The Chelsea Flower Show and the Gardens of England

The English and Their Gardens

Gardens are not created or made, they unfold, spiraling open
like the silk petals of an evening primrose flower to reveal the
ground plot of the mind and heart of the gardener
and the good earth.
– Wendy Johnson, Green Gulch Farm Zen Center, 2000

It’s no wonder that visitors worldwide flock to London’s prestigious Chelsea Flower Show (May 24-28, 2016).  Held by the Horticultural Society  on the grounds of the Royal Hospital Chelsea in Chelsea, London since 1912, it is the most famous flower show in the United Kingdom, and perhaps in the world, attracting visitors from all continents.

If you can’t make it during Chelsea week though, you can still visit England’s wonderful gardens at any time during the spring or summer.

Here are a few British gardens of particular note:

Highgrove Gardens– near Tetbury, Gloucestershire

Stourhead Gardens-Wiltshire, UK

Sissinghurst Gardens– Kent, UK

Sissinghurst Castle Garden- wisteria

Sissinghurst Gardens- aerial view

Sissinghurst Garden gate

The Lost Gardens of Heligan in Cornwall, UK

Kiftsgate– Mickelton, Gloucestershire

Kifsgate Manor

Hidcote Garden– near Chipping Camden, Gloucestershire

Great Dixter Gardens

Great Dixter Gardens– Northiam, East Sussex

We  would be delighted to help your group plan a 2017 trip to the Chelsea Flower Show and to see the amazing English gardens nearby. Can we help? SAT Travel, your London-based tour operator.