How to Enter the RHS Chelsea Flower Show
The RHS Chelsea Flower Show is the world's most prestigious horticultural event, and entering it as an exhibitor — whether as a garden designer, nursery, florist, or community group — is one of the most coveted achievements in horticulture. Competition is fierce, the standards are extraordinarily high, and the lead time required is longer than most people expect. But the doors are wider than they appear. Here is a full guide to every route in.
First: What Kind of Entry Are You Looking For?
There are broadly four types of participation at Chelsea:
Designing a garden (Show Gardens, Balcony & Container Gardens, All About Plants gardens, Young Designer of the Year)
Exhibiting plants or flowers (nurseries, growers, floral art, floristry, Houseplant Studios)
Running a tradestand (products, accessories, garden structures, gifts)
Educational or community exhibits (schools, charities, scientific institutions via GreenSTEM)
Each has its own application process, eligibility criteria, and timeline. All applications go through the RHS directly, at rhs.org.uk/shows-events/exhibit-at-a-show.
Route 1: Designing a Show Garden
This is the headline category — the large and small show gardens that line Main Avenue and define what Chelsea is known for. Gardens can cost upwards of £400,000 to realise, and the RHS selection process is highly competitive.
Large Show Gardens are 150 square metres or more. Small Show Gardens are under 149 square metres. Both categories are open to sponsored designers (where a brand or charity funds the garden) and self-funding designers. The RHS looks for original, bold ideas and a clear design vision — the brief is intentionally open to allow maximum creative flexibility.
Applications typically open in spring (around May–June) for the show taking place the following year, with RHS acceptances confirmed in September or October. Given the scale of the undertaking, designers effectively need around 12 months from application to show. If you miss one year's deadline, the advice from experienced designers is to treat it as preparation time for the next cycle rather than a setback.
To apply or discuss opportunities, contact the RHS garden applications team at charlie.gwynne@rhs.org.uk or shows.gardendesign@rhs.org.uk.
Finding a Sponsor: Most show gardens are funded by a corporate sponsor or charity partner. If you do not have financial backing, securing a sponsor is usually the first step. This requires a compelling concept, a strong portfolio, and a clear story about why your garden matters. Charities working with Project Giving Back (see below) can access full funding.
Route 2: Project Giving Back — Funded Gardens for Good Causes
Project Giving Back is a grant-making charity that has funded charity-supported gardens at Chelsea since 2021, covering the full cost of design and build. It has been one of the most significant routes into the show for new and emerging designers working alongside charities.
Gardens funded through the scheme must showcase excellent plants and design, and tell a strong story about the work of a UK-registered charity. The process runs roughly as follows:
September: Expressions of interest open for the show two years away
October–November: Applications screened; a long list invited to submit written briefs and mood boards
December: Shortlisted applicants given a grant to develop a full application, including concept sketches, masterplan, planting plan, budget breakdown, and storytelling strategy
February/March: Shortlisted applicants present to the Project Giving Back selection panel
April: Funding choices selected and applicants informed
May (Chelsea week): Successful teams attend a PGB workshop and visit the show
June: RHS formal applications submitted
September/October: RHS acceptances confirmed
It is worth knowing that only around 10% of applications to Project Giving Back have been funded, given the volume of interest. Being selected by PGB does not automatically guarantee RHS acceptance — all gardens must still pass the RHS selection process. For 2026, PGB supported its final cohort of Chelsea gardens; its future programme may evolve, so check givingback.org.uk for the latest.
Route 3: Young Designer of the Year
This is the most accessible route in for emerging talent. The Young Designer of the Year category is open to designers aged 30 and under, and the winner receives a £15,000 grant to realise their garden at the show. It is specifically designed to kick-start careers in garden design and offers a level of support and mentoring that the main categories do not.
Applications typically open in the summer preceding the show year. If you are under 30 and want to exhibit at Chelsea, this is the route to prioritise. Contact the RHS via the garden applications page to register your interest and be notified when the next cycle opens.
Route 4: Balcony and Container Gardens
This mentored category is specifically open to designers who have not previously exhibited or been involved in the design of a garden at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show. It is the established entry point for first-timers at Chelsea who are not eligible for Young Designer of the Year.
As the name suggests, the category focuses on what is possible in small spaces — balconies, terraces, and container-based planting — making it well suited to designers working in urban contexts. Applications follow the same general timeline as other garden categories.
Route 5: All About Plants Gardens
Introduced in 2022, this category places plants rather than hard landscaping at the centre of the design. It is explicitly aimed at encouraging new creative talent, and many gardens in this category are funded by Project Giving Back on behalf of charitable partners.
