Garden gnomes are poised to make a surprising return to the world-renowned Chelsea Flower Show, as organisers lift their historic ban for only the second time.
The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) has announced plans for celebrities to decorate gnomes, which will then be auctioned to raise funds for the charity’s school gardening campaign.
These whimsical figures could even feature within the RHS and The King’s Foundation Curious Garden.
This innovative space aims to spark public interest in horticulture, inspiring the next generation of gardeners and encouraging careers in environmental and rural crafts.
The garden’s design includes subtle tributes to its champions: the King, Sir David Beckham, and leading horticulturalist Alan Titchmarsh.
One such reference acknowledges a tradition at Highgrove Gardens, the King’s Gloucestershire residence, where a gnome is often found nestled in the stumpery.
The King, King’s Foundation ambassador Sir David, and Mr Titchmarsh – an RHS and King’s Foundation ambassador – have all contributed to the garden’s design, ensuring its message of curiosity and cultivation resonates widely.
Designer Frances Tophill, who is creating her first garden at Chelsea, said she wanted to create something “very joyful, colourful, fun”.
“The idea of this space is about encouraging entrance into horticulture and rural crafts generally, which is something that the RHS and the King’s Foundation are obviously passionately working on all the time,” she said.
She said the garden would be free of man-made materials, including concrete, in recognition of Charles’s focus on sustainability as well as featuring some of Sir David’s favourite plants, and would have the high standards of horticulture Mr Titchmarsh champions.
The garden, which will not be judged, features an oak building that represents a “museum of curiosities”, which will live on as an outdoor classroom when the garden moves to an educational centre after the show.
There will be seven raised beds in a nod to Sir David’s number 7 shirt he wore in the Manchester United and England national team, growing vegetables and herbs.
Ms Tophill said the former footballer is “a huge veg grower” and she was trying to grow him garlic as one of his favourites.
There will be delphiniums, one of the favourite flowers of the King, who grows them prominently at his Highgrove garden and is patron of the Delphinium Society, and rose varieties named after the three champions will also be grown in it.
Ms Tophill added: “With my dear friend Alan Titchmarsh being one of the greatest gardeners of modern times, we will be showcasing the highest standards of horticulture and celebrating the breadth of horticultural careers through stories we tell about the garden.”
Director general Clare Matterson said: “We’ve never needed the joy of gardening, the power of plants for our planet or the peace of simply sitting in a garden, more.
“That’s why we’ve joined forces with the King’s Foundation to encourage the nation to get curious about gardening, be that as a horticultural career, a hobby, a way to fight the climate crisis, to support wildlife or simply enjoy the satisfaction of seeing the fruits of our labours flourish and grow.
“We also want people to be playful with their gardening, which is why we’re lifting the gnome ban for these celebrity gnomes, who will then, by being auctioned off, help us do even more to awaken a curiosity in gardening in school children and support our national campaign for school gardening.”
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