We’re going to RHS Chelsea Flower Show

And it’s going to be bloomin’ brilliant…

21st May 2018

The Chelsea Flower Show has been held in the grounds of the Royal Hospital Chelsea, London every year since 1913 (apart from gaps during the two World Wars). It is Britain’s most prestigious flower show.

The first ever show cost the RHS £3,365 to stage and was held in a single tent – it made a profit of £88 which was swiftly distributed to garden charities. Today the show is a rather more lavish affair. It now spans 23 acres with 500 exhibitors and gardens. In the Great Pavilion alone, there are over 100 exhibits and around 270 stands.

For the past five years, Joules has been lucky enough to have a stand at Chelsea Flower Show and this year is no different. The show is the perfect way to welcome the summer (even though we’ve already had our fair share of sunshine this year) and really look forward to the season ahead.

Just like a gardener would ponder what flowers to plant, the planning for our show stand started months ago when we first sat down to decide what products we wanted to take along with us. Last year, our talented print team had visited Kew Gardens and after many hours of sketching and painting, created a stunning print that came to be known as The Secret Garden Print – a print that would be perfect to take along to Chelsea Flower Show.

“The Secret Garden Print was inspired by the greenhouses at Kew Gardens. We visited the gardens for a day of drawing and painting. We were inspired by the bright, tropical colours and the fresh feeling it gave. As we were designing for high summer, we wanted the print to have a bright, lush feel.”

Rebecca Collingridge, Print Designer

This stunning print adorns many products that are perfect for summer from shorts to jersey tops and flattering dresses to lightweight scarves. And (even if we do say so ourselves) is sure to give some of the most vibrant flowers on display a run for their money.

When it came to designing the stand itself, we wanted a stunning floral installation – one that would complement our prints and also be worthy of the show itself. After much deliberation, we thought about Vicki, who was someone that had once worked at Joules and who was also now running a creative florists, Paisley Flower Company in Oakham, a small town close to our office in Market Harborough. Vicki’s concept of providing a nod to the countryside with a tropical element was perfect – and captured the elements of our Secret Garden Print wonderfully.

So if you’re heading to Chelsea Flower Show this year, by sure to stop by our stand. You never know, you may find something that will brighten up your summer in the most unexpected of ways…