Why I'm swapping garden shows for nature reserves
I’d rather spend my money supporting wildlife than harming it
I used to love the RHS Chelsea Flower Show, it introduced me to garden design and to specialist nurseries - two things that made me fall for gardening harder than I already had. By my mid-thirties I was on a path to a new career in nature and gardening, which Chelsea accelerated. I met wonderful people who’ve become life-long friends, I will be forever grateful.
Chelsea was always my favourite, it used to be more about the best of artistic design and growing, less about shopping; a trap that other shows fell into. Though I enjoyed visiting Tatton Park and Hampton Court to look in the plant marquee at plants grown by expert growers and to see some adventurous designs.
Early in my career I wanted to create a show garden, it was my number one ambition. Being independent and an older career changer, I found there was little support for me, a brick wall that didn’t want to let me in, but I tried to make it happen a few times - I always agreed that young designers should receive the real support, they have their whole future ahead of them. I drew concepts that came to me, got quite far with a few sponsors, though talks stopped due to the huge costs.
But over the years my love wained. Without realising, I haven’t even considered doing a show garden for well over five years, it hasn’t crossed my mind at all. I can’t imagine how I would do what I do in a temporary 2-3 week show garden. I am far more interested in the real gardens I work on that take time to establish, in the wildlife they support, in their dynamism, and in public gardens enjoyed by everyone for free and in peace without crowds.
As gardening and garden design has veered back to its roots of growing with and for nature, not against it, the divide between what I and my gardening friends want from gardens and what garden shows offer has widened to an almighty chasm. I no longer think I can cross it.
I’ve tried to resist, to deny it was happening. Each year hoping the love and wonder would be back. The talented people are still visiting, people I admire greatly are still designing beautiful gardens that wow us, some nurseries are still presenting peat free and organic plant stands from across the UK. Wonderful writers and presenters are there with warm smiles on their faces and outfits full of the same admiration for nature I share.
I don’t know if it was the pandemic that burst my bubble or if it would have happened anyway.
For a number of years I’ve been lucky to visit the RHS Chelsea Flower Show on the press day, and other shows; I appreciate that’s a privilege I have as a writer and volunteer plant trial judge. One that I tried to share as the Chelsea Flower Show’s number one fan boy on social media and by writing online articles. To give you some context of how much I loved Chelsea, I would still buy tickets for the normal days afterward, sometimes on multiple days to revisit unnoticed and take it all in, in my own time. I would spend days writing about the great designers and nurseries to help explain to people why it was all so exciting.
In recent years my love has gone, something is wrong. It’s probably me, a sign that I’ve grown or changed as a person, or my gardening and design knowledge is at a new stage. Or simply that you can only visit a show so many times. I’ve noticed that I don’t enjoy going to the Chelsea Flower Show, or any other garden show at all any more. I don’t get what I need from them, something about them rings hollow, to me.
It’s not the general sustainability concerns, it’s easy to criticise the sustainability and waste of something like RHS Chelsea - and it is always a concern - but in the grand scheme of shows that entertain humanity, a garden show that inspires millions to grow is probably of least concern. Especially with some of the recent changes the RHS have pushed through, they’ve made a lot of positive change, and are working on further improvements.
My feelings are however a lot to do with the fact garden shows are still using plants grown in peat compost. I’ve been highlighting how harmful peat use in gardening is for over a decade, I’m exhausted by it. And I’m a relative newbie. Many others have led the way before me for more than three times as long. Peat comes from natural habitats that we know are rare and vital for wildlife and carbon sequestration. How can anyone want to keep using it?
Moving to peat free compost in gardening has improved dramatically thanks to some pioneer nurseries and companies. The RHS to its credit has done wonders with research and new policies, it’s almost removed peat completely. But resistance from some old fashioned companies, who happen to be the sponsors or take part in garden shows, has been fairly gross to witness. These people and organisations are supposed to be the ones we look up to. How can we look up to them?
You might think I’ve become Mr Pro-Peat-Free Compost but this is such a small part of my life compared to other big issues humanity and wildlife face. Gardening should have banned peat compost and moved on years ago. I’m actually much more interested in cleaning up the use of pesticides in gardening. And once that’s sorted my real interest isn’t any kind of ban, it’s actually the interaction between humanity and nature in gardens, wild spaces and of course beauty, art and design. Not talking about the obvious harmful products driven by companies that make money from them.