Designers work closely with specialist nurseries and explore unusual plant schemes and palettes. This is a particularly good route for plantspeople, horticulturists, and designers who feel more confident with plants than structural landscaping. Applications are usually open from spring for the following year's show.
Route 6: Exhibiting Plants and Flowers in the Great Pavilion
The Great Pavilion is home to specialist nurseries, growers, and florists, and exhibiting there is a different proposition from designing a show garden — less about spatial design, more about the quality and presentation of plants or floral work.
Plant and nursery exhibits are open to specialist growers with exceptional plant collections. The RHS offers a New Exhibitor Fund to help nurseries and plant collections that wish to exhibit for the first time, covering travel, accommodation, and restocking costs in the first year. Applications for this fund typically close in September the year before the show.
Floristry exhibits fall into two categories at Chelsea 2026: Creative Spaces and Floral Creations, with an overall theme set by the RHS each year. These are judged competitions, so entries need to meet a high technical and artistic standard.
Houseplant Studios offer nurseries and designers a dedicated space in the Ranelagh Gardens area of the showground for indoor plant displays. These applications typically follow the same autumn–spring timeline.
College or Flower School Exhibit: The RHS reserves one 4m x 4m space in the Great Pavilion for a single educational institution each year, offered free of charge with a £5,000 RHS grant. This is aimed at colleges and flower schools wanting to showcase the next generation of florists.
For all floral and plant applications, contact the RHS via the floral and plant exhibit applications page, or email shows.floralandplant@rhs.org.uk.
Route 7: Tradestands
Companies selling garden-related products — from tools and seeds to furniture, jewellery, and garden buildings — can apply for tradestand space at Chelsea. The RHS looks for products that match the quality of the show gardens and floral exhibits, and the audience is an affluent, design-conscious one. All money raised by tradestands supports the RHS's charitable objectives.
Tradestand applications typically close in autumn for the following May's show. Contact tradestands@rhs.org.uk for details.
Route 8: GreenSTEM and Educational Exhibits
GreenSTEM is Chelsea's platform for horticulture at the intersection of science, technology, and the environment. It is open to educational and scientific institutions, government bodies, research teams, and industry groups with something genuinely innovative to say. Applications are competitive and the RHS expects displays to be engaging and interactive, not simply informational.
Schools, charities, and community groups can also participate through the broader educational exhibits programme, which includes categories like Show Features and Installations and Upcycled Containers (in which local groups create mini-gardens inside upcycled containers within a 2x2m square, with a £50 RHS grant towards costs).
Contact the RHS education team for details on all of these routes.
The Timeline: When to Start
The single most important piece of advice from experienced Chelsea exhibitors is to start earlier than you think necessary.
For a show garden in a given May, expect the following general rhythm:
18–24 months before the show: Begin developing your concept, identify a sponsor or funding route, build your portfolio and approach the RHS or Project Giving Back
12–14 months before: Formal applications open; submit your application
10–12 months before: RHS decisions confirmed; contracts issued
12 months before to show week: Design development, plant sourcing, contractor engagement, and build preparation
The week before the show: On-site build and planting (typically around 10 days)
For plant exhibits and tradestands, the timeline is shorter — applications usually open around 12 months before — but the principle remains the same: the RHS plans far in advance, and late enquiries are rarely successful.
Practical Contacts
All applications are managed through the RHS. The main starting points are:
Garden design applications: rhs.org.uk/shows-events/exhibit-at-a-show/garden-applications
Floral and plant applications: rhs.org.uk/shows-events/exhibit-at-a-show/floral-plant-exhibit-applications
Tradestand applications: rhs.org.uk/shows-events/exhibit-at-a-show/tradestand-applications
Education and community applications: rhs.org.uk/shows-events/exhibit-at-a-show/education-applications
Project Giving Back (charity-funded gardens): givingback.org.uk
General enquiries: shows.gardendesign@rhs.org.uk
Sign up to the relevant RHS mailing list for your category, as this is how application opening dates and deadlines are communicated.
A Note on Standards
Chelsea sets the benchmark for horticultural excellence worldwide. The RHS judging panel is drawn from landscape architects, head gardeners, botanists, and writers, and its medal awards — Gold, Silver-Gilt, Silver, and Bronze — are among the most coveted in the horticultural world. Even gardens that do not win medals benefit enormously from the exposure: more than 150,000 visitors attend in person each year, BBC coverage reaches millions of viewers, and the show generates a surge of interest in garden design that directly drives commissions and sales for exhibitors.
It is demanding, expensive, and highly competitive. It is also, by most accounts, one of the most rewarding things a person working in horticulture can do.
