They were worlds apart in 1970, when the face of the Chelsea flower show was Britt Ekland posing with the rose of the year. Months later, the 55-day trial of defendants who became known as the Mangrove Nine would make legal history as black activists took on and overcame the might of the British state.
More than five decades later, their story has pride of place at this year’s flower show, where thousands of visitors are getting their first view of a garden inspired by what the nine activists endured and achieved.