And yet we keep getting dragged back into the fight against peat based composts. Just today, the new CEO of the RHS, Clare Matteson, has confirmed that the charity has approved an extension of peat compost use in RHS shows by another three years. When will it end?
When can we move on and get back to what we should be talking about in gardening? This is so disappointing from a charity that had stepped up and was leading the charge on peat and pesticide use after decades of dragging its feet.
Suddenly the shows are taking us back again, under the guise of blaming it on the Government not legislating. The Government should have banned peat composts by now - protecting peat habitat is in the manifesto - and it’s true plug plants grown across mainland Europe blight UK plant sales affecting us all, but that’s no excuse. UK gardening could easily have solved the problem years ago. The only reason a garden show would still include peat compost and pesticides is because of money.
Why and how are we in a position that the flagship shows are bending to companies that make money from harming nature? Why is our leading gardening charity needing to make so much money that it can’t make a stand and inform its visitors why?
It’s pushed me beyond my tipping point to finally and reluctantly hit the publish button on this post, which I’ve been mulling over for some years. This post will harm my career, I believe in the power of the RHS but I am so disappointed, someone has to speak up.
This is a bigger discussion than just the shows of course, it is about the entire direction of gardening.
To me, anything that so directly harms wildlife, such as peat composts and pesticides, well, they’re not gardening. Excessive shopping and waste is not gardening. Gardening is about our connection with nature, not about harming it. If garden shows are supposed to be the epitome of the gardening industry I can’t be part of it, not until it changes.
This isn’t gardening, it is out-of-control capitalism.
Garden shows have become the antithesis of what gardens should be, of what all of the gardeners I know are trying to achieve.
Where is slow growing and knitting together of plant communities? Where is the gentle care for our natural world? When the shows are part of a machine that is killing the very heart and essence of gardening, we have gone down the wrong path.
I’m not going to go to any major garden shows this year (I am signed up to chair a panel at Pride in Nature, RHS Bridgewater), I need some time away from them. Instead I am going to spend my money and time visiting nature reserves. In nature reserves we can explore wild plant communities and other wildlife, learning about plants to grow in our gardens with their vast and peaceful expanses of life. This is much more useful to me, and I would rather give the money of train and hotel tickets to the likes of the Wildlife Trusts and RSPB.
I don’t begrudge people visiting garden shows at all, and I certainly don’t begrudge other people taking part. This isn’t an ‘end all garden shows’ post. I will watch from afar and cheer on the organic and peat free designers and nurseries. It’s more about where I am in life and where I seek my inspiration, which has always been and always will be from nature.
THANK YOU! For publishing this post. I recently accepted a paid planting role for this year's Hampton Court RHS show. I was flattered to be asked while also conflicted about witnessing so much unsustainable capitalist behaviour at RHS flower shows before. But your article has given me the necessary push to stand by a better moral compass. You may experience a hit to your professional reputation but your power lies in the fact that I feel seen. Your ethical approach resonates. I am now convinced shunning RHS shows is the only logical action for anyone caring about our beautiful planet. I'll turn down the paid work. It is no loss of earnings because I can easily book in clients who DO want a pesticide-, peat- and plastic-free wildlife friendly garden.
I really appreciate your article.
My flat is 5 minute walk from the Chelsea Flower Show site. I was an RHS member for decades but one visit to Chelsea in the mid-nineties killed all desire to go back. There were good things, of course, but the crowds, the long, packed, avenue of commercial stalls to navigate before you got anywhere near an actual plant, the obscene expensiveness, unnaturalness and sheer pretentious oddness of some of the show ‘gardens’ annoyed me. You’ll think me a real old curmudgeon, but I take a dim view of BBC TV coverage of the show too. It has improved since the years when random presenters joshed each other and basically just messed around, but it has declined again now that it includes a stream of celebrities, mostly with little knowledge of gardening. Does there really have to be so much of it? Do the presenters really have to gush like estate agents over the exhibits? I’ll continue to avoid the hype and garden in my own way.