café latte and soft pink was ideal for us. This year’s safari theme links perfectly to our Fairtrade Kenyan flower farm, so you can expect to see a different side of what we do. Working with The Real Flower Company’s range of over 80 rose varieties and our amazing lead florist Becky makes my job as a designer a dream”.

It’s Not All Roses

17^th February

Once the design is agreed, Hana sets to work on the enormous task of getting everything prepped and ready for the 2017 RHS Chelsea Flower Show. “It’s not just flowers but all kinds of other elements,” says Hana. “For instance, we’ve been working with local potter Justine Jenner to create a range of vases especially for the event and we’ll also be showcasing hand-blown glass vases from florists-turned-glassware designers Fidrio.”

Jack Frost Bites

24^th April

Sunny days and plenty of rain meant the English flower season was running two weeks early until an unexpected frost hit, wiping out the lilacs on our Hampshire Flower farm and leaving some of the English roses severely damaged. We’re now desperately wondering whether we’ll be able to showcase our English roses, peonies and wild flowers in this year’s Chelsea Flower Show bouquets.

Chelsea Collection Launch

Wednesday 3^rd May

Scenting the air with fragrant roses, sweet peas and other blooms, our Chelsea Flower Show bouquet collection is released online, where orders placed by 4pm are delivered next day nationwide. The Chelsea Pastel Pink Peony & Rose bouquet and Chelsea Seasonal Ivory bouquet have become best-sellers in the run-up to the show. Take a look at the collection here to discover which bouquet you would choose for best-in-show.

Hello Margaret

9^th May

We pick the first of this season’s English roses – three exquisitely scented Margaret Merrils. This is an exceptionally fragrant David Austin rose with classically shaped white flowers. At last we’re feeling optimistic that our English roses will be ready for this year’s Chelsea Flower Show!

1000 Roses

Saturday 20^th – Sunday 21^st May

This year you can expect to see over a thousand blooms decorating our rose wall. Last year’s flower wall took more than sixteen hours to build, so this year we’ve allowed two days to bring the intricate design to life. Our main feature is created from our Fairtrade scented Kenyan roses, which are flown into the UK using the excess space on passenger planes. You can find out more about the eco credentials of our Kenyan roses here.

Press and VIP Preview

Monday 22^nd May

There’s always such a buzz around our flower wall. “VIPs flock to have their photo taken in front of our rose wall,” says Hana. On Monday afternoon the Queen visits the show and our founder Rosebie Morton makes sure she’s there to answer any questions.

Stop and Smell the Roses

Tuesday 23^rd May

Day one, and the show opens at 8am. “We get asked throughout the Chelsea Flower Show if we’ve sprayed our stand with perfume,” says Hana. “People just can’t believe the scent of the roses. It stops them in their tracks.”

This year you can find us at stand EA465. Stop by to see this year’s design and come up smelling of roses with our competition to win a year’s worth of our scented bouquets!