Get all your news in one place.
100's of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Lifestyle
Alexis Parr

For peat’s sake: RHS faces conservative backlash over Chelsea flower show

Visitors looking at the Chelsea flower show
The RHS’s latest accounts showed a net loss of £8.1m in the year ending January 2025. Photograph: Andy Rain/EPA

There was King Charles and David Beckham as well as a nocturnal garden to support bats and a Viking-themed allotment full of edible plants in pots. The Royal Horticultural Society’s Chelsea flower show, which ends on Saturday, was as lovely and celebrity-glittered as ever, most agreed.

But dig a little deeper, say critics on the conservative wing of the RHS – including one spectacularly outspoken former contributor – and not everything is necessarily smelling of roses.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100's of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.